Page 83 of Catching Camila

As they walked down the street to meet Shaun, Camila lifted her eyes to the tops of the trailers, then to the tree line beyond, then upward. Puffy white clouds floated across the canvas of blue. Nothing stirred. Nothing darted out towards her, arms stretched wide in invitation.

A shove in her ribs drew her attention back to earth.

“You gotta quit that,” Fer said, taking a drag on a cigarette she'd just lighted. “You can't live your life in the clouds. He might never come back.”

Camila shrugged. “He sent my grandfather back. That's something.”

“Yeah, something to indicate that you need back-up cause his ass ain't coming back.” Fer grabbed Camila's arm and they both stopped, Travis shuffling up behind them. “Whatever those things were, we don't want them back. A dozen craters means a dozen monsters. What if they start hunting again? We'll be the daily special in a monster buffet.”

“I don't even want to think about it,” Travis said, shivering. “Beasts. Jesus.”

“No one’s seen any sign of monsters. It might've just been a 'geological event,'” Camila said, using air quotes, “like the news said.”

“We all know it wasn't a geological event. We saw what that thing was,” Fer said.

Travis nodded warily. “It almost killed you.”

“John saved me.”

Fer kicked at a loose piece of sidewalk. It skidded into the weeds that decorated the skirting of the Garba trailer. Inside, a dog started yapping. “Camila, he saved you by leaving. He's not coming back.”

Camila dropped her chin and stared at the tangle of weeds sprouting through the cracks at her feet.

The three friends moved on in silence. Down the street another dog howled. A car with too-loud bass bummed by. Another normal evening in the park. One of Camila's last. Her heart hung heavy.

The concert was amazing. When Shaun dropped her off, Camila could barely hear. Walking up her trailer steps, she swayed with happiness. Things were as they should be.

Well, almost.

Fer was right. She'd be better off if she could set her heart aside, broken dejected thing it that was, and move forward. Yet, deep down she knew she’d spend many moments like this one—hollow, heart-broken, and with her eyes to the sky.

Just as she was about to turn the doorknob and step inside, she saw something moving in the shadows around the back of the trailer.

Her heart beat picked up. Could it be one of those things?

Then John stepped into the moonlight.

Her heart soared.

“John!” She ran down the steps and into his arms. He pulled her to him. In his arms, her heart soared. He was here. He was really here.

She stared up at his face, not quite believing. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

“I can’t stay long,” he said smiling, running a hand down her cheek. “But I had to see you. Can we go somewhere?”

She glanced at the trailer. As long as she was home before everyone woke up, no one would worry. She nodded vigorously. “Yes. Let’s go.”

He swept her up into his arms and they were off. She’d never get over flying with him, soaring over houses and trees, the wind in her hair, feeling so secure in his arms. His face in the moonlight was exactly how she’d remembered it. So handsome and stoic. She wondered what had happened to him since she’d seen him last.

When he soared above the same moonlight spot they’d been to almost a month ago, she recognized it right away. The cliff and moonlit valley ringed by tall pines looked exactly the same. Only she was different. And John. They had changed while the world went on quietly.

He set her down, making sure she was on her feet before letting her go. There, on the grass, a blanket had been laid out and candles lit.

She surveyed the scene, realizing he’d done this for her. “So you were pretty confident I’d say yes, huh?”

He blushed a bit. “I figured.”

He sat down, stretching his giant frame across one end of the blanket while she sat on the other side. Then they looked at each other sheepishly. After all, the last time she’d seen him, he’d made it seem like they would never be together again.

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