The late afternoon sun shines strongly, casting long shadows on the ground. I search through the crowd, looking for my friends amid the mass of people standing, staring towards the stage. Where I am is still some way from the band currently playing, with only the tallest able to get a decent view. So everyone is mostly stood like near-inanimate zombies, their only movements are the odd step to the side, or a tilting of their heads as they seek that perfect view of a few guys playing guitars and drums.
I roll my eyes and keep pushing and shoving my way through the unwashed masses of the stoned, drunk and just plain ignorant. After a few moments my manners desert me as no-one can hear my little pleases and thank yous anyway - I simply turn into an atom bouncing around in the brownian movement of the crowd. My patience is wearing thin, my friends have clearly been moved by the sea of people or have sought a better view of their own accord, with little thought for my finding them again. It's hot and it's smelly and I'm starting to feel claustrophobic. The odd hand on my ass and even one one my breast really aren't improving the situation or my temper.
I turn and glare at the first guy who gropes me, eventually though I just shrug to myself and try and get to space and freedom as soon as possible. I give up on finding my friends, change my direction and head away from the stage. I pick up my pace as much as possible, now as ignorant as those about me, as I shove and, at one point, even kick a guy's shin to get to open air. I figure I'll meet up with people at the car later if I don't happen to see them before.
A few ass grabs and a lil spilled beer later I'm finally free. I can actually move more than half an inch without being near suffocated by a guy's beer gut or having smoke blown in my face. It feels so great to be in the open that I don't even care that I'm going to have to spend most of the evening alone.
There's a slight mound to the rear of the field we're in. I head for it as it's filled only by people sat on blankets and laying back on the grass - a more chilled out area. Much more *my* kind of place. It's well-populated, but in a much more reasonable way than the bloodclot of humanity I've just escaped from.
As I walk I pull my hair free of its band and check out the beer stains on my top. They're pretty bad and the smell and dampness isn't that great next to my skin. 'What the hell', I think, and stop to pull it off, tying it around my waist, over the knee-length skirt I have on. I mean, my bra's a fairly respectable covering, considering some of the things I've seen people wearing so far today. It's hardly skimpy and thankfully it's still pretty new and respectable. I check everything's securely in place, as it were, and smile to myself, thinking how daring this is for me.
But, feeling a lil conspicuous despite my new found bravado, and noticing the looks I'm getting from a few of the guys hanging around where I'm stood, I move on again until I get to the mound and sit my ass down. Finally I can now relax and spread out a little and maybe even try and enjoy this band that's playing. That's kinda the point of the whole endeavor after all, right?
But the band suck. Well they don't suck exactly, but how many dirgey guitar bands can the world contain before the people rise up? I mean really. I toy with the idea that perhaps my friends ditched me on purpose to avoid my ranting, which would have surely accompanied this soundtrack if I'd still been with them. What the hell, it's nice and sunny still and I'm laid on almost, nearly fresh grass. Ish. I close my eyes and become a little oasis of me as people pass my prone form, now and then casting their shadows over me as I drift to the flickering underneath my eyelids.
The band finish and another takes their place. The sun drops that extra little bit, leaving the sky a few shades darker than before. Leaning up and looking around I notice that the mound has become a little more filled, as people's energies start to peter out and they follow my example - just chilling out at the back. Not too far away a fire's been lit and is growing strongly as a group of guys use whatever they can find to fuel it. I watch the flames and it makes me realize that the dipping of the sun has taken some of the heat from the air.
I get up and wander over to the fire, though not close enough to attract any unwelcome attention from the clearly over-imbibed guys who are apparently in control of it. Right now the last thing I want is some drunken guy staring at my tits and trying to paw me. But the fire's nice, warming my skin just a little and the flames are so much better to stare at than four guys standing on a stage. All in all this is a pretty good situation I decide, as I cast my gaze around idly.
Then I see her. She's stood closer to the fire than I, on the opposite side. Her pale skin is lit by the flickering red and yellow flames as she dances alone. Tawny hair tumbles past her cheeks and to her shoulders, thick and full, slowly drifting as she moves to the beat. A lithe body under a loose flowing dress sways, casting thin shadows in the oncoming night. She speaks softly of sensuality, of carefree affection and endless freedoms. I stare.
There's a phrase which states that you should dance like no-one's watching. Or something like that - 'sing like everyone's deaf' maybe? I don't know, but this girl embodies the ideal of that mantra. I watch her, rapt in my attention. The blaring music reduced to second or third place in my sensory input. I feel slightly awkward and a little confused as I watch this free spirited girl. I've never really felt attraction to any girl previously and I'm blushing even as I stand alone and unobserved. But I can't tear my eyes away from her. I've never felt such sensual energy emanate from one person. Keep all your sexy outfits and perversions, this girl has more pure, raw sexuality than anything I've ever encountered.
Eventually the motion of her movement and a random toss of her head bring her eyes to mine over the fire. We lock gazes. I feel she can read my desire through the flames. I blush stronger and look away as she smiles - a warm and welcoming, honest and open gesture. My eyes seek refuge on the ground amid the discarded rubbish and unwanted litter.