Innocence Lost

This was the first time I had passed on this route. Jogging had long been my favorite pastime and changing routes every three to four months helped to ease the boredom of   passing through the sparse terrain of southern Barbados, plus this was a lot easier on my knees being less rugged and stony.
  I kept up an even pace, allowing myself enough time to reach the beautiful shoreline and return long before sunset. There were hardly any other runners on the trail much less any number of other females, which was fine with me, I had the place basically to myself.
    I reached the shore and stood there, breathless; unsure of whether it was due to my bout of exercise or the beauty I was beholding. Clear turquoise waters, white sand beaches, balmy breezes, the sound of surf meeting sand   and the smell of salt filled my senses and mesmerized me.
    The loud sound of gunshots catapulted me back into reality. My heart raced as I my eyes searched frantically for its source, simultaneously dropping to the sand in an effort to hide myself from the unseen threat that had so rudely interrupted my reverie.Again a loud outburst of gunfire, so odd and misplaced against the overwhelming beauty that surrounded me. Death in a place like this, on a day like this? Surely this was the ultimate irony; I had come here to escape the harsh realities of city life and now here in my paradise right in my very presence, her sanctity was being torn from her, her innocence violated by these monsters yet unrevealed.