Read it in Embark Literary Journal
Bangkok’s torturous temperatures leave me craving
the return of the rainy season. The sun set four hours ago, yet the streets are
still radiating the day’s heat, feeding my headache and sapping my energy.
Motorcycles, tuk-tuks, and taxis speed by in streaks of light like time-lapse
photos. Finally the signal changes and the mob of pedestrians pushes forward
into the six lanes of traffic. No Russian roulette for me; my eyes are peeled.
“Watch those reckless motorcyclists,” I warn myself. Red, green—what do they
care about traffic-light colors?