The streets of Thailand are cold this time of night. Despite the humidity, there’s a chill in the air. Any warmth of the food trucks or street performers- or the sheer amount of bodies in the crowds- is desolate. It’s an hour past midnight, the moon full and its light spilling from the heavens to light the way. Trash cans lay knocked over on the street corners, and the mewling of cats occasionally breaks the silence.

You’ve been wandering these desolate streets for a while now, losing yourself in a maze of identical streets and throngs of people around every corner. At this point, you’ve given up on going home. Even as the crowds dispersed and you chose to take it slow, there was no one around to direct you. And just your luck, your phone was on 2% and your internet was on SOS mode. Basically unusable. You lean against the wall in a cold-looking alleyway, after scanning it over with your phone flashlight.

What breaks your train of thought is the panting of someone running down the city street. Her breaths are rapid, and her steps even more so. The cloth of her fabric rustles like autumn leaves, and her blonde hair bops around as she moves. She only slows when she reaches a small alleyway. Her eyes, deep and bright as sapphires shift around the area, and her lythe hands, with slightly beaten knuckles, grip the strap of her casual crossbody. When she slows, she almost staggers, catching her breath. Her eyes focus on nothing much at all, a baffled look on her face all the while.