Kairos

Chapter three - kuiper belt

Reuben was surprised by her confidence; Halley had always seemed reserved. So, every time she spoke, he had to take time to process everything. The warm tones of her voice, despite her brightness. And her eyes, like autumn sunlight, filtering through the jade treetops. It was enough to make anyone speechless.

"Reuben?"

"Huh?"

Reuben mentally scolded himself, for sounding so dim.

"What's your story?"

What was his story. There was nothing particularly extraordinary about Reuben. He had a normal family that composed of: himself, his mother, father, and two brothers, unfortunately both older. They all lived about an hours drive from London. Reuben loathed the city; the continuous flow of people was nauseating, suffocating. He'd always dreamt of living on a farm, somewhere unknown, and distant to the drone of motorways.
Of course, Reuben didn't tell Halley any of this; how could he ramble on about something so banal, to someone so exuberant.
he decided to keep his life story as short as possible.

"I used to go to camp with my brothers, but they're too old now."

Halley nodded, eyebrows furrowed, as if what Reuben had said was the most interesting thing she'd heard. "And what about your parents?"

Reuben shrugged, "they offered to take me with them to Spain, to see family, but there's never anything to do."

"Have you been to this camp before then?"

Reuben nodded, "this will be my third time. I don't mind though; a new crowd of people come each time."

Halley nodded thoughtfully again. "So, what do you think of this lot." She smirked, gesturing her head towards the pack of teenagers, hollering and dancing around the fire.

"I mean they're great people but-"

"Oh thank god I'm not the only one! I thought I was just incredibly rude, but I just don't...click with them. You know?"

Reuben nods in reply, an unstoppable smile itching at his lips. He understood exactly how Halley felt, and it seemed mutual. Never before had Reuben felt so comfortable around someone so quickly.

Reuben desperately tried to think of an interesting question to ask her, but of course, Halley spoke first.

"Two brothers." She said, almost to herself.
"I wonder what it would be like to have siblings. I'm an only child."

Reuben scoffed, "I wouldn't worry, you're not missing out on much." He said it with a smile though; so Halley knew that despite what Reuben had said, he really loved his brothers.

"Besides," Reuben continued, "you don't have to be burdened with never ending hand-me-downs. I can't remember the last time I had a pair of shoes that didn't have holes in them."

Halley laughed. Her laugh was warm and sweet, and Reuben's heart fluttered at the sound. That was the moment Reuben decided, that making Halley laugh, was by far his greatest achievement.

***

Kuiper belt: a region of the solar system believed to contain comets and asteroids.