She liked running; it wasn't anything like flying. Running was so normal compared to flying. She could run fast even without the aid of the winds. She liked the burning that rippled through her legs, the shortening of her breath. Running was a challenge. She had to work harder to overcome fatigue. She had to let her body know that she was in control.
Shinobi wanted her to visit Japan with him. He asked her at dinner a few weeks later. She made a thousand excuses why she couldn't go. The kids needed her. The professor needed her. They needed her, right? He told her he would race her for the right to take her to Japan. Was he serious? He took her to a local park. He was serious.
"Let's see if you're really as fast as you think you are, Munroe," he said, loosening his tie.
She took off her heels. "You're never going to beat me in those shoes. Ferragamos were not made to race in."
He followed suit and took off his shoes. They mapped out a rough track. They had to run around a big tree to get to the finish line. They raced under the moonlight like wild children, laughing and urging the other on. She only had a slight lead over him. And she knew she had him when the tree came into view. She shifted left and ran around the tree. He was already on the other side waiting at the "finish line".
He won. He won?
"No fair. You ran through the tree!"