THRIVE: Book One

Chapter 33- Meant to Be

 "Dinnertime, kiddo's!" Chloe announces happily as she comes out of the kitchen holding a pot of stew, followed by Victoria with a basket of fresh bread.

"Aren't we all older than you?" Brian asks, looking confused.

"Eh, not important." Chloe laughs sarcastically as she sets the table.

"Wisdom doesn't always come with age, you know. You're a good example of that, aren't you?" Victoria states and Brian sneers at her as he slumps back in his seat.

"I've gotta say, this girl is a culinary genius." Carmen smiles in admiration as she sits back down beside her sister. As I make my way to the table, I see Chris come out of the kitchen with a stack of bowls. He seems somewhat dismal, and I'm getting the feeling that Victoria made good on Chloe's suggestion and tormented him the whole time.

"You alright?" I ask; he rolls his eyes as Victoria and Chloe giggle at him.

"Girls are mean," he states quietly as he sits beside Chloe, who has already begun dishing out the food. Victoria was right; Chloe is a culinary genius. If it weren't for her, we'd probably be living on the basics, and I doubt it would taste as good. The past month or so wouldn't have been possible without her. Between survival instincts from years of experience and researching the old empire, she's an intelligent girl. It's still a shame she had been alone for so long, especially at her age. Earlier, Brian had mentioned that it was odd that she was so composed after being here so long by herself. I have gotten to know her pretty well at this point, but there are still missing parts of her story. I know she's been having visions for years, but could that have been enough to stay sane all these years in solitude? I didn't want to think about it, but I still had a lot of questions.

"So, what did you want to show us after dinner?" Amy asks Carmen as she reaches for a piece of bread across the table. Carmen quickly finishes chewing and gulps, excited to talk about it finally.

"Well, you know how we've been spending so much time researching around here?" she began; Amy nodded. "There are some really cool artifacts we uncovered that I would love to show you if you're interested. Plus, we've deciphered more of the old language, so more of the markings are starting to make sense," she explains excitedly.

"That sounds pretty cool." Amy smiles, and Carmen seems happy that her sister is finally showing interest.

"Oh! That reminds me," Chris interjected, putting his spoon down and reaching into his pocket. Carefully, he pulls out a piece of jewelry and lets it hang from his fingers. Carmen, Chloe, and I instantly lock eyes on it, recognizing it.

"Where did you find this?" Chloe asks in disbelief, and Chris suddenly seems nervous as he looks across our faces.

"I found it on the ground in the flower field you showed me; it was by that statue," he explains cautiously. "Why are you all staring like that?" Hesitantly, Chloe reaches out, gently taking the necklace.

"I've been searching for this for years," she gasps as she studies the stone, wiping away the loose dirt.

"Wait, what?" Brian suddenly seems justifiably confused. "How did you even know it was here if you've never seen it before?" he asks, glancing at Amy, Victoria, and Chris, who all seem just as confused.

"It's...complicated." She states, and suddenly, the brightest smile crosses her face as she turns to Chris, kissing him on the cheek. His face started to turn redder than ever as she hugged him. "Thank you so much for finding this," she says graciously. We all can't help but smile at Chris, who seems utterly embarrassed.

"Y-you're welcome," he says, flustered. Carefully, Chloe passes Carmen the necklace, and Amy leans in, admiring its beauty.

"Where have you seen this before?" Amy asks as Carmen passes the necklace to her gently.