Kairos

Chapter one - collision

The night was alluring, but the calm atmosphere it exuded provided an aspect of modesty. The expanse of clouds that the afternoon had sported, were drawn away like curtains; revealing a deep evening sky graced with twinkling stars. The gentle sea mirrored the sky; ominous, indigo ripples of water, every curve painted with silver moonlight. The lull of the sea provided a clear breeze, that teased the fire assembled amongst the rocks.

Halley was grateful for the steady draft; it complemented the warm glow of the fire that she lay near to. The girl softly closed her eyes, and inhaled her surroundings, basking in the easiness of the scene. She focused on the small sweeps of the waves along the shore, the happy laughter of the other teenagers in the group blurred out of mind. Soon, her eyes fluttered open, and instead, gazed longingly at the map of stars that unfurled across the sky.

Halley had only ever dreamed of seeing so many stars . The artificial lights at home smeared the life out of the stars.
But not here.
Here, Halley could see every glimmer, every constellation. The girl became so lost in her fantasy, she felt as if she were weightlessly floating in space.

Her calm meditation was abruptly broken by a voice that came from above.

"Um, are you ok? I was told to come and check if everything was alright."

Halley turned her head to inspect the source of the voice. It was a boy from the camp, who she recognised, but couldn't quite remember his name. She envied his tan skin; Halley's pale skin never tanned, if anything she just burned. His black waves of hair, seemed to be styled by the salty spray from the sea and the ocean breeze. Halley couldn't quite tell the true colour of his eyes in the lack of light, but with the glow of the fire, they shone a warm, welcoming gold.

"Yes, I'm fine thanks." She said, no anger in her words; she wasn't that kind of person.

He rubbed the back of his neck, obviously uncomfortable.

"Right, ok well... See you around Halley."

Halley suddenly felt more uncomfortable than the boy. He knew who she was, yet she couldn't even remember his name.

"Hey." She called out, now sitting up.

The boy who was walking away, suddenly turned around.

"Do you want to join me, it's nice to get away from the crowd for a while."

Halley felt incredibly guilty, which spurred on the invite. Besides, she didn't mind some company every once in a while, and he didn't seem like the others. The other people at the camp could be so obnoxiously loud sometimes, which Halley didn't enjoy.

"Uh, sure. If that's ok with you."

Despite the uneasiness in the way he talked, there was a hint of relief.

"Just come and sit. I don't bite." Halley said, patting the expanse of blanket next to her.

Eventually, he sat down next to Halley. His shoulders slightly stiff. There was a still silence for a moment, which Halley took upon herself to break; after all, she was the one who invited him over.

"Well, I feel incredibly rude. But I don't know your name." She said, a wince on her face. "I promise it's on the tip of my tongue but-"

"I'm Reuben." He said, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Hello Reuben, I'm Halley." She offered her hand for him to shake.

"Yeah, I know." Reuben said, his smile broadening, as he took Halley's hand.

*

Not sure of her name, but the photo is kind of how I imagined Halley.