3 miles

Nadia removed her tanned sandals. The strap broke. Two years of wearing them – today was the last day. She sighed. She didn’t bother trying to fix them – knew they were on the way out.

Some mushrooms and tomatoes for a casserole. The gas hob alight. Xiao Mei would be coming for dinner after her afternoon patient clinic. Nadia had asked if she wanted to live together next year – but Xiao Mei didn’t like the idea. To be honest, I’m thinking about moving in with some classmates.

That was fine. They were almost a generation apart. Nadia had been married and divorced. Xiao Mei was just finishing university. Worlds apart.

Had Katherine been right? Should she have taken the job as a model? She hated modelling more than anything. Like childhood all over again.

But Katherine was progressing in life – a husband and baby. Nadia was once on that track.

She felt hot and red. The room was stuffy. Turned off the hob and put the vegetables aside. A run was the answer. She put on her sneakers – stumbling over the laces.

Leaving the flat. She ran around the bend. The cold air. Overcast sky.

Honestly, what is Katherine’s big idea? Asking me to come to Paris. I’m trying my best…

1 mile. 2 miles. 3 miles. It wasn’t going away…

She stopped to look over a small bridge. Puffed out. She wanted to scream. She drew in a breath and then shouted, “Fuck you!”

It was drowned out by the rush of traffic.

“Nadia?” A voice came from behind her. It was Xiao Mei. She was walking to her house from the clinic. Nadia, red in the face.