Outlines

The tops of the trees look like ink blots against the night sky. Like the Rorschach Test in a background of black. 

I don’t remember what kind of psychological test it is or what the results are meant for – I remember the butterfly, bat shaped blots – menacing – otherworldly – as if the writing of the aliens from the movie Arrival.

I ran on the treadmill today. The window reflected my ghostly image back. I could see only the tops of the India ink soaked trees. 

Midway through the run, the outlines of leaves began to show. The sky changed to a colour resembling a washed blue. 

Running a tad impatiently as I tend to feel on the treadmill, I played with the elevation and speed, mindful to keep the session light. Eventually, I decided to run a bit longer than prescribed to round off to the nearest kilometre.

As I finished, soaked in sweat, the colours of the trees, the boundary wall, the garden come into the light.