Free Goldilocks by Patria L. Dunn Page B

brought them closer, and he was trying hard to make her happy. Last night he’d surprised her by bringing home a small generator and power strips for their appliances. Once he’d gotten it up and running, she’d immediately plugged in her Ipod and phone, but once they were charging she realized that she hadn’t missed the electronics as much as she thought she had.
    The tiny white Christmas lights, now strung around the ceiling of her bedroom is what had brought tears to her eyes. Shadowed by the rouge colored curtains that arrived on the moving truck almost a week late, her room now had a soft pink glow to it, reminding her of the room she’d had back home. Her queen sized bed had barely fit, taking up more than half the space, her clothes hanging on pegs her father had thoughtfully nailed into one wall, designating it ‘an open closet’. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked.
    Hannah selected a running outfit easily enough, waiting until she’d heard ‘Big Red’ pull off before she stuck her head out into the already warm summer air. It was barely after sunrise, but today was the day that she was going to try and run all the way to the base without stopping, and she wanted all the daylight that she could have. Two weeks of training every day and her body felt more alive than it ever had during cross country season. The old miner’s trail had proven to be more difficult than anything she’d ever run before, the higher elevation and steep climb strengthening her thigh and calf muscles to perfected tightness.
    She stretched, like she always did, jogging a slow lap all the way around the cabin before heading up into the woods, her pack hooked around her waist. Even breaths, she reminded herself even though it wasn’t necessary, the steady rhythm of her cross trai ners muted against the still damp soil underfoot. The squirrels and birds living in these woods seem to expect her now, chattering overhead but remaining on their perches watching as she went. Her pedometer beeped at a mile and Hannah grinned wide as she glanced at the stopwatch on her wrist, noting that only four minutes had passed and she hadn’t even broken a sweat yet.
    Her legs were itching to stretch out into a full stride, but she only gave a little, relaxing her gate, and preparing for the climb that would take her up past the beaver’s dam she’d discovered the very first time she’d made the run. Unlike every other day, she wouldn’t stop at her usual spot for water and a quick laze at the creek’s edge. The map had indicated that the spring actually ran all the way up to the base and then around to the other side stretching for a few more miles before it met its source somewhere down in the valley. It would be pure torture for her throat to wait that long, but she’d hydrated plenty overnight and a little more this morning, ensuring that she wouldn’t lose everything in her sweat before she made it there.
    Hannah made it a point to run with the keychain sized bottle of mace in her closed fists now. She’d never had to use it over the last two weeks, but it gave her a sense of security when the occasional howl sounded through the woods. Her father still worried daily about her running the old miner’s trail, but she’d assured him that she’d never seen anything bigger than a raccoon, and that was only once. The poor critter had been so scared that it had stayed frozen even after she’d given it a wide berth, its eyes locked on her until she was far enough away for it to make an escape.
    Even the beavers paid her no mind now, their s lick brown bodies barely visible to anyone who didn’t know exactly where the dam was located. She passed the spot with a teeth gritting “Yes!”, checking her pedometer for the third time, ecstatic that for the fourth time this week she’d reached her 5K goal in just under twelve minutes.
    It wasn’t quite time to give it all she had yet. With at least anothe r ten miles to go, Hannah switched her jog