Black Rock Dreams

The garden of Cass Emeritt was a mess, as she had been ill for a while. Her grass was stomach high, and she lacked the strength to sort it out.

Last summer Cass was seven stone lighter. She had regularly been in the gym, where she had developed strong muscles and her back and knee pain had gone. With less effort than ever, she had cut the lawn. Bagged up the grass and sat sipping an iced cordial while smiling at the fruit of her work.

"Cass, do you want another cordial with ice?" asked Emily.

"Yes please, I'll be coming in for dinner soon, so put it in my room. My salad is in the fridge, so put it next to my cordial, will you?"

"Sure, but don't get too worn out, your left ankle is badly swollen."

"I know, thanks Emily." Cass felt so weak and cut only a tiny square of grass a year later. Just enough to put out the garden table and chairs so she could enjoy creating art in the garden.

Plugging in the lawn mower, Cass hit a rock just past the square she had marked. When she reached down, her hand felt for the rock. It was black, and she lifted it up in the bright summer light at noon to examine it. Pieces of silver and cerulean glittered in it.

 "What a pretty rock you are. I wish you had come from outer space with a wonderful adventure to tell me. Oh well, I will cut this little bit of lawn ready for tomorrow. Not as good as last year's efforts. But better than January, when I couldn't get out of bed because of my swollen legs."

Cass stood up with a grunt of pain. Her left ankle was swollen, so standing on it hurt. After dinner, Cass rested on her bed watching her favourite series. She held the black stone and moved it in her hand until the glitter rubbed off. When she felt sleepy, she turned off her light and settled down. Cass moved her long blonde hair over her pillow, and the rock dust brushed on her.

Squirrels in the trees by her bungalow screamed at each other in a major argument. Cass was sad that they were hurting each other and wished they would stop. It went quiet, so Cass slept.

The next morning, Cass was on the hail-and-ride road, where she waited for the bus. She enjoyed holding the black rock because it was smooth and cool, so she held it in her coat pocket. When she hailed the single decker bus to stop, she realised her left foot was not hurting. Sitting on the narrow red bus, her knees didn't crack or ache.

Cass felt free by the lack of pain in her back and knees. She had been liberated from her own body. She felt rather emotional and put on her sunglasses to wipe away some tears. Cass looked out of the window to regain her composure.

For the first time in a year, Cass was not exhausted at the end of a trip to town.

Feeling happy her body had no pain, Cass went to her favourite day restaurant for lunch. As she passed the mirror shop, Cass stopped and took another look. Her large stomach was smaller and her hair thicker. Cass blinked and looked again at her reflection in case she had been dreaming. Smiling, she had lunch and walked to the bus stop.

At home, Cass looked in her mirror in her underwear.

Yes, her stomach was smaller than at lunchtime, and she had no swollen joints anywhere. Cass scratched her head and transferred the glitter of the black rock to her hair. Emily had been to Cass’s home and made Cass's salad and had gone again. Leaving Cass a note about what Emily had done.

She was a good housekeeper.

"Hey rock, I'm having my dinner now. Do you want some?" asked Cass, joking around. It was strange, because Cass felt super healthy. Like in her early twenties, that kind of healthy. They were the days when she either did lengths in the swimming baths or weight training in the fitness suite next to the swimming area. Before, they closed it and built a large shopping chain with loads of expensive apartments above it.

After dinner, Cass wanted to cut all the remaining lawn. Shocked at her own stamina, Cass was done in fifteen minutes. Grass bagged up and everything. She found she wasn't yawning and didn't feel the need to go to bed.

Cass put on her sandals and went on a walk. Due to her swollen ankles and knees, she had not been able to run for thirty odd years. She missed running. In her teens, she helped her friend Michelle train for the marathon. They ran around the entire outer path of Greenwich Park. Up a slope, past the Royal Observatory, and up and around. Running was much more fun than walking back then.

So Cass ran everywhere.

When Cass relived this memory, tears stung her eyes. A voice in her mind said, "Try and run, go on, go ahead."

Cass had not worn trainers for over thirty years, but she had a pair tucked in a shoe box somewhere in her wardrobe.

As she went through her sock bag, she put on blue and white ankle socks and the new trainers. Out of habit, she put the black rock in a jogging trouser pocket. Her phone went into the other pocket.

"I'm just going to walk around the block," Cass said to herself.

"Why?" Came the voice in her mind.

"Because I don't have the muscles from weight training to even try walking for that long before something hurts," Cass laughed.

"Run up your hallway first, then."

"Yeah, right," Cass laughed, but tried anyway. No pain in her damaged Achilles tendon caused by the accident. No cracks and crunches from her cracked kneecap from the accident. Where were the pain in her back and shoulder?  

"What the hell's going on?" Cass shouted.

There was a chuckle, and a voice in her head said, "Run and find out."

Cass found herself running back from the town centre. The same town centre she normally caught the bus to get to. The same route that caused her every pain to ache further was now a pleasure.

Sitting in the back garden doing a post-run stretch, Cass's heart pumped loudly in her chest. Not the aching, struggling heartbeat of previous years, but the heart of a runner. A heart loud and steady pushing blood through every part of her body. Cass looked down at tight, healthy legs and shook her head.

 “I don’t want to wake up from this dream.”

“Who says it’s a dream?” asked the voice and laughed at the joy Cass felt.

"Morning Cass, where are you going so early?" asked Emily, coming in to wash up and put the vacuum cleaner around the bungalow.

With the black rock in her running trousers, Cass waved good morning to Emily, "Just an early walk before breakfast."

"Cass it's six a.m., you usually don't get up until ten. Are you taking new supplements?"

"Something like that," Cass touched the black rock as she walked away from Emily smiling.

As she entered Jenny's corner shop after her run, Cass smiled at Jenny.

"Morning Cass, wow have you lost weight? What’s your secret? You look amazing.”

“Erm, morning Jenny, yes I think so. I've been walking around the block with an app step counter. It focused me on moving again after my health troubles."

"Yes, you have gone through a lot in recent years, so it's good to see you sorting yourself out."

Cass nodded and came home to weigh herself as she felt healthy. It was a strange feeling after four accidents and a cancer scare last month. Cass didn't feel frail, but she expected herself to still feel weak.

“Why? Would you like to feel weak instead?”

“Of course not, I’m just shocked at this amazing rapid change. It's like I've put on a new body that I never want to take off."

“Then enjoy it and stop looking for the negative, okay?”

"Er, sure," Cass said slowly and wondered who was actually talking to her.

She called for Emily, but Cass was alone in her bungalow and stood on the scales to weigh herself.

Cass burst into tears as she saw the result. She got off the scales, blew her nose, and wiped her eyes.

Cass drank a glass of water and returned to the scales. The results were the same. In four days, she had dropped to ten stone. That was more than ten stone loss, and Cass knew it wasn't her.

“Rock, is this amazing result you?”

There was silence, but the rock in her running trousers glowed.

“That’s a yes then?” she said.

“Give me more of your joy, run more and train more.” The excited voice blurted out.

“Hang on, is it me or are you changing colour rock?”

Cass held the rock in her hand to take a closer look at it, “The black is shrinking and you are going a beautiful sky blue.”

“Joy changes my colour and your joy is tasty, give me more.” said the little alien in her rock spaceship. 

“Okay, well none of my clothes fit me, so I will put on a wash load and leave Emily to hang them up to dry, as I will sell them on Ebay or Facebook marketplace. Time to get some new clothes, I think.”

 Cass felt a bit dizzy with happiness, but hailed a bus to Romford wearing a smart black wool knee length dress and knee high boots paired with a leather jacket sent by a catalogue for her.

The lady in the clothing shop complimented Cass on her trim toned figure, to which Cass felt unprepared. Sneers of "Goodness, she shouldn't wear that with such a huge stomach." had been pushed her way only a week earlier. So these compliments would take a while to get used to.

Feeling shocked, Cass went to her favourite day restaurant for a vanilla latte and decided on a skinny version. It tasted the same, and Emily had nagged her to make some changes to reduce her calorie intake.

"Hey rock, should I eat less to continue to get slimmer?” asked Cass in her thoughts while sipping her skinny vanilla latte.

"Only if it helps you feel joy, if not continue eating, I will deal with it. What's your dream?" Rock replied.

"To win the London marathon. I helped my friend train every year when we lived in the same area. When she moved, she stopped training and instead had a baby," Cass replied.

“Go train and see what you can do.”

"Really? Thanks rock, just one question: when will I wake up? Please don't wake me yet from this wonderful dream." Cass sighed as she was so content and happy.

While sipping her hot frothy drink, Cass entered the London Marathon and received her runner number. Their request is to print the number, on something laminated that the runner could wear on the day of the race.

“Hi Michelle, long time no speak. Er yes, it's been thirty five years, I know, but I have just entered the London Marathon, and my number is 32683. I will have Cass Emeritt on my stomach, so please cheer for me wherever you are. Loads of Love Cass. "Cass clicked send via direct message on Facebook to her friend Michelle, with whom she had lost touch.

A day later, Michelle's message was short, but full of joy. “Happy to Cass, come over for dinner before you get into intense training, as I am happy to give you some training tips. All those years ago, you were brilliant with my marathon training. I'm a mum of four these days, but what wonderful laughs we used to have. Here's my number, so ring me and we'll set up a good dinner day, okay? Hugs Michelle.”

With all her old clothes sold and her wardrobe full of size ten clothes, Cass was actually glowing. Her skin was softer, and her hair was thick and soft. Gleaming like spun gold in the sun.

After a happy phone call with Michelle, Cass chose a dress from her wardrobe ready for dinner. It was easy to travel long distances again. No expensive taxi rides where she arrived distressed by bumpy roads, causing her body more pain. Instead, she hummed the whole trip to Michelle's with her bag of wine and fruit platter to share.

Michelle liked fruit only for dessert and did not drink alcohol either. Contrary to Cass until recently.

“Emily throw out anything unhealthy, but leave my herb cupboard alone.”

“Are you sure Cass? Your favourite crisps, the Chai latte, and all the sweets for supper you normally have?”

“Emily, I am training for the London marathon, so it’s healthy with an energy kick I am after.”

"That's dangerous Cass, there's no way you're healthy enough to do that this year. You will have a tendon snap or strain something.”

"I get what you are saying and thank you for caring, but that's what I'm doing. I only live once and want to try.”

“You will do it Cass,” said the rock in her mind. 

“It's me who will bring you back to health afterwards.But fine, I will support you in every way I can, Cass. Actually, you have lost a ton of weight lately. Was it you that I saw running from Romford up the main road when I was on the bus to yours yesterday?"

“What time was that Emily?”

"About midday, I think when I put on a washing load for you, I was going to hang it up before you got back, so you could put it away later."

“Yes, that was likely me, as I usually run to Romford to pick up a little shopping and then run back. The other night, I went to a lovely dinner at my old friend Michelle's, and she gave me a book and diary about marathon training. Building stamina, avoiding bloating and dehydration, and understanding where my personal peak and best times will be, including how to achieve them. She was always intelligent and organised. I always thought she should be a personal trainer. When I told her, she laughed her wonderful laugh, but said she didn't have time these days.”

Emily agreed to clear out what food Cass didn't want. Emily took most of it home with her, and took some of them to the nearby special adults' college for their snack times. They were grateful to receive a random gift of crisps, baked treats and pre-made coffee drinks.

Cass trained all day everyday with her plan stuck on her hallway wall. Every minute of time was carefully taken into account, including art time, poetry and marathon training. Gone were insomnia, stomach pain and joint pain. Replaced with snoring and dreams at night, and leg muscles that Cass never thought she would see again.

With the success of her online art shop, Cass had a custom holder with a neck chain for her rock, where the rock was always on her skin even when she ran.

Six months later, Cass ran the London Marathon with a sponsor and charity for overweight people. On that day of the London Marathon, she had three words on her t-shirt, which she had designed and printed. Great advertising for her art shop, sponsor and the special charity she wanted to help.

Cass won the London Marathon and became a personal trainer, along with her good friend Michelle, who was also a busy mum. Thanks to their friendship, Michelle also had more income to support her growing family of nieces and nephews. Cass claimed her life back and helped others do the same.

The black and cerulean rock remained around her neck at all times and turned into a big sapphire over the years.