Marinette's POV:

          Marinette hears the others make fun of her, but she does not care. She has no idea that one boy believes in her or that he seeks to help her.  She just keeps running.

          "Marinette's Flashback..."       

               Marinette is fourteen years old and blows out the candles on her cake as she makes a wish.  She gets up early the next day to go to the beach for a swim. Later, she gasps when she sees a dead man on the shore. She is too afraid to tell anyone, so she runs away.

           She is on the run now out of fear.

     " End of Flashback..."

        Marinette screams as she runs towards the woods once more. She can not seem to get away from the nightmares. She wishes she could as she tries so hard to run from her troubles. 

            Luka's  POV:

           Luka hears the girl's screams and feels sorry for her. He stands up and says, "Well, if none of you are going to do something to help her, then I will."

        He walks away before anyone can stop him.  He enters the same area where he saw her run off too.  He sure hopes to speak to her soon.

        "Hey, Miss, are you alright?"  Luka asks.

      His question falls on deaf ears as the girl does not hear him.  He can see now why the girl does not stop.  He can tell she is terrified.  The question is why?

               Narrator's POV:

              The others shake their heads in disapproval when Luka goes after the girl. They think it strange he should bother with such a strange person.  Yet, none of them stop to think that maybe he has the right idea.  It is not like anyone has given it much thought about why she runs.

            "Can you believe him?" Chole asks.

          "He is my brother and once he puts his mind to something he usually does it," Juleka states.

           "Yes, but she is a peculiar girl," Adrien points out.

             "I agree with you," Alya says.

             "Yes, she is at that dudes and dudettes,"  Nino remarks.

                "Maybe she is just misunderstood," Rose blurts out.

                  The others shake their head at Rose's remark.  None of them think the running chick can be misunderstood.  If anything they think it is nuts.  They wish the girl would leave town or at least stop running.  

                    Marinette's POV:

                       Marinette thinks I am eighteen and I still can not outrun it.  She wishes she could go back in time and erase the memory from her head.  How can she?   

                       "No one cares anyway, so why should I?"  She asks herself as she rushes through the woods to the area past it. She knows it must look foolish to behave this way.  Yet, she believes it is the only thing she can do.  She is too scared to stop now.  If she does what will become of everyone else?  She must think of the others and not ruin their lives.

                    She runs faster than she has in years.  This must be the result of always being on the run.

                      Luka's  POV:

                        Luka does not tell her to slow down. No, he picks up the pace and starts to run as well.   He catches up to her an hour later.  He can not believe how fast she is for a girl.

                     "Miss, you alright?"  Luka asks.  He feels out of breath but tries hard not to show it.

                  Marinette's  POV:

              Marinette turns around at the sound of the voice. She looks up in dismay when she sees him.     She frowns, but does not stop.  She has many more miles left to go.

             "What do you want?"  She asks. She does not expect an answer from him. 

                "I am Luka," He says.

                "Marinette, so what do you want?" She asks with a scowl.

                     Luka's  POV:

                    "Nice to meet, you Marinette," Luka grins.

                      Luka continues to jog at a nice pace to keep up with her.  He can tell she seems torn somehow as if she holds a heavy burden on her shoulders.  He wishes he knew what it is that bothers her.  He believes she is around his age, but is unsure how close to nineteen she might be right now.

                     "I am nineteen," Luka offers as if this will somehow snap her out of it.

                    "So, I am eighteen, what of it?" Marinette blurts out.

                     "Why do you run?"  Luka asks as if it is the simplest thing to answer.

                     Marinette's POV:

                          "I believe that is none of your business," Marinette retorts.

                           She does not look at him again as she continues on her journey.  She has taken the same daily ever since that fateful day four years ago. She dares not tell him a stranger what is on her mind. She has never told anyone, so why should he expect more from her?

                          "You know you can not run from your troubles, forever," Luka calls out.

                     Luka's  POV:                                      

                       Luka calls, "You know you can not run from your troubles forever."

                        He can tell he must have hit a sore note for her somewhere when he hears her gasp.   He smiles glad to have some knowledge of what disturbs her.

                     "You do not know me, so I suggest you keep it this way," Marinette replies.

                      "It is alright, Marinette, I will not bite," Luka responds.

                        Luka sees her shake her head at him as she runs into a building.  He runs inside after her.  He hears the rain start up and smirks.  At least for now, she can not insist he leave as the weather is not right.

                      Find out more in Chapter 3

                      bye- bye little owlets!

                    _Summer out!

Edits 5-25-2024