The frantic sound of my footsteps was all I could hear. Despite the cool air, I still felt hot. Running, panting, and sweating, I approached a tan wall and put my right foot upon it. I pushed off the ground with my left foot. That surge of energy and adrenaline that never let me down rushed though me. “How many steps could I take this time?” I pondered. “One… Two…” My momentum slowed, and I pushed off the wall and landed on the tough cement. A few strides led me back in a sprint. I never expected the turn of events that occurred during my simple run home.

I slowed my run slightly to save energy. Parkour, a French term meaning getting from point A to point B as quickly and fluidly as possible, can take a lot out of you. Under the starlit sky, I saw the red brick bathrooms in the distance where I had practiced wall runs so many times. Next to it, the playground, where my vaults and jumps had been practiced on, appeared distant. In the opposite direction was the brick building next to the park. I neared my next obstacle, a large white pavilion. “Time to go,” I thought. My footsteps hastened again.

The first obstacle, one I had done several times before, was a fence like structure that bore white pillars that held it up. A simple monkey vault would get me over it in an instant. As I neared the obstacle, I laid my hands on it and at the same time pushed off the ground with my feet while maintaining a sprint. I could feel the wind whirl past my body. The pillars were a blur as they passed me. I landed still maintaining my sprint.

Just a few feet away laid my next target. I hardly had time to think. “Just go though the motions just like you always do,” I thought. I didn’t need to think. I approached my step-jump, a bench. I would swing on the overhang above it to propel myself over the fence just as I always did. At full sprint, I took a large step to get onto the bench when everything flashed white and a sharp pain struck my stomach. “D’oh!” I grunted. I had caught my foot on the bench and flung myself forward into the fence.
I stumbled backwards, gripping my stomach gasping for breath. It seared my lungs to breath. So I tried to stop; that didn’t help. Still stumbling around gasping for the air my lungs would not receive, I desperately wanted to drop to the ground, but I refused to give in to my body’s wishes. I had to be stronger. It was not about the pain anymore; it was about will. I remained standing against my body’s will and used the fencing to slowly walk over to a bench, taking each step carefully. I reached the bench, everything was hazy and my lungs burned. I steadily lowered myself onto the bench and slouched down in it to give my body the feeling of standing upright so I could catch the air my body lusted.
Minutes passed like hours until finally I felt I could stand again. I stood and my vision blurred momentarily. I could walk again. Everything from that point on was like a dream. I looked at the obstacle I had failed to overcome, but I knew I had overcome something far greater. My body wanted so badly to just fall over but I didn’t let it. I smiled proudly, there would be another day, it could have been so much worse. I looked towards home and began my walk.