[2021]
"Callie!" the woman screamed at the top of her lungs. "Get your ass here! We're gonna be late! It's a long drive!"
Shauna took her time checking her bag one last time as she waited for her daughter to get ready. Her brand new personal laptop was all packed, along with the bookmarks sent by her publishing company that she was compelled to sign to be given away later and the poster containing all the covers of her published book collaged on a single board that she'll put in a standee to be displayed.
Shauna Sadecki was invited, or rather paid, to participate in the annual book fair festival held in New York, where hundreds of published authors attend as they promote their works. She never liked going to any book expo and rarely even agrees to have book signings whenever her previous works get published since she's always getting asked about things that are unrelated to her works, personal questions that she doesn't want to answer. But Shauna was offered a good deal she could use in the future, so she agreed to do it just this time.
Of course, she's going to need some assistance, and all she could think of was her daughter, even though Callie's demands were too high in exchange for her service. Aside from not attending school for two consecutive days, the teen girl wanted a one-free pass from lecturing about whatever future trouble she'll get herself into. Shauna accepted her daughter's demand, but she doesn't have any plans to meet them once it happens.
"It's seven in the morning, Mom. Can you chill?" said Callie, slowly approaching Shauna.
Callie was in her usual striped knit sweater paired with denim pants and didn't bother dolling up, thinking that the people going to those kinds of events were a bunch of nerds or middle-aged lonely people who think that the best thing happening in every year of their lives is the annual book fair. She was only coming because of the deal. Not because of the event itself.
"In case you forgot, leaving at 6:30 was part of our deal, and we're already thirty minutes behind. Do you want to call this off?" Shauna said, putting in an effort to provoke her daughter.
Callie rolled her eyes and picked up the bag containing Shauna's stuff, then faked a smile as she responded. "I wouldn't want to miss this for the world."
With that, Shauna smiled triumphantly.
The drive from New Jersey to New York was really long, and the traffic didn't help them at all. They arrived at the location where the book fair is being held almost at lunchtime and even had a hard time finding a spot to park her car. Callie demanded to have lunch first before getting inside, and Shauna was also starving, so she simply agreed with her daughter's suggestion. Besides, she was told she could start after lunch. She then received a text from Jeff asking how the trip was, so she just replied that they arrived safely in New York.
Just after they made their order, Shauna heard her phone's notification sound, indicating she had just received another message. The woman smiled upon reading the short yet warm text that brought genuine feelings to her heart.
'Good luck with the book fair.'
"What are you smiling about?" Callie asked, looking at her mother suspiciously.
"Am I not allowed to smile? Do you hate me so much that it bothers you when I'm happy?" Shauna replied.
"I find it weird and alarming. I feel like you're up to no good."
Shauna rolled her eyes at her daughter, annoyed by Callie's remarks. She didn't reply to the teen after that and just typed her response to the message. 'Thanks. Having a good time lately?'
The food finally arrived shortly, and they started to dig in as they only had a few minutes left to finish them and should rush inside the book fair after. They ordered something easy to eat-just a BLT sandwich-enough to satisfy their hungry stomach.
'I'm currently in an art class at this age. What do you think?'
Shauna shook her head, didn't bother replying to the text after that, and just finished her meal.
What was waiting for them at the book fair was somehow overwhelming for Callie. There were lots of people inside, lined up in front of different authors, holding their books, and patiently waiting for their turn to get theirs signed. And since it was the last day of the fair, people swarmed up to not let their last chance of meeting some of their favorite authors go to waste.
Shauna's station was located not too far from the middle. Her books were already assembled on a table by the staff of her publishing company, who had probably been taking care of her station since morning. Callie raised her eyebrow upon seeing a line form just in front of her mother's table-people looking at them with excitement visible on their faces. She never pictured her mother having readers, let alone having them wait for Shauna just to see her in person.
They sat down in the seats prepared for them. Shauna started apologizing to the people for being late and waiting for them, then offered her gratitude for everyone who made an effort to go to the book fair just to meet her, which made Callie roll her eyes. As Shauna began signing the books and having small conversations with them, Callie assisted her mother and tried to maintain the fake smile on her face as they also talked to her.
After a draining few hours of pretending to give a damn about everyone, Callie decided she couldn't take it anymore.
"Mom, can I leave?" she asked Shauna.
"Sure, but say goodbye to your demands," replied Shauna.
Callie groaned in frustration but didn't back down. "C'mon, please?" she asked one more time. "Only for a few minutes? I'm just gonna take a walk around."
Shauna stared at her daughter, hesitant to let her go.
"Fine. But you better be back in thirty, 'cause we're gonna wrap this up." Shauna responded to her daughter, finally letting Callie take a break considering there's no more than a dozen people in line, unlike earlier.
"Jeez, finally," Callie whispered to herself. She then took her bag and left her mother in her vending space booth, who immediately went back to entertain people.
Callie explored the large space, roaming around and trying to entertain herself. Surely it was a huge event for certain people, and she can tell that whoever organized it was successful in what they did. She visits every booth she finds interesting and takes all the freebies she can get as she leaves without buying anything, just being a swindler for fun. In all fairness, she enjoyed wandering around and talking to some people, and she started thinking that maybe it was being stuck with her mother that she didn't like about the event because, honestly speaking, Shauna was insufferable.
She took some pictures and posted them on social media, which looks productive but also fun enough for some people to reply and ask her about the event. Of course, she replied to everyone in an exaggerated manner, telling them it was so fun and they should have seen it for themselves. Callie smiled when she received a message from someone who also replied to her post, responding immediately as soon as she opened their conversation.
'Having fun?' says the message.
She typed on her keyboard quickly to reply. 'sitting beside mom for hours? nah uh. but checking the other booths by myself isn't that bad.'
Callie noticed the three dots popping on their chats, which indicates that the other person was typing again. She was waiting patiently for the reply when she suddenly heard a voice spoken on her left face, which startled her a little and even made her take a few steps backwards.
"Can I help you?" asked the woman, who was not far from her age.
She was a few inches taller than her, with long, brown, wavy hair hanging loosely on her left side and visible piercings on her nose and lips.
"What?" Callie asked in confusion, turning off her phone and just focusing on the woman beside her.
"You're standing in front of our booth, miss. Are you here to buy our book?" asked the woman in an obvious tone.
Callie shifted her gaze to what was in front of her. She might have stood across the woman's booth when she stopped to make a short reply and mistook her for being interested in their displays. She looked again at the woman as she spoke.
"Why are you purple?" Callie asked the girl in her usual tone, ignoring the question that was asked of her. The woman seemed to be taken aback by Callie's statement, confused as to whether it was a genuine question or just the woman plainly insulting her.
"Excuse me?" she tried to clarify.
"I said, why are you purple? Everything you wear is purple." Callie asked one more time, eyeing the woman from head to toe.
"Well, for your information, these clothes are from our community. We made them ourselves," responded the woman.
"Cool, yeah. So, what kind of community is that? People who dye clothes purple and sell books to function?" asked Callie playfully, mocking the woman.
The other girl tried to keep her composure, not wanting to lash out at Callie, and took a deep breath before speaking again. "Among other things, we sell honey as well."
"Impressive. Is that like a thing now? Oh, wait. Maybe you're speaking in code and you're actually referring to drugs, and that community of yours is like a compound filled with users-"
"Hey, if you don't have anything nice to say, then leave. I really hate girls like you with passion."
"You're the weird one here with that purple outfit of yours. Is purple the new goth now?"
"Okay. I don't want to talk to you anymore. Everything I learned from the camp will go to waste if I spend another minute talking to you."
"Wait, did you say camp?"
Callie holds the woman's arm. The mocking expression on her face was gone, and all you can see now is genuine curiosity.
"Uh, yeah?" replied the woman, slowly removing Callie's now tightened grip on her left arm.
She smiled at the confirmation that the woman gave her. Callie stood straight, fixed herself, and then extended her right hand in front of the woman.
"Let's start again. I'm Callie," she said in a sweet voice.
Hesitant at first, the woman still accepted Callie's hand and shook. "Lisa." She responded to the woman's introduction, telling her own name.
"So, Lisa," Callie said as a starter. "Tell me about that camp of yours," she continued.
Although reluctant to give Callie some information about their camp at first, thinking that the woman might have a hidden agenda or something, Lisa chose to follow one of the things that was taught to her in the community. Do not judge people. So, she started telling the woman about the camp and the purpose of their community.
Callie was a huge fan of camping and hiking when she was a kid. She didn't know why, but there's something about her that somehow pulls her into going out into nature, and being surrounded by trees and wildlife brings peace to her system. Jeff and Shauna used to bring her out every holiday when she was still a kid, visiting camping sites or participating in group hikes. But that stopped when she started high school and her parents started spending more time working, saying it was all for her future. She never believed them, though. They just never wanted to admit to her that their family's fun time was over.
After that, Callie spends more time with her friends. Trading her real hobbies and adventures for parties and just hanging out in different houses every night like the usual teens do. That's when she started being distant with her parents as well, which they mistook for rebelling.
"If you're a part of a camp slash community, then what are you doing in this book fair?" she asked Lisa.
"This book-" said the taller woman, picking one of the books from the display and handing it to Callie as she spoke. "is written by someone whom they said was part of the camp-actually, some say it was the founder of the community, but I don't know. We don't really know a thing about the author."
Callie stared at Lisa silently, listening to the woman.
"The point is, every penny we gain from selling this book goes to the community, so every time there's a book fair near our camp, we rent a space and promote it," she explained to Callie.
"Wait, you rent space? Why the hell is my mom being paid to promote her book? Is she that famous?"
"What?"
"Doesn't matter."
"Ow-kay."
"What is this book about anyway?" asked Callie.
She checked out the book Lisa gave her. It was hardbound with a design she couldn't tell-a batik camouflage or dark sky peeking between a bunch of leaves in the trees-and strange shapes intentionally forming from the twigs.
"It's a self-help book. Well, kinda," said Lisa.
"This is a self-help book? Seriously?" Callie asked, her voice filled with judgement.
"That book is a perfect example of 'do not judge the book by its cover'," replied Lisa, countering Callie's judgmental remarks.
"Yeah, clearly whoever made this design took that saying literally."
"The contents are about the programs we offer. It will guide you on how to choose the right program and how it will help you."
Callie raised her eyebrow and opened the book. Strangely, there was no title. But there was a phrase on the first page saying 'come and meet us' and probably the alias that the writer of the book uses on the bottom right corner. She flipped through the pages and was glad to know that the book wasn't that long because she wouldn't dare read them if they were more than a hundred and fifty pages.
What caught her attention were the pictures included in the last pages of it, and it must be the camp that Lisa was talking about. She was in awe upon seeing the relaxing view of it from the photos, thinking how much better it would be if she visited them in person.
"Didn't you say everyone is allowed to come and leave anytime they want?" Callie asked.
Lisa nods as she responds. "Everyone is free to do it, yeah. But they have to follow the rules once they are participating in the programs and as long as they stay in the camp."
Callie ignored the last sentence that Lisa said. What is important is that she can go and leave the place at any time she wants. That's enough to get her attention and gain her interest.
"So, basically, it's a vacation house that offers you programs to participate in?" Callie asked the taller woman.
"What? Don't put it that way-"
"I want in."
"That fast? Right now?"
"What? No. Like, once I finished this school year. I will go to that camp before going to college."
"So, are you saying that you will actually use our camp as your vacation house?"
"...No."
"Yes, you are."
"Does it matter?"
"We are an intentional community."
"You can't stop me."
Lisa stared at Callie in disbelief. She exhaled heavily as she realized that she made the wrong decision by telling the woman about the camp and that she might probably invite someone who would destroy their peaceful harmony.
Callie ignored Lisa after that, grabbed the pen resting on the table, then wrote her name on the paper before placing a few bucks as payment for the book she was holding. She offered Lisa a charming smile, showing the woman the book she had purchased, and spoke.
"I'll see you in a few months, Lisa. Let's harvest honey and make purple clothes together soon."
With that, she finally left the booth and went back to Shauna's station.
When Callie arrived back, she was just right on time, seeing that her mother was now packing her personal things, which means Shauna was finally done. Callie immediately helped her mother and the staff by putting the remaining books in a box and then disassembling the standee they put earlier. After that, Shauna took her along with her to visit a fellow author whom she attended the same college with to say a quick goodbye. She simply let her mother talk to her acquaintance and opened her phone again, running her hand to her face when she realized that she had left the person she was exchanging chats with earlier on read.
'my bad. something caught my attention.' Callie finally replied to the person.
'Is 'something' a boy?' she rolled her eyes after reading the reply.
'actually, 'something' was a book. i'll send u a pic of it once we get to the hotel'
Shauna was true to her word when she said it was just a quick visit. They finally left the book fair and drove to the hotel that Shauna had booked, where they would spend the night. It wasn't that posh, but it wasn't too cheap-looking either. It was just a normal, boring room she'd spend the night in with a boring person.
Callie immediately jumped to the bed and couldn't help but curse in pleasure when her back hit the soft mattress. After a few minutes of settling down, Callie took a photo of the book she bought and sent it to the person.
"Order us some food. I'll take a shower first," said Shauna.
She nodded at her mother and made a quick order for their dinner, picking up everything she wanted since her mother didn't specify.
And as she was busy scrolling through her phone, a caller flashed on her screen, following the vibration. Although confused by the random call, Callie answered it happily, ready to share what happened about her day, only to be cut off before she could even finish her greetings.
"Well, hello-"
"Where did you get that book?"
"The one I sent to you? From the book fair. Why?"
"Does your mothe-Shauna know about it?"
"I haven't told her about it yet. We just got here in the hotel, and the first thing she did was hit the shower."
"Listen to me, sweetie. Tell me everything you know about it."
She didn't ask why since the person on the other line sounded serious and in a hurry. Callie relayed everything that Lisa told her earlier, trying to remember every single detail. All she could hear from the other line was heavy breathing. She can't even tell if she heard a sob or a sharp cry, which made her more confused about what's happening.
When she finished telling everything, the person immediately said goodbye and ended the call just about the time Shauna was out of the shower. Callie could only shrug her shoulders and put her phone down, then started reading the book out of curiosity. Maybe it was a famous book after all, and she just didn't know about it.
Shauna opened the door to get their food when she heard the bell, thanking the room service before closing it. She sighed heavily when she saw a salad and other green food snacks that her daughter ordered. One of the hundreds of things that Shauna and her daughter don't agree about is eating too much vegetables.
"Callie," she called out to her daughter, who didn't even bother looking at her and was too engrossed in whatever she was reading.
"We had a long day, and you seriously ordered salad?" Shauna asked.
The teen simply nodded at her mother absentmindedly and just focused on reading. Shauna furrowed her eyebrows, looking at her daughter in disbelief. Her sight then shifted to the book that Callie was reading. She couldn't see the title of it or guess what it could be from the book cover.
She was about to let it go when she caught a glimpse of what was on the book's cover when Callie flipped a page. Shauna froze when the light coming from the lamp helped her see its full design. She then begins to walk towards Callie's bed, snatching the open book gently from her daughter and closing it to confirm whether she saw what she thought it was.
"Hey, I didn't know what page I was on!" yelled Callie.
And there it is-a familiar symbol Shauna has not seen in decades. She didn't even know she would see it again. She traced the symbol gently before opening the book, then swallowed the lump in her throat after reading what was on the first page.
"Where did you get this?" she asked Callie.
Irritated by being asked the same question twice, Callie responded quickly. "In the book fair, mom. Where do you think?"
Shauna ignored her daughter's attitude and got her own phone, immediately dialing Taissa's number. It didn't take more than three rings before her call was picked up.
"Shauna?" she heard the voice on the other line say. It wasn't Taissa. It was Van.
"Van. I need to see the two of you tomorrow. There's something you need to see," she told Van, trying not to sound so shaky.
"I was about to call you, actually. Was gonna tell you the same thing," Van responded.
"What? Why?" Shauna asked.
"Tai is sleepwalking again," said Van.
That caught Shauna off guard. The last time that Taissa sleepwalked was when they were still out there.
"But why would you want to meet us?" asked the person in the other line when she didn't get any response from Shauna.
"I'll tell you tomorrow. This can't be discussed through a call."
"Alright. We'll see you then."
Their call ended after that. Shauna couldn't exactly tell what she felt at the moment. All she knew was that something was up, and with Taissa sleepwalking again, just as Van claimed, surely it wasn't good. She took one more glance at what was written on the first page of the book, reading it, and felt her heart hammer through her chest as she read what appeared to be the author's pen name.
Starman.