A Test of Faith [bxb]

2. He Has Sent Me Here

The campsite was dimly lit by the night sky, soft shadows encompassing us as we laid in our sleeping bags. The hushed whispers that had been filling the campsite gradually gave way to the chirping of grasshoppers and cicadas somewhere past the tree line. An occasion laugh would interrupt the forest's lullaby, some boys across the site pushing the curfew.

The last of the scouts' campfires diminished. There was a larger one situated between the leaders' tents, its red glow casting gentle waves across the campsite and the trees that encased the enclosure. Lightening bugs danced around the tarps, mimicking the fire.

Ezra and I laid a foot apart from one other, bundled up in our makeshift beds that protected us from the gentle, cool breeze that floated from the river. Ezra's curls blended into his pillow, creating a nest for his head. The moon was bright in his eyes, framed by soft lashes. His pupils flirted with the stars.

"What's your zodiac sign?" Ezra suddenly whispered, still fixated on the sky above us. I had found himself quietly watching the boy from my peripheral, and I turned my full attention upwards. Staring again.

"Sagittarius, I think. December eleventh."

Ezra leaned his upper body onto his elbow, turning his shoulder to face my sleeping bag. "Really? I would have never guessed. I thought Cancer, maybe Taurus. But Sagittarius... okay." He nodded to himself, lost in thought.

"Is that bad?" My eyebrows furrowed, shifting my position to mirror Ezra's.

He laughed lightly, a chuckle that barely grazed the air around us. "Not at all, you just seem pretty quiet for a Sagittarius."

I wasn't quiet. Was I being quiet? It was time for bed, though, so I had assumed we'd be quiet. Should I have been talking? "What's yours?"

"Gemini. Manipulative, they say," Ezra smirked, a smile that hinted at a dimple on his left cheek.

"Are you?"

Ezra let out another airy laugh that brought a smile to my face. I liked that laugh. "I hope not. I will say, though, that I'm a pretty good liar."

"I can see that," I commented, earning a smile right back. It was a lie; I couldn't see it at all. "How'd you get into astrology?"

Ezra returned to his previous position, long arms comfortably folded above his head. "I've always loved the sky, I guess. And everything beyond it. I suppose I like the idea that when we die, we'll get our own planet. Our own stars. I mean, the zodiac signs themselves technically come from the stars God gave us." His fingers played with the zipper of his sleeping bag while his gaze seemed fixed on something past the stars themselves. "The Babylonians catalogued them first, actually. A way to connect to the heavens. I like to think that when I have a planet, my kids will be born under new constellations, and they'll look up in the sky for meaning, too."

There was a moment of silence between us, entranced in the idea. A new universe for souls not even conceived yet. Kind of like God's grandchildren. I chuckled at the thought, hoping it wasn't too sacrilegious. 

Ezra continued, raising an arm to direct his attention on the sky. "Only the Libra constellation is visible right now. It's not too bright, but you can see it just around the mountains," he whispered, his finger pointing towards a peak that rose above the trees to our left.

I couldn't see it. I had never been able to pick out stars; the big dipper was the only one I could consistently find, even during clear nights like this. I was squinting to find the cluster, and Ezra carefully grabbed my hand to guide me in the direction.

"Do you see the three stars in a line? To the right, there's kind of a pentagon pointing upwards. Do you see it?" He asked, moving closer to point my finger above the mountains. I saw the trio but couldn't for the life of me see the shape, instead focusing on the flush the skin contact was sending through my cheeks. I nodded, a lie, and Ezra searched my eyes before finding the truth and resigning with a coy smile.