Tailwind

Gou was hot. The summer sun at midday was practically oppressive, beading sweat against her brow and heating her exposed skin to an uncomfortable level. Wiping at the sweat dripping down the back of her neck, she looked down at her watch. The minute hand had barely moved past the black seven at the bottom of the face. She gave a quiet sigh and let her hand fall to her side. Somewhere in the distance, cicadas hummed. It had already been over half an hour since the posted time for the next bus, and the bus still hadn't come. She watched with distant eyes as storm clouds built colossal white towers on the horizon; the empty fields of swaying rice fields and the slope of nearby mountains forcing her to accept the reality of her unfortunate situation.

She was completely stranded in the middle of nowhere.

And she had no idea what to do.

It was easy to just shift the blame off to something else. Blame the bad bus schedule. Blame the stupid crowds in town that shuffled her on the wrong bus. Blame the cellphone companies for not putting cell towers out in the middle of nowhere just in case stupid girls like her got lost. But when it came down to it, it was her fault. She had been distracted reading something off her cellphone when she had gotten on the bus after shopping in town. She hadn't realized just how tired she really was until she managed to secure a seat in the back by a window. She fell asleep relatively quickly and the next thing she knew, she was waking up to the bus bouncing along a deserted two-lane highway in the middle of nowhere. She had panicked and darted up to the front to talk to the bus driver, who could only give half-hearted sympathies and a recommendation to catch the returning bus back into town. With the reassurance that the bus would come relatively quickly, Gou was left standing at a lonely, run-down bus stop in the middle of nowhere, watching the bus disappear down the empty two-lane street with a sinking feeling.

Half an hour later, she was hardly feeling anything anymore, aside from the oppressive heat that scorched the pavement beneath her feet. Wiping at her brow again, she swallowed humid air down her parched throat, really wishing she had thought about buying a bottle of water at the vending machine at the last bus stop she was at. She stared down at the cute strappy high-heels she had chosen to wear that day, watching as the line of sunlight inched toward her pink-painted toenails with every passing minute. She had spent a little more time than usual picking out her outfit for the day. She remembered smiling as she laid out the flowery mini-skirt and the cream colored loose-fitting top that morning, thinking maybe it would be her day to finally find a boyfriend. The line of sunlight inched over her toes. She took a step back into the shade. Now that cute outfit was clinging uncomfortably to her sweaty skin, providing little to no protection against the hot sun. She was only grateful for what little shade the bus stop had.

Her purse felt heavy on her shoulder and the single bag she had received from shopping felt like a deadweight in her hands. It was just a cute little flower hair accessory she thought might look good with her new kimono for the upcoming festival and a single pair of chopsticks she had intended to give to Rin for his birthday, but the tiny bag felt like a million pounds under the hot summer sun. She blinked heavily as she looked out across the distant green fields again. The storm clouds in the distance looked a little bigger than before, but that might have just been wishful thinking.

She shifted slightly, feeling a little faint. When her vision blurred slightly, she sunk to the hot concrete floor with a heavy slump. Sitting in the shade, she leaned her head back with her eyes closed and focused on breathing. The air was heavy with humidity and felt thick going into her lungs. She was so hot. There was absolutely no relief out in the middle of nowhere. She had no idea when she would be able to make it back home, or even how she was going to get home. A panicked feeling of helplessness bubbled in her chest, but she kept it in. Panicking was only going to make the situation worse.