Adrenaline

Is this the right stop? It must be.

I sighed as I looked at the yellow taxi speeding away from the empty town. Everything was colorless; the  streets barren. The only thing that was remotely colored was the rainforest on the edge of the town. That was where I was going. I shouldered my bag and marched towards it.

I tramped on, through the forest, my shoes ridden with mud. Far above my head, birds were chirping contentedly. A shimmer of light caught my eye, and I continued on the track towards it. Soon after, I stopped at a glistening stream with a bridge hanging above it. It seemed straight out of a fairy-tale. 

I soon arrived on the other side of the forest, in a vast field. I ruffled through my bag for my cell phone. It took awhile, but my hand brushed against a cold surface, and I fished it out. It wasn’t a cell phone. It was just my wallet. I shrugged and pocketed it. I emptied my bag onto the soft grass, searching for my cell-phone. Nothing. I felt my knees buckle as the realisation hit me like a train.

My mind racing, I tried to retrace my steps. I found the memory at last, shrivelled up and hiding in the corners of my mind. I had mistaken my phone for my wallet. I had a habit of grabbing things even when I could only see them in my peripheral vision. I inhaled deeply. Panicking isn’t going to do me any  good.

I walked over to the edge of the field. I nearly jumped when I saw a taxi-stand, hidden behind a ruin of a stone wall. It was so desolate that I thought it was a mirage, or a hallucination. I walked over to it in a daze, and sat down on a rickety bench. I was so relieved I could slump over and fall asleep any moment.

I watched anxiously as twilight seeped through the sky. Stars had already started to pop up, and a cold wind blew through. All the relief I felt earlier was now countered with a hollow sense of overwhelming dread. Would I have to stay here until daybreak? Only heaven knows. 

It’s been 3 hours, I thought hopelessly. It was pitch black, all I had was a small torch that I left in my bag from the time I went camping. I watched as the small beam of light cut through the black. Not soon later, I started getting jumpy and anxious. I nearly leaped out of my skin when I saw a pair of headlights come up on the horizon. 

The car –a taxi, no doubt– stopped patiently in front of the stand. It took an enormous effort to stop my mouth from hanging agape. I slowly walked toward the cab and got in. The taxi driver smiled and commented on my disheveled appearance. I just smiled, and handed him the money. I told him my address and we sped off, away from this god-forsaken field. 

We soon arrived at my house, and he opened the door for me. I thanked him and stumbled toward the front door and unlocked. As soon as the door swung open, I was hit with a wall of heat. My roommate had already arrived. I dragged my feet up the stairs and opened the door to my room. I flopped down onto my bed. My eyes felt like 10-ton trucks. The feel of the blanket on my wind-bitten skin felt like heaven. What a wild day it had been.