THE LONELY DESERT

By Tessa Harvey


    Shayla smiled, overjoyed. Freedom! Her car flew along the desert road, the red dust finding all the cracks and crevices in the vehicle and sifting inside. Unperturbed, she lowered her window and her hair flew free, streaming red-gold around her face. More dust flew in joyously and Shayla lowered her speed as an incline drew closer. She moved over to the left, allowing a wide safety margin for any speeding road train.
    For a long while, the road had been following a flat landscape. The young woman decided to pull up and take a look at the view afforded by this elevation. Several hundred metres away a black vehicle was parked and Shayla felt a frisson of inexplicable unease.
    Shayla got out of her car. It was really an off-road vehicle but not too high off the ground for her to struggle. Reaching for her phone, the woman took some photos of the surrounding rocks and stunted trees and bushes. Pressing for a close-up, she took a clear shot of the black vehicle below, then another of the horizon where dark clouds were massing. A chill wind began to blow.
    Quickly moving into the driver's seat, she sent the shots to a friend, put on her headphones, and her music and sang along to the country lyrics. Flying down the hill, she sought to recapture the former holiday mood and sped past the other vehicle. It did not pull out to follow, so Shayla relaxed, chiding herself for foolish fancies.

 

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