The Truth Behind the Orange Sphinx

Maya hated running. But when you're fifteen and your mom signs you up for cross-country because it 'looks good on college applications,' you don't really get a choice. That's how she found herself at Cedar Ridge Park at 7 AM on a Saturday, her lungs burning like she'd swallowed fire.

She'd stopped to catch her breath near the old playground when she saw it: a sphinx statue in the middle of the woods. But not like, a cool ancient Egyptian sphinx. This thing looked like someone had sculpted it during a fever dream, with the body of a dog and the face of something that might've been human once, before it melted. Someone had spray-painted it bright orange, like absolutely neon orange, the color that belongs on traffic cones and nothing else.

'That's the weirdest thing I've ever seen,' said a voice behind her.

Maya jumped. It was Lucas from her English class, wearing shorts in weather that was definitely too cold for shorts, with his dog—a scruffy terrier mix that looked like it had seen some things.

'The orange sphinx,' Maya said. 'Yeah. I was just thinking that.'

'My brother painted it,' Lucas said, like this was normal information. 'Last summer. He was going through this whole artistic rebellion phase.'

The dog, whose name turned out to be Potato, immediately decided Maya was his new best friend and would not stop rubbing against her legs. Lucas didn't seem embarrassed about it, which was honestly refreshing. Most guys at their school would've been weird about their dog being so friendly with a random girl.

'So,' Maya said, 'why a sphinx with a dog body?'

'Said it represented the mystery of existence or something.' Lucas shrugged. 'I think he just really likes sphinxes and really likes dogs.'

Maya found herself laughing, and Lucas smiled, and suddenly running didn't seem so terrible. They ended up walking together, Potato leading the way like he owned the park. Lucas told her about his brother's art phase, and Maya told him about her mom's college application obsession. They talked about how everyone expected them to have everything figured out already, when most days they could barely decide what to eat for lunch.

The orange sphinx sat behind them, completely ridiculous and somehow perfect. Maya decided she might actually come back next Saturday. Not for the running—she still hated that—but because sometimes the weirdest things in life ended up being the best ones.