She held on to her daddies hand as they made their way from where their car was parked to the Main Street. Her daddy seemed all excited for what they were going to see. He made it known that one day he would like to try and do the same too.
She couldn’t understand what her daddy’e excitement was all about, but then she was quite little, and at her age you just go with the flow. So her daddy was excited and so was she.
As they made their way to the Main Street she could see quite a large crowd had gathered, cheering and clapping and holding banners. She could see a bunch of people running on the road, well if you could call it running. Many were slowly trudging along, some slowly walking, others trying to muster all that was left in them and jog, but all looked quite tired. There were people of all ages (except for little ones like her), of all genders and shapes and sizes. They were all running , walking or trying to run.
She was quite fascinated by this sight. Who were these people? What were they running from? What’s with the number that they were wearing across their chest? She was fascinated by the colourful clothes that they wore, especially their shoes. She had never seen such colourful shoes before.
All this seemed so fascinating and new to her. She looked upon these people with wide eyes and couldn’t help but get caught up in all cheering.
She asked her daddy who were these people and what were they doing? Why were they all running and looked so tired?
He daddy explained that they all were running a marathon, a 42km race. He proudly told her that next year he would be running here too.
His excitement was contagious and it caught on to her. Now she too wanted run marathon. Well maybe not next year with her daddy, but someday soon she would run one, though she didn’t quite really understand what a marathon was other than a bunch of people running with numbers pinned to their chest.
She saw a group of children who were handing glasses filled with water to these runners, who took the glass without stopping and threw it bin.
She watched these children with fascination. She so wanted to do what they were doing, be a part of their excitement. So she rushed to them, eagerly grabbing the paper cup filled with water, all excited to be part of the fun.
She held out the glass of water in her outstretched hand hoping that someone would take it. She was so excited that she almost spilt the water all over herself.
Now since she was last child in line and her hands were little, even when they were outstretched, very few runners paid her any attention or tried to take the paper cup from her hand. But this didn’t deter her, this didn’t dampen her excitement. The water did, but her precious little heart was all beating with excitement as she watched the runners go by as she offered them a little respite from the arduous task they set upon themselves.
He had been running for hours by now, if not for hours, it definitely felt like that. And though he had been on his feet for a long, long time, he felt he was no close to the finish line than when he started. Or this was just his mind playing tricks on him.
Like all runners he cursed himself for putting his body through what he felt was worst than torture (again another one of his exaggeration). He promised himself never again, the last time he undertaken this Herculean mission, but yet he found himself at a start of yet another starting line putting his body through the wringer.
They say when the mind believes the body will follows, but in his case this wasn’t true. He tried hard to will himself to move on, telling himself he didn’t come this far just to give up, but body seen respond like Christ before his crucifixion asking why had he forsaken them, what had done to him, how had they offended him for him to put them through all of us this.
Despite it all, he somehow found it in him to push on, one foot before another, one feet at a time, just to keep moving, cause there was no turning back.
His throat began to feel parched and there was no water in his bottle. This was probably the last straw that would break the camel’s back. And then he saw her, the little excited kid with this paper cup in her hand with the brightest smile.
Other runners passed by her , failed to notice her, and took the water from other children, but this didn’t dampen her spirt. There was something precious about her.
He stopped near her and took the cup from her hand and eagerly drank the water. Her face lit up as she handed him the cup and then another and yet another. She was so excited to help.
As he gulped the water he felt a surge an energy course through his vein as if there was something in the water that revived his drooping spirit.
She held out her hand to give him a hi five with the most biggest and brightest smile. He in turn returned the hi five and felt a renewed surge of energy.
Weariness replaced by determination to finish strongly. He was re-energised and ready to complete what he had set out to do.
He looked at her once again and smiled his brightest smile, mouthing a thank you, and off he went onwards towards the finish line.
She was all excited and happy with what had happened and ran happily to her daddy to tell him that but he already knew as he saw all what had happened. He took her in his arms and hugged her tight. He was so proud of his daughter.
That day a little paper cup not just came to a rescue of a weary soul but also filled the heart of a precious little soul with so much happiness. There was certainly something magical in that water that the she held with love.
