A heavy beat in the background, suddenly everything stopped.

I heard purring in my ear and a little nibble on my cheek. I sat up quickly, what a mistake. My heart pounding it’s way what felt like out of my chest. Pain tearing through my eye sockets and head. The sensation of bongo drums being played loudly in my ears and against my head. My head felt like it was going to burst open. Sweat beading on my brow. My throat dry and my mouth gritty with dirt. Yuck. I peeled open my eyes, the light driving its brightness into my sight. I sat there in the brightly lit room trying to adjust myslef to my surroundings. Taking deep breaths of the thick air to calm my heighted senses. The smell of mud, sweat and sewer lingering in my nose. I held back the sensation to vomit. Getting a grip on my bodily functions, I looked over and saw a kitten near me grooming itself. It’s purring helped me slow my heart rate and beathing for the moment. Where was I? I slowly looked around at walls made of straw and mud. No glass on the windows, the door was a single pale white cotton fabric. I looked down at myself. I was still clothed except for a broken bra strap, missing shoes, missing underware and a scrape on my right arm. I didn’t feel the scrape until I saw it. The wound pounded with the bongo drums in my head. I was distracted from the pain with the thought of, “Missing underware?!” I quickly looked around the room. There was no one else in the room. “Did I have sex?” “Was I kidnapped?” “What the hell happened?” I told myself sex didn’t happen. But why was my underware missing? As for the other questions rushing through my head. I had no idea.

My thoughts were all a jumble. I needed to think straight. There were distant sounds of yelling, waves crashing and wind whipping around the room I was in. “Waves crashing? I wasn’t near the water,” I thought. I stood up rapidly but quickly returned to my inital position. The pain in my head, my arm and the nausea rushed back like customers rushing a store at a Black Friday Sale. Again, I composed myself and slowly stood up. I braced myself against the mud wall and stablize myself. I looked out the little window and saw the ocean, beautiful deep saphire blue. The air was cool against my face. I took a deep breath and my head cleared a little. Where was I?

I heard the yelling clearer now. “No! Es tu problema, idiota!”

California? I gently and slowly made my way to the door. Pushed aside the cotton fabric and looked out. It was painfully beautiful. So much sun made my head throb a few beats faster. I squinted in the light, looking at the source of the voices that were still screaming in Spanish. My presence paused their arguement and they both glanced my way. A sign behind them said Bienoviendo a Cancun! “Mexico...I was in Mexico.