Reversal (Camren/Norminah)

Chapter 27: A Family Never Forgotten

"This symbol..." Lauren looked up at Mike.

"That symbol was what you drew, every time you were given the chance." He nodded. "These are drawings you did as a child, sent to me to keep safe."

As Lauren set them shakily down on the desk once more, Mike reached for another.

"You didn't stop there. There are images on some of these of things you had never seen before. You drew the sun, the moon, and the stars. You drew animals such as cats and dogs, and even some birds and insects. She told me that you had a fascination with butterflies, and sometimes even the occasional dragonfly."

Lauren felt her chest begin to ache. Tears were inevitable, and she was doing everything she could to hold them back.

"Clara told me that she could have watched you sketch for hours." Mike smiled. "She loved watching you, and in the moments when she wasn't teaching you to control your mutation, she would give you time to make art."

"Did she ever tell you... what this symbol here meant?" Lauren asked, holding up a page that was home to a single set of triangles. "Because its true, it's been in my head for years now, and I have no idea why."

"She could never figure it out either." Mike shrugged. "It's not like she could break off from her duties and do research on it, and anything that I could find would never make it to her." He sighed. "Clara was taking a massive risk just sending me the letters she did."

Lauren set the papers down. "There's no question now." She muttered. "I'll go back there, and I'll find her. I'll bring her back here so you can be a family again, I promise." The ache in the young girl's chest was now turning to fire. "I'll destroy that place, and the people that made it the way it is. I'll free everyone, and I'll show them what kind of life they can live outside those walls. The same kind of life that I found."

Mike smiled again. "Lauren... you should know that in one of her letters, Clara described to me just how much she cared about you. How much she loved you."

Lauren looked up with a start, the adrenaline in her gut subsiding just a fraction. "She did?"

"She did." Mike looked down at the drawings. "She considered you not only the most important child in that place, but her child. She told me that in some other pathway of time, perhaps she would have been lucky enough for you to be her daughter, and forever a part of our family."

Lauren felt tears begin to well in her eyes again. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to have Camila appear next to her; she wanted the girl's affectionate gaze and tight grip. She wanted to hear that infectious voice telling her not to cry. Badly.

"Take these." Mike pushed the drawings towards her, seemingly unaware of her bubbling emotions. "Keep them in a safe place; lock them back into your mind, and when the time is right, use them to find the answers you seek."

"I will." Lauren stood up and took the papers. "I promise you I won't fail."

"I believe you." The man stood up with her. "And Lauren?"

"Yes?"

"That girl you had with you yesterday. Camila, was it?"

"Yes."

"If you don't mind me asking, who is Camila to you?"

"Camila..." Lauren looked down at her hands for a moment. "She's a lot of things. She's... special."

"I see." Mike locked Lauren into a fierce bought of eye contact. "There is something about that girl that has intrigued me." He started. "My judge of character is far inferior to that of my wife's, but I am certain that Camila is an important piece to this entire endeavour."