This morning I was wrapping up my run

The last half mile of 11

I was enjoying the early morning sun

It streamed in through the pine trees

Golden rays cutting through the cold air

In my neighborhood, a little nook tucked in the bend of the river

If you ask me, a little slice of heaven

Even in the middle of winter

I always think of my good friend on long runs

I don’t see her anymore

Life and relationships twist like the river

I do distance now and how I wish so much I could run with her

But she’s out of state

The pleasantness of the memories of our old times never abates

I was incognito in my shades and black beanie

I saw another woman across the way and she yelled to me, “Emma!”

I kindly waved and said my name back

She’d taken out her ear buds as if preparing to strike up a conversation

She said, “Oh, sorry, your face looks just like my friend’s

Neither of us quit jogging – just in opposite directions

I said, “You’re good. Hi, though!”

A part of me wished she didn’t go

She looked a little like my old friend

I finished my run by the river, and I never saw her again