She let the door of the tiny house slam behind her, as she ran outside. The tap-tap-tap of her small feet could be heard by the few neighborhood children that were playing outside in the pale light of the setting sun. The summer evening air warmed Catherine's face and she smiled. Jogging set her free from the small blue jail she had been confined to for three days straight. Her mother had cautioned her as she left, reminding her of her "condition"--Catherine payed no mind. Her "condition" was merely a word now. She had not had a scare since last year and she was determined not to let that one incident stop her from what she loved best. Running.

Running was her life and more. Catherine loved the wind in her hair and the sun on her face. She loved the simple pleasure it gave her. When nothing else could help her running did. Running was like a trusted friend.

Catherine broke into a sprint now. She sprinted right down 171st street and straight on to Maplewood Dr. This was her normal routine, down 171st, onto Maplewood, then a loop around the park and back home. Catherine started to feel dizzy. She swayed to the left a little but caught herself against a tall light poll. Panting she grabbed her medicine from her bag, popping two small reddish pills into her mouth.

She stood back up tall ready to continue but she found she couldn't and doubled over in pain. Cathrine sat down on the paved sidewalk. Her sides ached painfully bad and she found her vision had grown blurry, soon after she blacked out her body hitting the sidewalk with a solid thump. Though she wasn't aware of it, her "condition" ceased to be just a word. And her good friend running had made it so.