warmth

It was very warm outside that day. Her skin felt sticky with sweat and her mouth was dry. There were people everywhere, children and adults buying ice-cream, enjoying the sun and even looking for spots to sit in the shade. It must have been at least 26 degrees, but there was no wind at all, which made it all seem even hotter.

She wanted to buy a drink but only had a couple of coins in her little leather purse. Her throat hurt from the lack of water and she felt a little dizzy. "If only I were by the beach or a nice swimming pool", Anna thought to herself.

It was probably a bit dangerous to go on without drinking anything, she had stupidly decided to wear jeans that morning and the dizzy feeling got worse by the second. With no money to buy anything she decided to find a bathroom and drink some water from the tap. She finally found one in a fast-food restaurant, after having walked around in the heat for a good twenty minutes.

When she got to there, as usual, there was a long queue outside the women's bathroom. First in line was a little girl and her mother. The little girl looked extremely tired and her nose had turned red from the sun. The mother was fat and sweaty, but held onto the little girls hand and lovingly looked at her daughter's tired face and kissed her little red nose.

There was a group of 3 older girls, probably around fourteen or so, dressed in very short shorts and revealing summer tops. They laughed and talked publicly about their lives but Anna ignored them and concentrated on not passing out as the dizziness got even worse. There were some other women there as well, but Anna ignored their presence too.

Then she met her.