Disclaimer: The characters of the Stephanie Plum Series belong to Janet Evanovich and are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
The Reasons Why
by TT
His feet pounded against the pavement.
His breathing was short and sharp.
His heart was beating quickly.
Sweat rose on his body, beaded and fell.
Each drop of sweat falling away helped him rid himself of a memory, a problem, a failure, a death.
There had been so many deaths...
He pushed harder, ran faster.
Their names and faces came to mind before dropping off in their bead of sweat.
Roberts.
Johnson.
Marquez.
Nielsen.
Brady.
And on.
And on.
He pushed harder until the names stopped.
Then the places started to come.
Each one a failure echoing in his soul, tearing a little more of his humanity away.
Afghanistan.
Iraq.
Iran.
Korea.
Brazil.
Columbia.
And on.
And on.
The problems and worries came and were purged
He ran on.
And on.
And on.
Until his mind and soul were clear.
He entered the weight room and signaled for a spotter.
Three sets fifteen reps each.
He would rebuild himself as he lifted.
The first set began.
Things to hate:
Oppression.
Intolerance.
Lies.
Things to strive for:
Excellence.
Superiority
Victory.
Things to live by:
Honor.
Loyalty.
Courage.
Things to attain:
Strength.
Peace.
Endurance.
Things to fight for.
Home.
Country.
Freedom.
A short break and he would begin again.
He gripped the weight again.
Things to hate.
Oppression...
An hour later he was done.
Purged and remade.
Taken apart and put back together.
Ready to face his day.
Ready to face the reason he pushed so hard.
Stepping into his apartment, he couldn’t help but smile.
“Babe.”
End.