15 hours on a bus. You don't even have a seat. There's so many people packed on the bus, and you are in much closer proximity to strangers than you feel comfortable with.
You have always hated the smell of sweat, yet there it is. No matter which way you direct your nostrils, the smell will find them. Is it better to crouch down near someones arse? Or to have your face stuffed into someones armpit? You can't decide.
Worse than the human sardine can, even worse than the smell, is the loneliness. Everyone else has a travel companion. Lovers, friends, families. Yu have noone. Noone to laugh at the locals with you. Noone to make the smell bearable with hunmour. Noone.
The realisation that you are alone suddenly makes you feel vulnerable. Did he just grab your bum? You panic, and you struggle for breath. Everyone looks, but noone looks concerned.
'I'll be waiting for you at the other end,' he had promised on the phone. Suddenly the smell becomes funny, and you crack a smile. Only 15 hours to go.
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