A Woman Running Along The Rillito Wash Who Looks Strikingly Like Cynthia

Typically, Cynthia visits me in my dreams.  As I once shared with Stephanie, Cynthia's sister, I usually see Cynthia in my dreams between 0400 – 0500 a.m. – in the dream closest to the beginning of my wake cycle. 

While my dogs Rocket, Newman and I walked this morning, I noticed a woman running yet I noticed something more – from a distance the woman running looked like Cynthia.

I pulled the leashes on Rocket and Newman and asked them to “wait.”  Then, practically glaring at this woman, I stood and watched her run.

Dressed in clothing similar to Cynthia’s style of work out clothes, I watched as long blonde hair waved with each fast step.   As the runner approached, I discerned thick eyebrows, an olive-light brown skin tone and other physical features on her face almost too similar to Cynthia.  I noticed the level of concentration worn by this runner - similar to Cynthia's facial expression as she would have concentrated as she read, listened to a voicemail or wrote a message on paper. 

As she passed us, I turned my head and followed her with my eyes until I saw only

Image from "Caring For Cynthia"

creosote and mesquite trees. 

Letting go in that brief moment – I was watching Cynthia.

Standing there, a part of me wanted to yell, “hey where did you go…come back.” 

I let another moment pass and then I said, “let’s go” to the dogs and continued our walk.  On our way home, I sorted out what I thought seeing a woman running along the wash, who looks strikingly like Cynthia, meant to me.

My mind manufactured stories about her.  I imagined she was “working out” and because it was 0530 a.m. - she’s running before work.  I imagined what she was like, her work and much more.

Once the dogs and I reached our driveway, my manufacturing mind settled and I noticed myself discarding those stories.   While my stories provide a level of comfort to make sense of this encounter, if I wanted to, I could simply say this:  Cynthia just visited me and she’s doing well.  She’s doing so well, in fact, she has the stamina to run.

It shouldn’t surprise me that I “encountered” Cynthia running the wash.  Cynthia and I walked that section of the wash intermittently for years.  We’d spend those walks sorting aloud the days at our workplaces and events/feelings/emotions happening in our lives.

I am looking forward to where and when Cynthia presences herself, again.   Until then I can rely on my dreams to see her now and again.