Chapter 1: Flat Tire

I had waited no more than twenty minutes, but my patience gradually started to evaporate. The sun was setting. I shivered. It was getting cold. I looked again at my little dark-blue Mazda. It was stuck into the ditch. The right wing was crumpled and the tire was flat.

The mere sight of it made me even angrier. I had bought this car just a month ago. I tried to calm myself down. Luckily, I wasn't hurt. Just my left ankle was throbbing, though almost imperceptibly. I leant over and touched it. It wasn't swollen. I looked at the road again. The only hope now. The battery of my mobile had died before the accident.

As I was walking back and forth, I spotted lights in the distance. It looked like a house. Half a mile, no more. There was a dirt road leading to it. I looked down at my feet. Why did I put on these high heels? They are so useless in such occasion. I could not help noticing that my stockings were laddered. Just a little on my right knee, and unbearably on my left calf. I shook my head, sighed, and after taking my handbag, and locking the car, I set off. The darkness became impenetrable. There were no stars on the sky so I had to watch my steps closely. A couple of times I wandered out of the way. Tiredness overwhelmed me. Gradually I become aware that the strap of the left shoe was digging into my ankle. It felt swollen and sore. I unbuckled the strap. The soreness diminished but I couldn't walk that way so I buckled it again. I limped along trying not to put much weight on my left foot. Just a sprain.

Maybe when the car stopped abruptly into the ditch I had turned my ankle. This doesn't matter now. The lights were getting closer. Two or three hundred meters. Sure. I quickened my pace. Possibly, the worst decision I had made recently. I tripped on a small twig. My left ankle turned and I fell on the ground. Sharp pain shot through my entire leg. My scream pierced the night.