WAKE up!

Jess was so tired, she wondered if she was seeing things

 cowboy strolled through the supermarket.Jess blinked heavy eyelids as she clung onto her basket… You’re seeing things. You really need to eat something. Your blood sugar’s too low. When did you last hydrate?

It was early, far too early… 5am… a strange slice of time between night and sunrise.

She blinked again at the young cowboy. He wore a huge white Stetson, blue jeans and a flapping long leather topcoat. His boots shed dust as if he’d just stepped off the range.

She glanced about. Was there a promotion in store somewhere? Had he offered to work nights? Perhaps a tiny stand stood close by offering something rugged from the USA at half price? It all seemed rather unlikely.

The cowboy held a wire shopping basket too. In it lay a single packet of English breakfast tea.

Jess skirted to her right, nearly bumping into a man wearing a high-vis jacket. His basket brimmed with ready meals. He looked Jess up and down as if he thought she was a mirage as well.

‘Sorry!’ she said, rushing past. She needed to circle the soup aisle to get ahead of the cowboy. She had to head him off at the pass.

Her sensible white shoes squeaked as she hurtled along. Ignoring a stack of cereal, she turned left. In the distance, the freezers stood like a range of mountain peaks.