Jogger – 4th draft

“I can’t talk right now. Let me call you back when I’m finished.” The truth is, he really didn’t want to talk to her. His wife that is. He could feel his head start to throb a little just from hearing her voice.

He had started going for his morning jog an hour earlier just to avoid the confrontation that had somehow become a part of their morning agenda before heading off to work. Leaving out earlier didn’t mean he would return home any earlier to prepare for the office. It just meant he had to extend his jogging route by another 15 km  or stop by his buddy GG. He had a big meeting at the office today and he really needed to maintain a cool demeanour. ‘She knew I didn’t want children before we got married, and now it has become an issue, driving a wedge between our happily ever after. Everyone is depending on the successful outcome of this meeting today and I do not intend to let them down.’

He came to the pedestrian crossing just about the same time I did on the opposite side. He jogged in place while waiting for the light to change. In the bitter cold of winter, he wore no head-gear but allowed his shiny black hair to rest coolly unperturbed in the still air, offering a beautiful contrast to his exposed face. He was so handsome that for a while, I forgot where I was and how cold it was. Besides his face and neck, the rest of his body was covered with his red and black jogging suit, with black exercise gloves to match.

His jogging suit was nicely fitted and gave him enough room to move about. I wondered how many layers of clothing he was actually wearing. I wished the light wouldn’t change, as my eyes got lost in the deep black top he was wearing with star shaped patterns along the arms. There was no red colour on his pants however which flowed into matching black sneakers. I could almost hear the fabric of his suit rubbing together as his legs rubbed back and forth jogging in place.

Did I see his lips move? My eyes got drawn to his lips, almost as red as the stars on his tracksuit top. I might have, as I now noticed the earpiece attached to his ear. I wondered if it was an important call…

Jogger – 3rd Draft

He came to the pedestrian crossing just about the same time I did on the opposite side. He jogged in place while waiting for the light to change. In the bitter cold of winter, he wore no head-gear but allowed his shiny black hair to rest coolly unperturbed, offering a beautiful contrast to his exposed face. He was so handsome that for a while, I forgot where I was and how cold it was. Besides his face and neck, the rest of his body was covered with his red and black jogging suit, with black workout gloves to match.

His jogging suite was nicely fitted and gave him enough room to move about. I wondered how many layers of clothing he was actually wearing. I wished the light wouldn’t change, as my eyes got lost in the deep black top he was wearing with star shaped patterns along the arms. There was no red colour on his pants however which flowed into matching black sneakers. I could almost hear the fabric of his suit rubbing together as his legs rubbed back and forth jogging in place.

Did I see his lips move? My eyes got drawn to his lips, almost as red as the stars on his top. I might have, as I now noticed the earpiece attached to his ear. I wondered if it was an important call…

Identifying and Creating Writing Spaces

He did it again. Took me on a writing date. The writing dates as I dubbed them were first introduced on our 6 month anniversary. I was taken by surprise at first but as the frequency increased I became quite happy to play the role as his muse. As I stared at him from across the waist high, rustic, wooden table of our favourite booth, I caught his eye briefly, almost as though it came up for ‘air’. “Renewed inspiration”, I thought. His hazel brown eyes were so warm and filled with life. By now, I knew not to interrupt him as he wrote and so continued to admire the light in his face. The cafe was always empty after 9 pm and provided just enough quiet, with just enough light from the hanging lamp of the booth, with just enough of me for inspiration.

A Frisbee zipped by my face, followed by a jumping dog then a squealing young owner whose face shone with glee and too much ice-cream. The mother’s voice drifted across the gentle breeze as she too shot past me. “It was a beautiful summer”, I wrote for the third time, as another excited child rushed passed me…

Jogger – 2nd Draft

I COULDN’T TELL HOW FAR HE WAS JOGGING FROM OR WHERE HE WAS JOGGING TO BUT as he NEARED the pedestrian crossing he jogged in place, while waiting for the stoplight to CHANGE. I was careful not to stare but from what I could see beyond my masked face and head gear pulled too far down on my head, almost obscuring my eyes, he was strikingly handsome. UNLIKE ME, HE WORE NO HEAD PIECE TO PROTECT HIM AGAINST THE COLD TEMPERATURE. THE ONLY PIECE I COULD SEE WAS HIS BLUETOOTH EARPIECE HANGING FROM HIS RIGHT EAR, NEATLY LAYING AGAINST HIS FACE. HE KEPT MOVING ON THE SPOT, LOOKING AROUND AS HE WAITED.

HIS HAIR WAS A SHARP BLACK COLOUR CONTRASTING AGAINST HIS FACE. His red and black jogging suite HUGGED his body IN ALL THE RIGHT PLACES GIVING HIM JUST ENOUGH ROOM TO MOVE. THE TOP HAD MOST OF THE RED COLOUR WITH BLACK STAR LIKE PATTERNS ALONG THE ARMS WHILE THE PANTS WERE COMPLETELY BLACK, FLOWING INTO BLACK LACED SNEAKERS.

DID I SEE HIS LIPS MOVE? HIS LIPS WERE AS RED AS THE TOP HE WAS WEARING. AND THOUGH THE AIR WAS COLD THEY LOOKED MOIST AND SEEMED UNPERTURBED BY THE CHILLS. He seemed so at ease and confident of his next move AS THE STOPLIGHT RELEASED HIM FROM HIS STATIONARY JOGGING.

Jogger

1st Draft

As he came to the pedestrian crossing, he didn’t stop. He jogged in place, while waiting for the light to give the go ahead for him to continue on his journey. I was careful not to stare but from what I could see beyond my masked face and head gear pulled too far down on my head, almost obscuring my eyes, he was strikingly handsome, for an Asian. Maybe it was the blood pumping through his body that caused his red and black jogging suite to hug his body so perfectly. He seemed so at ease and confident of his next move…