The Moments I Recall

CHAPTER SEVEN

"8 years, 2848 days, 68352 hours, sixteen years of age." I whisper to Harper and Theo. We sit on Theo's bed in cabin two, the dim light of the lantern filling the space between us.

I feel them both stare at me as I say this. "No one is coming and if someone was, they would have given up by now. They would have moved on." I know this is harsh, but someone had to say it. It's kind of funny, because those nights I would spend sleeping in the empty bottom bunk below Harpers in cabin four, we would imagine what life would be like if we stayed here forever. We used to debate who would end up getting married to Theo and talk about what our children would look or be like. That bottom bunk in cabin four had been my real comfort this whole time. It was the same as every other bed, thin mattress and thin white sheets but I liked the way it would smell of lavender and that old ponderosa pine I pass at the entrance of the camp when I do my weekly laps. I liked how I could talk for hours in the darkness about anything knowing only Harper was listening. I liked tracing the rough drawings of the letters J.P carved into the wall from some child before us. And now, all I could think about was how this would be my forever comfort. "I can't remember my mom's face anymore."

"Mine either." Harper mutters softly bringing her hand to mine.

"We should decide today." Theo says, "Move on as well or finding a way and even if it means spacing."

"Is there even a way out?" I ask. I know as soon as I said this, I had completely cut of ties to any last hope each of us were hang onto. I promoted hope when there wasn't any, and now, we sit in the dark on Theo's bed, the dim light of the lantern no longer filling the space between us.
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In the morning we find ourselves lying out on the field near the back gate watching clouds pass by. The sky beams blue and radiates warm weather as usual. We had just come from absorbing something about calculus, to theorizing the possibility that Theo's athletic ability is not quite what he thinks compared to Harpers. Either way, it was nice to hear them laugh. I never really thought about the possibility that we would be so close, even after all the years together. Momma would be proud, I still hear whatever memory I have left of her voice reminding me to make friends, reassuring me it was just four days. I believe that without Harper and Theo, I would not have been able to cope. I'm quite sure in my past life, life before the camp, I had a friend, just one. I keep having dreams or weird recalls about memories not from here, which must be a side effect to growing up.

"Do you guys see that or am I just imagining things." Harper says now sitting up. As I sit up, I realize she point is pointing at the rusty old gate.

"What?" I ask her. All I could see was the gate, the gate and the field beyond it.

"Wait, Look in between the railing of the gate. I swear I saw someone's legs walking past." Theo and I exchange a confused look. "Look I know what I saw." She argues.

Moving closer, I take a second look in between the middle rails and see that there is a road made of tar further beyond the gate. As I get closer to the gate a cement path can be seen across from me on the other side of the gap.

"Harper did you say you saw someone walk past?" I ask, my gaze still fixed on the path beyond the gate. "Theo are you seeing this?"

"Ye.....yeah" I hear him say.

I tear my gaze away from the gate and inspect around it. Over the gate is just the green of the field and some trees as per usual. Even between the other railing of the fence all can be seen is grass, but between a specific gap right in the centre rails of the gate, there was the path and the road.