I wiped the sweat from my face. It's way too hot today. We walked the whole day without rest. We haven't found water but we did find berries. It was almost dusk.
"I'm way too tired!"
"I'm tired too but have a long way to go."
I looked around and saw something in the distance.
"I think I see water!"
"Where?" She asked, looking around frantically.
"Follow me."
I walked toward it.
"Finally! We-"
I shushed her as I heard something.
"I don't think they went this way."
"Probably not but we have orders to check anyway."
I looked around to see if we could climb the trees. Damn it! They don't have enough branches to climb. I grabbed Celine's hand and ran towards the water. It was a lake. I removed my bag and hid it near the roots of the trees. I told her to hold her breath. We got in without making much noise. I hope so.
"What was that?"
"What was what?"
"I heard something."
"There's nothing here."
"You're probably right."
"Of course I am."
We stayed in for a minute or so. I looked around and saw Celine with her eyes closed. I grabbed her and swam up. We got out of the water. I laid her on the ground and gave her chest compressions, trying to get the water out of her lungs.
"1... 2... 3...4-"
She coughed out the water.
"You're okay."
"Thanks," she said, still coughing.
She got up after a while.
"Oh great! Now we're wet! We don't have a change of clothes. We're gonna catch a cold."
"We could do something..."
"What?"
I let out a nervous chuckle.
Our clothes were laid on wood around a fire. We sat next to each other with the sheet covering us. It was so awkward. We were trying not to look at each other.
"Shall we play two truths and a lie? It's too quiet..."
"Sure. Do you mind if I start?
"Go ahead."
"I've broken my foot playing football. I got a teacher fired. I love pumpkins."
"The teacher one."
"No," she giggled. "The pumpkin one was a lie."
"Okay. I had a crush on someone but dated their twin. I've never been to the beach. I don't like dogs."
"The crush thing."
"Nope."
"There's no way."
"I had a crush on someone but I didn't know they had a twin. I had confessed to the twin thinking they were my crush. Turns out the twin had a crush on me. We dated for a week before I found out. I broke up with them immediately.
"Wow. That's crazy," she said, laughing. "Then the beach one's a lie."
"It's not."
"You've never been to the beach before?"
"No. I wish I could. I want to hear the sound of the waves, feel the breeze and the sand, collect seashells."
"Don't worry. When we get out of here you'll be able to go."
I nodded my head knowing it's not possible.
"My turn!"
Time went by very quickly. We spent hours playing and talking.
I woke up with the sunlight hitting my face through the leaves. My neck felt sore. I looked up and realized that I had slept leaning on Celine. I quickly moved away before quickly realizing that I was half-naked under the sheets. I looked away and wrapped her in the sheet and got up and got dressed. I woke her up and told her to get dressed. I heated the water from the lake and in the meantime searched for fruits. I collected a lot. We finally had a nice breakfast after 4 days. After eating I went back to fill the can with berries while Celine was filling the bottles with water. We had a lot of energy after proper rest and nutrition. We walked without stopping.
"Why don't we race? Here to that tree over there? Winner will be crowned the best."
"Okay."
"Ready, set, go!"
We ran side by side. She was gaining speed. So I ran faster and got in front of her, preventing her from passing me.
"Hey! That's not fair!"
I won.
"You cheated!"
"Sorry not sorry, Cel. I like to win."
"Hmph!"
"Okay. Let's have a rematch. Here to that rock."
"Okay! Ready, set, go!"
"I won again. And this time I didn't cheat. I'm the best."
"Sure."
We continued walking. We talked a lot. I don't think I've ever talked to someone so much. And I don't think I've laughed with someone this much. Night fell and we went back to our routine of taking turns. This was our routine for a couple days. We woke up, walked the whole day, and rested at night. We would talk to each other the whole day. I don't even remember what we talked about. Sometimes it was nonsense and sometimes it was deep stuff.
We were really exhausted as water was running low. I set up a fire.
"Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"
"Go on."
"What was your childhood like?"
"It was okay. My mom passed away when I was 3. I grew up with my father, brother and grandmother. She also passed away when I was 15."
"My condolences."
"It's okay. How was your childhood?"
"Well I guess it was nice. I was adopted when I was 6 or 7. They gave me more than I could've asked for. I'm very grateful for them."
"Is that why you are contemplating going back though you don't like this life?"
"How did you know I was thinking of going back?" she asked, quite shocked.
"I guessed."
"There's no way..." she dragged in disbelief.
"Seriously. I guessed based on your personality. I've noticed that you're the kind of person to put others in front of yourself."
She just nodded.
"You know, my parents were the only ones willing to adopt me. I guess I was too much of a brat."
"That's probably not true. You're a very nice and fun person."
She smiled sadly.
"Um... How... You know what, nevermind."
We stayed silent for a while.
It was really cold today. I saw Celine rubbing her arms together. I got up and placed the sheet over her. I was about to walk away but she grabbed my arm.
"Sit with me. It's too cold to sit without a blanket."
"Okay."
We sat next to each other with the sheet around us. It was still a bit cold. I saw Cel shivering a little. I moved closer and put my arms around her.
"Does that feel better?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
I don't know for how long we were in that position. We were just enjoying the silence.
I woke up feeling really warm. I opened my eyes and saw Celine sleeping with her head on my neck. I just placed my head on hers and drifted to sleep again.
To be continued.
Thank you for reading.