Twilight in a Field of Marigolds

It was twilight on a Friday evening. You know, that time when the sun is setting and the moon is starting to glow. It's not quite dark and yet not quite light. It is the moment in time when everything seems to hover. Like that instance when you find yourself hovering between life and death.

Many people had told her not to go running after dark. So, she ran in the early evening. Then they told her not to run in the park by herself. So, she took self-defense classes and always ran with a small can of pepper spray. She just could not resist the allure of the park in the late evening. The light was constantly changing as the sun began the descent that marked the end of the day.

She always timed it right so she was out of the park and close to home by the time it was dark. She wasn't stupid, she wasn't trying to get assaulted, raped, or worse, killed. She knew this was a tough city. But the park was her sanctuary. At least it was in the daylight.

She knew that the park, with its many winding walkways, trees and shrubberies, made it easy for anyone, or anything to hide at night. This is where people came, under the cover of night to hide from prying eyes to get high, or where dumb teenagers would meet to drink and have sex. She also knew that when the sun sets, and the sky is dark, the nocturnal animals come out, human and mammal alike, hungry and ravenous for their prey.

But she wouldn't let that dictate her life! She was in charge of her life. She was a smart, strong woman who absolutely loved running in the park. So, she came prepared and left early. She felt completely confident knowing that she was in control. She didn't need a running partner, she preferred to run on her own. It was her time to release the tension from her day. It was her form of mediation. It was one of the things she looked forward to most at the end of her day.

Especially passing by the marigold field. How she loved the way the setting sunlight hit the flowers. It made them almost glow. Most of the running trail that she had chosen was flanked by tall trees and shrubs. A few areas were open and overlooked a lake and there were some benches where occasionally she would see a person feeding the ducks. But most of the trail was densely surrounded by trees. In the early evening there was still enough light filtering in, but as she run her trail, she felt like she was chasing the light and leaving darkness behind. It felt like a comforting embrace to her.

And then she arrived upon the bright and sunny marigold field. It was a small field and in an area mostly dominated by trees, it seemed strange that there was an area where these flowers had stubbornly decided to take over. No trees grew in that area. It's almost as if the marigolds said "Nope, this is my area. You have the whole park to yourself, trees. Leave us this small sunny strip of land" and the trees bowed their heads and obliged.

There they were, to the right of the trail. A pop of color and sunshine, among the muted green and grays that surrounded the trees on the opposing side of the trail and surrounding the field. She usually slowed down when she came to this part of the trail. Just a little bit, enough to enjoy the beauty. The air seemed different in this part of the park. And it had rained earlier so the air was definitely different this evening.

She had a particularly difficult day at work today so she decided that she would end her workout here and enjoy the flowers. To "stop and smell the roses" so to speak. She could just walk home, maybe pick up dinner on the way. And by dinner she meant get a smoothie.

She slowed down her run and began her cool down routine earlier than usual. She walked toward the edge of the field and finished stretching. She was filled with an overwhelming desire to walk into the field and lay down among the flowers for a bit.

Well, she wasn't about to go lie down in the dirt, but she did walk into the field and was greeted by an immediate sense of calm. She closed her eyes and let the day's last rays of the sunlight caress her cheek. She breathed in deeply, held her breath for a few seconds and let it go slowly, letting go of the tension of the day with each breath she exhaled. She felt so relaxed and content.

She opened her eyes and looked around. She was now standing in the middle of the field, with her back to the trail. The only sound she heard was the sound of a few birds calling out to each other, calling out to their family to hurry home before night comes. She thought to herself that she should head back, and was about to turn around when she noticed something at the edge of the field.

She realized that the field didn't end in the trees, but rather it looked like it ended in a rocky hill and the trees she was seeing were actually tree tops. She thought that was strange. Somehow, she assumed that the whole park was on the same level. She wondered what could be at the bottom of the small hill. Maybe a small creek, or maybe more marigolds.

She walked closer towards the edge of the hill and saw that it was more like a ledge than a hill. There was a drop of about 10 or 15 feet. Nothing but rock and dirt that she could see. The sun didn't really light up that area. Well, she came and she saw. Nothing interesting, time to head back, she thought to herself.

As she turned her foot stepped on a piece of flat, loose rock and she somehow lost her balance. The ground was still wet from the rain earlier and she had trouble regaining her balance. She tried to shift her weight on her other foot but realized that when she twisted to turn around her foot had been caught up on a root that was sticking out. The force of her shifting her weight on the other foot that was stuck, pushed her backward. Which wouldn't have been a problem, except that she was standing with her back towards the ledge and she was way too close to the edge.

So, she fell back, tumbling towards the empty air and falling 10 or 15 feet to the rocky floor. She reached out with her hands to try to grab on to something, but the fall was way too fast for her to react to what was coming at her at full speed. She hit a small protruding piece of rock on her way down and she felt a searing pain on her arm, making it useless.

As the ground came rushing up at her, she felt a sense of panic and fear as she realized what was happening. She hit her head hard as she landed and felt and heard a crack. She wasn't sure what part of her body it came from because all she knew was pain. She couldn't move. She wondered briefly if she was paralyzed. Then wondered if she could get to her phone to call for help, but she couldn't move.

She felt a warm sticky wetness tricking on the side of her face and realized she was bleeding. She had the realization that her body was broken having landed on the uneven bunch of rocks. She was in such pain that she soon began to feel numb. The blood that she assumed was coming from a head wound started pouring out and she started to feel faint.

They say that when you're dying, your life flashes before your eyes. But that wasn't the case for our runner. You see, she chose to linger in twilight, hovering between light and dark in the last moments of her life. However, you can only linger so much for twilight is not eternal. You cannot stop the sun from setting nor can you stop the night from coming, and as she stared at the fleeting light high above the treetops, so did the last light of life leave our smart, brave runner, who despite being prepared for anything that life could throw her way, could not prepare for her premature death.