Of June

3- Silhouette

Foul taste of dirt almost makes me vomit the moment I regain consciousness. I spit out the fine particles and sweep a wary gaze across my surrounding, wiping the side of my face covered in dirt as I slowly push my upper body up.

Immediately, I scramble up on feet.

Where am I now?

From what I can recall, the last three hours has already been nothing short of a roller coaster ride. I scan my vicinity for signs of humans, only to be greeted with nothing. Familiar rustling of leaves fill my ears and the natural whiff of greenery replenish my nose again, with the wilderness surrounding me like it's become my new home. Is it the same forest in which I discovered the portal? If that's the case, then it seemed like the people who created the machine clearly failed in their mission, because aren't portals supposed to convey you to a different place?

Maybe, I had to think of a destination in my mind to get transported. If I remember accurately, there weren't any buttons or key pad around the entry area, so you couldn't have inserted an input location of any sort either.

I tug down the hem of my skirt to smoothen the creases when a sudden gush of comforting wind starts blowing. This also makes me ponder about the weather in the forest, which is a lot different from the one in my own hometown, where this type of warm breeze only begins to be felt in late July to early August. Instead, it seems like summer has just begun to steadily elevate the temperature here.

Is it really the same jungle?

I'm about to embark on a yet another journey to find out when muffled noise of people from the opposite direction makes me spin around like a madman. I rush over to the bushes as fast as I can, rummaging through the branches with a limp leg and minimal  energy.

To my amazement, right before my view point is situated a large public park where a fair amount of people are spending their leisure time with or without family. Soon it dawns on me that the spot where I'm standing is actually an uncultivated, bushy and extended piece of land behind a public building.

Even so, the sight of human beings after so long overwhelms me with joy and provides me with a glimmer of hope. I look around for a quick survey, and that's when my gaze lands upon a certain person.

A guy in a slightly oversized sweater is settled down alone on the last bench of the park, several feet away from other people with a skateboard in his hands. I can't see his face clearly, but there is, for sure, a pair of earphones plugged into his ears. Something about this boy rings a bell. And something about my sight definitely tells me that there's a drinking water fountain inside the park, waiting for none other than me to quench the thirst of my poor dehydrated body.

With a feeling full of joys of spring, I promptly begin walking around the corners of the trimmed hedges in front of me so as to get to the entrance and head for the fountain. Apparently, because for anyone with a proper, functioning brain it'd be a supernatural sight to watch a grubby clothed girl magically materialize out of the leaves without any warning.

Just a few metres more, I repeat in my head over and over. Forget Disney, this long walk to the fountain feels like the most heartfelt, romantic one ever.

Alas, every good thing has to come to an end.

I'm only a few steps closer to my destination when a croaked, muffled sound of news reporter reaches my ears. Peeking through the branches, I find a person- his back facing towards me- sitting on a bench with a radio placed beside.

"June 1st, 2001, a car crash kills one and injures three of the passengers. The police are making a brief enquiry."

My mouth gapes open at the information, and I impulsively try to recall any car crash taking place anywhere near my - hold on- 2001?