Letting Go (Harry Styles AU)

Chapter 1: A Dream Come True

Camp Chickasaw

Natalie Clemons

I awoke with a start, a haunting feeling in the pit of my stomach. My trembling fingers tugged at the sheets, but they weren't the soft Egyptian cotton I had in my room. They were thin and scratchy with tattered edges and gaping holes. Where am I?

My eyes became accustomed to the darkness and began searching my surroundings for a shred of something familiar. Four wooden bunk beds were in the space including my own. There was a small counter with two dripping faucets over cracked porcelain sinks. The wooden floors were covered in a thick mat of dirt with traces of muddy footprints long dried from whomever last walked there. This was one of the girl's cabins. It had to be.

I had spent so many weeks of my life inside rooms just like this one. Since my Uncle Ben owned Camp Chickasaw, I had been coming here my whole life. First as a camper when I was in elementary school and later as a counselor once I reached high school. I knew every nook and cranny, every squeak on every floorboard in all the girl's cabins. This one looked like it hadn't seen any activity in years.

The eerie feeling in my stomach grew stronger as I pulled back the damaged sheets and stepped onto the floor beside the bed. The soiled wood creaked as I began to walk towards the door. What was happening? I had just inspected all the cabins yesterday. The counselors were coming in today and the campers would be here later on in the week. Why did this place look abandoned?

Opening the door, I expected blistering heat and high humidity but instead, I was met with light rainfall and dark gray skies. I rubbed my hands up and down my arms as goose bumps rose to the surface from the chilly wind.

"Ahh!" There was a large crash behind me as the door to the cabin fell off its rusty hinges. I walked quickly down the steps into the gravel road that led from the camp entrance to Lake Chickasaw at the bottom of the hill. The rest of the girl's cabins were even worse than the one I had woken up in. The windows were cracked, some of the roofs had caved in, and once again there was not a soul in sight.

Taking another step towards the lake, it suddenly dawned on me.

I can walk.

I froze in my steps, rubbing over my right hip with my thumb. Cautiously, I stepped forward with my right foot, expecting the mild to sharp pain that usually accompanied it.

Nothing.

I stepped again. Still Nothing. There wasn't any stinging sensation that shot down my thigh; I couldn't feel my joints click as they rubbed up against each other. The feeling was so foreign to me, I reached down to pinch the skin above my hip just to check if this was real.

The rain continued to fall, small droplets plunging down the sides of my face and quickly soaking my plain red vneck.  But, not even the damp feeling could faze me as I contemplated the miraculous relief in my hips. It had been two years since I was able to walk without a limp. Two years since I could run down the soccer field with my teammates and romp all over the campground, playing tag with the other counselors and rock climbing up the cliffs that overlooked Chickasaw. It was easy to take all of the camp activities for granted when it was my second home growing up. I had always complained about how the ropes course hadn't changed since I was in sixth grade or how the camp seemed so small compared to some of the others around us. It wasn't until I lost my mobility that I realized how good I had it. It wasn't until I lost the ability to do those things that I appreciated them.

But, now it didn't matter. I could move freely, I could run, I could dance, I could jump, I could do anything I wanted. The rain started coming down in sheets, streams of water already flowing down the sides of the gravel road towards the lake. I held out my arms and spun around, relishing the ease of movement. Turning towards the Dining Hall, I began pushing my legs uphill. The movement felt forced at first, neither my limbs nor my mind were used to the sensation. When I was convinced that my hips really were okay, I ran faster.