Freaky Friday (but on a Tuesday)

Chapter 11 - Campfire Confrontation

Night fell upon the Amazonian jungle, carpeting everything in a blanket of darkness.

Mavis and Ericka had covered good ground for the day, and had set up a small camp at the base of a few massive boulders to rest for a few hours before continuing for the remainder of the trek. Presently, a fire was burning between them. It provided a steady heat and an ample amount of light to see by, casting long shadows created by their bodies over the rugged forest floor. Mavis sat with her legs tucked neatly underneath her, munching contentedly on some trout that was caught in the nearby stream earlier in the day.

"Not bad," Mavis commented between mouthfuls of the tender fish. "It tastes great!"

Ericka shrugged. "I may have dabbled in a bit of cooking while aboard The Legacy. One has to occupy the mind with something if you're going to be living aboard a ship for pretty much your whole life."

Mavis considered her words, then nodded thoughtfully. "I can see what you mean. I got a little bored after I had explored everywhere inside of the hotel when I was younger. I even tried to sneak out a couple of times just so I could see what lay beyond the haunted forest and Land of Undead. Didn't quite work out, though. My dad would always catch me right before I even went out the front door." She chuckled as she remembered how after he caught her and brought her back to her room, he'd smother her in hugs and kisses until he himself felt calmness and reassurance.

Ericka raised a hand. "I'm guilty, too," she admitted. "Once - I think I was maybe about sixteen or seventeen - I took a lifeboat and jumped off of the ship when it was my great-grandfather's nap time. I got a few good miles out from the boat before he was even aware that I was missing. He came looking for me with searchlights and everything, and tugged me out of the water back onto the ship. We got into a really big argument that night. He kept trying to tell me that we had to be the ones to 'find and destroy Dracula,' not just me by myself."

She shook her head, and suddenly became aware of what she had just said. She turned to Mavis. "Oh uh... sorry, I - "

"I get it," Mavis snapped, putting a hand up. "You don't have to explain."

Things remained in a thick silence for a moment before Ericka spoke up again. "I understand why your dad built the hotel. It was to keep people like us out. The persecutors. The hunters. The ones who don't even give monsters a chance..."

Mavis sighed heavily. "He built the hotel for my mom. He wanted to make sure that by keeping me safe, he was keeping a part of her safe. Since, well, you know..."

Mavis trailed off, averting her gaze. She could feel the beginning of tears prick at her eyes. "She um... I never actually knew her. But uh... she still means a lot to me."

There was another pause and then Ericka spoke. "I'm so sorry, Mavis. I never knew my mother either, or my father. And my great-grandfather was never really the best guardian, looking back at it now. He never once told me about them, and only cared that I knew about how to be a monster hunter just like him."

She scooted closer to Mavis and put an arm around her shoulder. "I can't even begin to imagine what your dad went through when it happened to your mother. But, I'm going to tell you something he told me when we had our first date on the cruise ship."

Mavis looked up at her curiously.

"You have to honor the past, it's true. But, we also get to make our own future. And right now, we can make something new together. And if there's anyone who deserves to have love again, I think we can both agree that it's your dad for sure."

Mavis smiled weakly at her, feeling a pang of guilt build inside of her chest. The truth was, that Ericka had only been looking out of her during this whole adventure thus far. And adventure that, had it not been by a lie she told, they never would have been on in the first place. Perhaps it really was best to forgive the actions of the past and forget them to make a better tomorrow. But, Mavis knew she would have to take the first step. And what better way to do it than here, alone in the jungle with her where there would be no distractions.