Counterclockwise

The sun is upside down.

Or is it?

It is a rather peculiar sight for some people. But for them, it is a completely normal, everyday sight. When everything is already upside down, the definition of said word for them is (of course) different.

Ume sits with her knees bent, her eyes are completely set on such a magnificent view: the sun leaving its work hours for the day and setting himself into a deep, deep slumber. After the longest day of the year, the sun clearly deserves its leave.

It is slowly moving upwards, tainting the sky vermilion beneath it.

In this side of the world—even though no residents in this small town knows exactly where they are, somehow the sun rises downwards and sets upwards. There is this urban legend circulating amongst the community that once, there was this man who accidently (yes, you read that correctly) flipped this town upside down by offering a God an upside down fish dish at a summer festival. The God went into a rage upon the visible fish skin and curses the town with a sun that orbits the other way around. What an urban legend.

Ume smiles to herself and stands up. Brushing off her aching heels and twitching shoulders, she then walks slowly towards her final destination of her summer trip: The Town Plaza.

This town of her objective, no one knows exactly where that is. Even more unusual, nobody knows how this town looks like. There is no single person on earth has ever been into said town. It's a mystery, yet Ume believes that such conundrum would be a very breathtaking place embraced by mother nature: naturally enchanting, secluded, a jewel in discover. Perfect for a summer stop, right?

A pair of curious eyes wanders around, savoring wonderful view of a hill clothed by grass, decorated by rocks. Bamboos and another skyscraping trees that she can't totally name are towering over her small figure. Summer winds are brushing her raven locks gently. Her ears take on a faint sound of a flowing water, indicating a spring nearby. Unconsciously, her steps guide her to said water.

And what meets her vision is rather... unbelievable. How bizarre, she mutters to herself.

What do you think she sees?

In front of her flows a very, very clear spring water through a river. Rocks were sprawled across the river and fishes are dancing in them.

What is so peculiar, you think?

The water flows backwards. Backwards. Or perhaps, upwards. She can see it clearly with her own pupils, that a nearby waterfall is... flowing upwards towards its water source. And the fishes... The Kois, and Goldfishes (she convinces herself that they are, indeed, Kois and Goldfishes) are pulling out some Michael Jackson stuffs because they are swimming backwards!

How is this even explainable? I thought the sun setting upwards is already as mystifying as that urban legend, she thinks. Well, The God referred in that questionable urban legend definitely has a few screw loose.

Nothing, nothing can be more absurd than this... right?

Or so she thinks.

She decides to just snaps out of it and continues her journey. Maybe that is just a fragment of her imagination. Or maybe—Ume assumes, The God once goes into a human school to learn and gets a solid twenty points on physics and fails. Then, he proceeds to make sure that law of physics are banished from this side of the earth. Or perhaps, This Mighty Powerful God Who Hates Upside Down Fish has a terrible break up history with another God that creates physics.

Yes, that totally makes sense. Maybe He got cheated on by that Physic God. This kind of thing is very common in Godly world, right? Right?

Ume stands still for a good two minutes, convincing herself and her countless doubts that this town she is visiting is just another regular inhabited town in her destination list. Her worn out camel carrier has seen enough different cultures and architectures, various skin tones of various people, numerous money currencies and numerous ways to spend them, but none of those can explain what she is seeing as now.

Such a peculiarly scenic sight to see. How uncanny that The God who is behind all of these masterpieces is such a frivolous figure to begin with.

There is no time to lose. I have to move forward to the plaza before it gets dark, Ume whispered under her breath. Soon after, she starts jogging her way throughout a very bristly pavement to north.

It is—apparently, her lucky day.

She arrives in less than ten minutes of jogging at a colossal gate painted purple. Lights are surrounding the gate and the walls around it, emitting a very blinding warm toned glow reflected across the walls. Sounds of fireworks and cheers can be heard as clear as spring water, dragonflies soar across the sky above her dark hair.

Enchanted by the dragonflies, she starts to lift her dirty high boots off the ground and heads off towards the gate. But, before she can sees what's behind the gate, a guard with ivory hair came into her line of sight. He towers over her for a good two heads or so.

"Uh... good evening?" Ume says to him, trying to be as civil as possible.

The guard seems to be observing her for a solid minute before replying with a distant expression, "Uoy era ohw?"

HAH!? Ume screamed—internally.

"I'm sorry, w-what?"

"Ereh uoy sgnirb tahw?" sneers the guard, looking at her with more venom in his pupils.

"Apologize, I really don't understand your language and I am not from here. Can you speak English?"

"Tsiruot a rof ecalp on si siht, uoy llet tsum I," he clicks his tongue before continuing. "Niaga thgilyad eht ees reven lliw... ereh emac ohw enoyna."

He manages to move aside and looks away. Ume takes it as a sign that she is allowed to proceed further into the gate. She smiles to him before expressing a genuine gratitude to the ivory haired guy and sprints inside.

What she misses behind her back was the guard moonwalking back to his original post.

This is it, she thinks to herself, excited. I will be the first one who post a publication about this interesting town for sure! Can't imagine the money I will make when they rea-

Her thoughts stop in just a mater of seconds. She freezes on her spot, eyes shrinking on scenery that lies ahead. Her shoulder drops, words being taken away from her tongue.

She could not believe herself. Her emerald eyes are moving back and forth from a person to another. What she doesn't expect is to have everyone—literally everyone's eyes on her. Every single person in front of her is looking directly at her. Yet, Ume can't decide between looking at the abundant amount of people, walking backwards, circling a gargantuan burning statue, or to look at a lofty waterfall in the background which has its bloody water flowing upwards. But, no matter how hard she tries to utter any words of greeting for her watchers, nothing manages to get out of her pierced lips.

This is not right. Something about this just... feels off. Should I run?

Ume snaps out of her thoughts when a middle aged woman in floral scarlet gown approaches her (moonwalking, of course) with torch in her hands. The woman in red is all smiley and wrinkly.

"Oot ydal lufituaeb a hcus. Ereh evah ew luos evarb a tahw."

Ume keeps thinking, she feels like she can understand the words somehow. Her brain went into a spree of Chloe Ting's work out routine trying to decipher those words.

"Oot uoy ot remmus Yppah. Niap tuohtiw... eid uoy erus ekam lliw ew. Emit fo dog ythgim ruo ot decifircas uoy evah s'tel, neht!"

Shit, it dawns on her.

She should've known.

She should've fled.

They are talking backwards.