Running through the park was my favorite part of the daily routine. The fresh air, the green scenery, the peace away from the city streets. I always felt content breezing by the trees and ponds. Until that chilling day when my routine jog turned into something more ominous.
It started with a prickling sense of being watched. I glanced around but saw only a few squirrels scurrying up trees. Shaking it off, I continued on the path circling the pond up ahead. That’s when I spotted a raven perched on a bench, staring intently at me. Strange, since birds normally scatter at human approach. I felt a distinct intelligence behind its gaze.
As I rounded the pond, a deer emerged from the bushes to stand motionless, observing me with focused eyes. Alarm bells went off in my mind – animals don’t track human movements like that. But before I could react, both the raven and deer darted back into hiding.
Thoroughly unnerved, I couldn’t shake the thought that some malevolent presence was surveilling me through these animals. My fears seemed confirmed when I turned to exit the park and glimpsed a fox peeking out from foliage right at me. Its eyes held the same disturbing cognizance as the others.
I rushed to my car, skin crawling from the encounters with creatures behaving too aware. As I sped away, a sensation deep in my gut told me someone had been spying through their eyes, though I couldn’t fathom why. Now my beloved routine runs in the park became tainted by the feeling that just beyond the trees, an unsettling intelligence watched my every move through its animal vessels. The peaceful haven I treasured turned into a prison of paranoia.
Somehow I knew my watcher wasn’t finished toying with me yet. But I decided that if they wanted to observe me, I would put on a show they’d never forget. The next day, I steeled myself and returned to the park. As I locked eyes with the raven, deer, and fox, I did something unanticipated: I began to laugh.
Suddenly, the animals started laughing too, their voices echoing human laughter eerily.
Morning Run