I pushed harder to catch up, stretching and releasing my muscles, elongating my stride to match his as the cool air rushed past. It was September and the weather was already beginning to change. Air rushed into my lungs as I stretched farther, running all out, stretching my body as I easily dodged trees rushing by. Then in a few more strides, I overtook Dakota.
He tried to catch up when I blew past, elongating his stride, but his attempts were futile, and we crossed into Wyoming before we knew it. I would have loved to have kept going... to just run until I could run no more. Running like this was freeing, liberating. I felt one with nature and with the Great Spirit as never before. It was then that I understood my people's fascination with and respect for nature. We were a part of it, and it was a part of us.
"Do you want to go all the way to Canada? It's okay with me if you want to run away. I'll go with you," Dakota joked, enjoying the run as much as me.
