Jogging in the Woods

Jogging in the woods in the early morning is a wonderful feeling. Especially in the summer when it is pleasantly chilly there. Above all, the wood is all yours at that time of the day. But the anecdote i am about to tell you made me think whether it is always good to be alone there.

I slept badly last night. As if i knew what the new day would bring. I woke up rather early and decided to go jogging and clear my head. It was a bit cold, but the sky looked promising. The day will be sunny. The wood was calm. A squirrel crossed my path. What a wonderful day this will be, i told myself.

Suddenly a doe with a fawn ran between the trees. I was delighted! I scared a Bambi and his mother, ha, ha, ha. This i took as a good sign. As something moved in the bushes i expected to see another Bambi left there in fear. Don’t worry, i thought, i won’t harm you. No, this was smaller. A rabbit, i thought. But the sight that followed i will remember as long as i live. It was not me that scared the animals, i understood in a split of a second.

A pair of black eyes stared at me from the bushes. It was a dwarf! Spitting image of those jolly bearded statues people use to decorate gardens. He even had a small bag on his back. This one was not laughing, though. No, my dear friends, he just stared at me. My legs felt heavy, i stopped for a second. But i was not able to turn my head away from those hypnotizing eyes.

Dwarf’s lips did not move, but i clearly heard a voice. A hissing broken falsetto cursed at me. My ears were flooded with such bad words i don’t even dare repeating. He ordered me to follow him to his cave. My legs were so weak, i could barely move. The voice shouted at me again. I tried to walk, but i lost the equilibrium and fell. Right into those black eyes.

As i came back to my senses i found myself lying on the forest path. Was it real that i saw? Or was i just too weak after last night and fainted while jogging? Not knowing the answer, i ran away in horror. A warm shower helped me to stop trembling and regain my composure.

I went to work hoping no one would notice how i felt.