Light Throughout The Night Chapter 6: Opposing Emotions
Posted:
2023-02-05 At:
5:30 am:
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Chapter 6 Opposing Emotions
After Beckie’s visit, Glow took a couple days to think about all the things she said. Over the years, Glow developed a very high regard for her friends opinion.
Glow already felt a void in her soul. The natural competitive spirit she was born with needed releasing. Glow decided to train as if she was going to compete.
Her current morning routine involves stretching and yoga. Every morning for the last four years, she woke with the birds, threw a pot of coffee over the fire and began stretching. Flexibility is one of her greatest strengths.
Even with her improved health, Glow wasn’t in the type of shape she felt was necessary to compete. She adjusted her daily habits and exercises, stepping up her routine substantially.
Before breakfast Glow gathered twice as much firewood as she did in the past. She spent the next hour chopping firewood, strengthening muscles and increasing stamina.
From there, Glow ran sprints, running across the field as fast as possible, as many times as possible. By the time Glow finished, she was dripping in sweat, out of breath and her legs felt like led.
After running sprints, she walked down to the river to cool off in the water. As soon as her body allowed, Glow began swimming upstream against the current until she was too weak to drive her arms forward or kick her legs. Even then, she still pushed herself to keep swimming.
While living on the street, Glow pushed herself every night to find a place to sleep. Her legs were just as heavy, just as weak. However, she couldn’t stop walking. She had to keep going until she found a place to sleep.
She thought about those nights while swimming. Those thoughts motivated her to keep swimming well past the point of exhaustion.
When Glow finished swimming, she cooked breakfast. Her morning exercises were now taking much longer. The squirrels waited, sitting by the table until Glow arrived. Then, they all ate breakfast together.
It was almost as if the squirrels knew Glow was doing what came natural to her. Glow was preparing to compete, just like the squirrels prepared for winter, collecting as many acorns as possible every fall.
After breakfast Glow did exercises she learnt during the days she played softball. Finding ways to do those exercises without any exercise equipment, wasn’t always easy. Just like Glow did when she set up her tent, she used ingenuity.
Glow used jugs of water as weights. Weights allowed her to do shoulder presses, curls and butterflies. She found a low hanging branch to do pullups. She did sets of pushups, sit-ups, crunches, and leg raises. Glow did aerobic exercises, including calf and knee raises. To strengthen her back, Glow touched her toes, repeatedly, in sets.
Her exercise routine was designed for endurance, strength, and flexibility. She didn’t want to limit her flexibility by building to much muscle mass.
Glow varied the ways she did specific exercises. A few days a week, instead of sprinting, she jogged around the field, improving her endurance and strengthening different leg muscles. Other days, she ran in place for the same reason, also ensuring she avoided overdoing exercises focused towards specific leg muscles.
Glow spread out her exercises throughout the whole day. She did sets of exercises until exhaustion set in. Then, she took a break. As soon as her body recuperated, she began exercising again. She felt exercising throughout the whole day was the best way to stretch her muscles, while still strengthening them and improving stamina.
Within months, Glow began seeing progress. She felt much stronger and faster.
Sometimes at night before going to bed, Glow watched videos of her mom wrestling and episodes of G.L.O.W. Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling. The next morning, she went outside to practice the wrestling moves she watched in the videos.
Her mom was very talented and athletic. Many of the moves were difficult to execute. Glow didn’t have the training, technique or knowhow. Yet, she possessed the desire to learn and determination.
Regardless, sometimes, even after practicing for hours, she still couldn’t perform them with the same precision as her mom. Her mom executed the moves with a smoothness and flow she couldn’t duplicate. She wasn’t sure if anyone could duplicate her mom’s style.
Glow also practiced moves performed during episodes of G.L.O.W. Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling. Just like the moves her mom performed, she wasn’t able to emulate them with the same dazzle or charisma as the G.L.O.W. wrestlers.
Glow kept practicing. Eventually, she discovered different ways to perform them with her own style and flair.
Glow found a soft patch of grass. She ran across the grass patch, stopped on a dime, pretend to bounce off the ropes, changed directions, transitioning into a series of cartwheels before flinging herself to the ground.
While lying on the ground she imagined another wrestler pinning her. She kicked out. Then slung herself to her feet in one swoop.
Sometimes Glow pretended an audience was watching. She pointed her finger at her imaginary opponent, playing to the audience, “You can’t pin Glow!”
At night she dreamt about the competitions, imagining herself climbing over sand mounds, trying to fend off the other ladies.
She envisioned herself in the Final Battle, using all her strength and energy, battling with the crowd cheering and her mom watching from above.
Glow was becoming infatuated with the idea of competing. During past years, she thought about everything she could possibly think about.
Glow still carried plenty of anger within her soul. Even with all the effort Glow instilled into thinking about things other than her past, a day didn’t go by without something reminding her of her past. Memories of abuse and the harsh realities of street life don’t go away.
Competing could help her focus on something different. The competitions might help Glow release some of her inner anger.
After months of training, Glow decided to see the sports for herself. She yearned to experience the same feelings her mom experienced wrestling in front of an audience.
At the same time, Glow was emotionally distraught at the thought of leaving the squirrels and the field. Before leaving, Glow drove into town to drop the hens off at a local farm.
She also bought two huge bags of peanuts for the squirrels. Between the Oak Tree and Walnut Tree, the squirrels weren’t lacking food. Nevertheless, leaving them extra food eased the pain she was feeling at the thought of leaving them.
Glow purchased two automatic feeders. When Glow arrived back at the field, she removed the fencing and netting surrounding her garden to build an enclosure for the feeders. She filled the feeders with peanuts. Then, built the enclosure, adding a small opening to each side only large enough for the squirrels to enter and exit. The feeders would release peanuts every morning for months.
The day Glow left, it was with a heavy heart. She left all her belongings in her tent just as they were. Her tent was slightly faded. Nevertheless, it didn’t have any leaks or holes. Her truck fared just as well. She only drove it a few times during past years. It still ran the same as the first day she arrived.
Glow left the truck in the field and started walking. In typical Glow fashion, the only thing she took with her was a small duffle bag.
Inside the duffle bag she packed a few personal care items and a few articles of clothing. She also packed the DVD with her mom's wrestling matches, the G.L.O.W. Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling DVD’s, and the DVD player Beckie gave her.
That was all she needed. Those were the things she enjoyed.
As Glow entered the forest at the beginning of the dirt road, she turned towards her tent. She wanted to take one last look at the place she’s been living for the past four and a half years, the field where her previously dismal life turned decent.
Glow wasn’t positive she was going to stay away to compete. That didn’t matter. She couldn’t stand the thought of leaving. She couldn’t look longer than a second before her eyes filled with tears. She immediately turned her head.
Keywords: Light Throughout The Night, Chapter 6 Opposing Emotions, Glow, Competitive Spirit, Training, Exercise, Book, Fiction, Ingenuity, G.L.O.W. Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling, Practice, Desire, Determination, Aerobic Exercises, Conditioning, Stamina, LTTN
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