Clea_gaultier_of_-_2020.09.10_115602273_hitchhi... Official

The heat shimmered off the asphalt in waves, blurring the horizon where the gray road met the pale, bleached sky. She stood by the rusted guardrail, the strap of a worn leather bag digging into her shoulder. In this stretch of nothingness, time didn't move in minutes; it moved in the distance between the rare, passing engines.

"How far are you headed?" the driver asked, eyes shielded by dark lenses. Clea_Gaultier_OF_-_2020.09.10_115602273_Hitchhi...

A distant hum eventually grew into a low rumble. A sun-faded sedan slowed, its tires crunching over the gravel of the shoulder. As the window rolled down, the cool blast of air conditioning escaped like a secret. The heat shimmered off the asphalt in waves,