The little beach town was quiet so early in the morning. She carried her earbuds in her palm and debated if she even wanted to use them. All that met her outside was the fog lining the cliffs and the welcoming smell of the ocean. The absence of lively bodies was not unexpected, but it was unfamiliar. She'd been spending too much time in cities where the hustle never stopped. But here, even the sky still held on to the darkness like a blanket it didn't want to remove just yet.
Her sneakers were soundless on the pavement as she started her run, tucking her headphones into the pouch on her arm. The first reluctant shades of light were beginning to peek from under the blanket of night. All the stars had already faded.
She knew from the map she'd memorized that the beach was only three and a half blocks south of her condo, and the short trip took no time at all. When she ran out of boardwalk, she abandoned her socks and sneakers by the rickety wooden steps and picked up her pace again.
For a long time, she ran, barefoot, happily in silence, chasing the ever-distant end of the beach. Golden light began to pour over everything, illuminating the water and the beach grass. Clouds clustered around the awakening sun, keeping parts of her secret still. Guarding her against the world. Even by the time Natasha reached the edge of the open beach and turned around to head back, the sun was still reluctant to cast her light unhindered. Time seemed to move slowly.
The clouds out over the water had darkened instead of growing more luminescent and implied that it might rain. Tension bit at her calves and her abdomen, but it was a familiar discomfort. She could run another forty minutes, at least, but decided to head back for her sneakers. As the sight of her neon pink Nike's came into view, she could hear someone approaching her a few yards back. All of her attention became heightened, her whole body switching into an almost more natural state of hyper-awareness.
The footsteps were rapid and steady, rhythmic. She kept jogging, listening for signs of labored breathing from the man behind her. She guessed it was a man - judging by the sound of the weight hitting the sand.
"On your left," he said, and breezed passed her. She stood and watched his silhouettte fade into a speck on the horizon, her hand attempting to block out the suddenly rising sun so she could get a description. She'd caught wind of his aftershave, barely got a look at his sharp, angular profile. He'd been a blur of pale blue t-shirt and dark grey basketball shorts and golden light reflecting off of his body wherever it could catch a sheen of sweat. When he finally disappeared, she put her socks and shoes back on and made her way to the condo.