She brings her hand to her forehead. Her mind is swimming. The earth is spinning. She closes her eyes for a moment, no - she screws her face up attempting to straighten everything out. Her breath is noticeably heavy, a slight layer of sweat settling on her bare skin. There's a faint sound of bass, rumbling through the ground from far away. It slithers up through her feet into her body, but she cannot work out which direction it's coming from. She stands still, holding her head. Voices whisper and laugh around her. They tell her she's pathetic and weak. They tell her she's done for. Out here, all alone.

Still, she cannot see. Attempting to open her eyes, hands pressed into her temples. Nothing is clear. The sun blares down around her. The earth dry and grass sharp beneath her feet. "Hello?" She's all alone. No memory of how she got there, no memory of how to get back. Where are they? A cicada starts to croak and sing close by. Her senses work to piece together more of a story. She notices the cracking of her dry tongue moving inside her rusty, corrugated mouth. The skin around her eyes screams as she squints against the light. Cheeks flushed, prickling and stinging. Sunburnt. Hands shield from the light but the rest of her body starts to sear. Burn. Ache. How did she get here?

Anxiety kicks in. Her breath is a wheeze and cough. The sound of music nearby is carried around the hills. Never quite in any direction. She closes her eyes again, sun splitting nails in her head. Her forehead cracking into pieces of broken ceramic. A heaviness in her head distracting her from any sense of direction. A thud and thumping throb that pushes her around. Too tired to think. Too exhausted to cry. She sits. Lies back. Lying on heated ground, grass tickling her skin. Front warmed by the sunlight blanketing the scene. She surrenders to the moment, surrenders to the situation. No clue where she is. No clue how long she'll be there for. No water. Not a soul in sight or sound.

Again, she tries to open her eyes. This time she's able to make out shades of colour and as her eyes adjust the clouds jump out at her. From where she's lying, she feels like she's under water. Looking at clouds from below an ocean. Below the surface. They hover and dance in the sky, changing colours and meaning. Sometimes they're light, sometimes they're heavy. She lies there, observing. Enjoying. Lost in the mysteries of life, completely forgetting how lost or desperate she was a moment ago. The clouds are calming, and make her want to fly. She closes her eyes, and wishes for a pair of wings. To have wings and fly through the sky so free like a fish in the sea. Fish can swim, birds fly, and we walk. Walking seems so hindered though. We're slow and inhibited by distance and forces. Belief.

She lies there, swimming in the sky. Skin slowly turning to a crisp, burnt red. And then, smiling she starts to laugh. Laughing, rolling around in the dirt. Laughing and laughing. Alone. Footsteps sound nearby, coming down the hill. She holds her breath with a gasp. Shocked at the entrance of the outside world into her dreamland. Her little moment of imagination. The steps become a running and they're running down the hill towards her.
"Hey! Hey! Thank god! We've been looking for you everywhere.. Shit, are you okay?!"

Looking up at them, they seem so tall. Looming over her. The world starts to spin again and she covers her eyes and face with her hands.
"I'm so dizzy!"

They help her up and give her water. It trickles into the cracks in her mouth, soothing her body and mind. Water calms her and the anxiety dissipates into something that never was. Still not quite able to look straight or catch eye contact, she looks to the sky.
"I couldn't find my way back, so I went for a swim." There is no water anywhere to be seen.

All together again, they head up the hill back towards the beating drums and music echoing around the valley. She continues to look to the sky as they help her walk, her feet carrying her towards safer ground - her mind carrying her to the stars.