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Emily was always late. She couldn’t help it. She tried waking up earlier, skipping meals, packing her bag the night before, laying out tomorrow’s clothes, getting angry at herself until she cried. Every day she resolved to be on time. Every day she was consistently late. Tardiness was in her blood.

One snowy day, she was running late for the bus but only by a few minutes. She charged out of her apartment with her bag and ran. Halfway to the bus stop she realized she hadn’t locked the front door. She didn’t even remember if it was closed. Frustration welled up in her stomach. She bellowed through gritted teeth.

But a sudden calm overtook her. She pushed all thought of her apartment away and kept running.

Down the hill she ran, practically leaping. On one landing, a mess of things sprang out from her bag and into the snow. She didn’t stop. She bounded down the hill.

Several yards from the stop, she heard the familiar engine roar of the bus. It ran perpendicular to the street she was on, so she usually saw its brief profile in the distance as it passed. But she knew she could make it today.

Then her shoe stuck on a hidden branch. Down she went. The sensation of falling made her heart skip a beat. Emily, bag, and shoe flew in different directions toward the ground. Her face plunged into freezing snow.

As if on hot coals, she bounced back up and ran. Bag and shoe vanished from her mind. Her legs felt like windmills. Her shoeless foot didn’t feel cold. She hovered an inch off the ground. The bus profile appeared. She arrived at the corner as it drove away.

She planted her feet and yelled, “SSTOPP!” The voice was not her own. It echoed as if bouncing between mountains. Birds fled. Snow whirled upward. The bus stopped so abruptly that it may as well have hit a wall. Then all was silent.

Emily walked to the bus, completely covered in snow. She climbed aboard. Everyone stared. She sat down calmly. After another moment, the bus growled to life and moved. She placed her forehead onto the back of the seat in front of her and closed her eyes.

She saw circles leave her body, grow smaller, and disappear from view. She seemed to be leaving the Earth.

Note: The artwork icon that appears is "Penglai" by Cable Griffiths.