The Heart of the Dragon

Chapter 20

As she followed Hayden through the jungle path, Angie began to hear the sound of she assumed to be a waterfall. She turned at to be right when they stopped at a scene that took her breath away. In front of them was a tall and beautiful waterfall that flowed down into a pool with water so clear she could see the bottom. 

"Wow," she breathed with amazement, "This is so beautiful."

"Take all the time you need," Hayden offered, "I won't look, I promise."

She snickered when he added- "I'll be nearby, just call my name when you're ready."

She nodded as he headed off. Now alone, Angie took one last look at the pool before she took off her shoes and swam right into the warm water. The temperature was so perfect as she swam towards the deep end and looked down to see the bottom. It appeared closer to her eyes, but she knew it was way deeper. She has never swum in anything like this before, and she felt that she didn't want to leave as she kept swimming, wondering what Hayden was doing at the moment.

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Not far from the waterfall, Hayden sat on top of a tree with his back against the trunk as he gazed at a vintage compass in his hands. It may be rusty, but it still worked well. But using it wasn't the reason he had it, it was more of a reminder of the two things he had lost.

"Hey," a familiar voice called as he turned to see Candace flying near him as she took a seat on the thick branch in front of him.

"What are you doing up here?" she asked him.

"Giving Angie some privacy," he smirked.

"Oh, right."

She then noticed the compass in his hands.

"You still have that huh?" she examined.

"I'm never getting rid of it."

She quickly noticed that his face turned to sadness as she placed her hand on his that wasn't holding the compass.

"You know they're always looking out for you right?" she mentioned in a calm tone.

"I just wish they were here," he sighed sadly, "They would have loved this place."

"My dad would have too. But we all know life can be cruel sometimes, we just gotta move on and make the best of it."

He didn't say anything as he just stared at the compass.

"You know-" she added, "If they were here, I bet they would have approved of Angie."

"What?" he lifted his head.

She gave a small giggle, "I mean, it's pretty obvious that you have some feelings for her."

"We're just friends," he assured.

"I'm just saying, go for it if you like, I'm not gonna stop you."

"Can we not talk about this?" he frowned.

"Whatever," she snickered.

________

As soon as she was done, Angie put her wet clothes back on as she sat against a boulder near the water as she stretched out her body while letting her bones crack. Now that she was clean, she felt much better as she gazed at the waterfall that flowed in front of her, admiring its beauty.

"Hayden!" she called out, remembering what she had to do once she was done.

As she waited, she glanced down at her compass bracelet, already thinking about her parents who probably still had no idea that she was missing. But if they did somehow, she knew they were worried sick about her.