Encountering the Cardiff Ninjah

I was going for a run around Roath Park when a man pulled out in front of me and then stopped to catch his breath at a bench. I noticed things were weird straight away because despite the fact he'd just stopped, as soon as I passed him he started running again. I wondered if he wanted to race? So I started running faster because... well... I'm Elyse. And if some stranger decides to start an impromptu race with me I feel obliged to show him what a mistake he's made.

But then of course I remembered that I'm been sitting on my ass drinking beer for the past 4 months and that I can't run for shit anymore. So I had to stop... and this guy caught up to me.

He was immediately striking. Tall, black with bleached white dread locks and a big gold tooth.

"It's SO nice to see a girl so tall. I hate being tall y'know? Like everything bad happens because you're tall. Like...if you're mad and yelling at someone, suddenly it becomes "Oh! You're bullying me, stop bullying me" and it's like no, I'm not bullying you, I'm just angry".

It was a bit. Whoa.

So I told him the truth.

"I dunno. I really like being tall. It means that people remember me and I've always found sport and stuff pretty easy"

He stopped dead and was like... "Y'know? I need to think like THAT more often. Thank you... THANK YOU"

It was a bit intense, but I didn't get the vibe that he was crazy. Just...a bit strange, and a bit lonely. So we continued walking and talking. He told me about how he's training for a marathon, how he envisioned his training the same way he pictured an atom...so tiny and yet potentially so powerful. He told me he was a mix between a shadow and a ninja (but specifically with a 'H' on the end) and that running was like therapy to him. Not once did I feel threatened or intimidated. Then he started saying that if he just quit smoking he could one day be a professional athlete.

"So why don't you just quit smoking?"

"What?"

He stared at me blankly as though I was speaking anther language

"Why don't you just quit smoking"

He stopped dead and then started tearing up. He took off his glove and shook my hand.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. I feel like I was destined to meet you today. You've said two huge things that I really needed to hear". He shook my hand, told me his name was Aldrich, then told me he had to go, he had a life to turn around, and he ran off into the distance.

So I went to work that afternoon and told some people about it and apparently I'd had an encounter with 'a local nutter' the infamous Cardiff Ninjah. He's on the internet and everything!

Well renown for playing the bins on main street like drums he's constantly seen running around Cardiff and having random existential conversations with strangers.

http://www.ilovecf.com/news/109/top_5_cardiff_queen_street_legends/

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