It's A Long Ride Home, I'm Afraid. {Camren} ✔️

~{3}~

Camila's POV

And there I was. Same time, same place, and back on the streets playing my music.

The air was crisp and cool that day, which proved to be of use since I sucked at singing in any humidity whatsoever.

I brought my guitar with me again after freshly cleaning it the day before. It had actually been pretty dusty.

I wanted to sound good. I wanted to put even more effort into what I was doing. All of the little things. I wanted to do them right.

Strumming the correct chords without missing a single note, singing in a perfect pitch, making sure my voice wasn't too overpowering on the amp.

Little did I know then that all of this, I did for her.

I wanted that stranger, whoever she was, to like me. And I know that sounds kinda stupid.

For starters, I didn't even know her name, and I barely could remember her face from the day before. Not like I'd really seen much of it anyways.

I must've been there for an hour and a half playing through all of my songs before I noticed a woman walking down the sidewalk.

Immediately recognizing the sunglasses and the big hat, I realized it was the same lady I had been waiting for. Finally.

Quickly reacting, I began to play the song I wanted her to hear.

Another one I wrote, to be exact. It's called "I Have Questions."

Now, I think we can all agree that each and every one of us has gone through certain things that have left us mentally drained. Tired, perhaps. Broken, even.

This specific song was one I wrote after my mother's death.

While I know I couldn't blame her for dying from something as uncontrollable as sickle cell anemia, I still felt resentment towards her for a long time.

I know that sounds horrible, but it was something I struggled with for a long time.

Never in my life had I felt so alone like I did on that day. It was agonizing. It was eye opening.

So with that, I decided to put all of my emotions into the song as I played it.

I wanted the woman to hear and experience what my pain felt like. That's what I aimed for. To make people understand who I was through my music.

It didn't matter how depressing or how happy the songs were, I just wanted them to picture themselves in my shoes.

I wanted people to find answers and resolve in my life, but I knew so well that dream was still so far from my grasp.

"That's really good." The woman said as she stood beside my setup. "Another original, I presume?"

I nodded as I continued playing. I could already feel my heart racing.

She listened attentively as I sang through the beginning part of the song, and then into the chorus.

Number one, tell me who you think you are.
You got some nerve tryna tear my faith apart.
Number two, why would you try and
Play me like a fool?
I should have never ever ever trusted you.
Number three, why weren't you who you
Swore that you would be?
I have questions, I got questions haunting me.

The woman smiled, and I glanced down towards her feet where she was tapping to the beat.

Some people passed by, dropping dollars into my guitar bag and I gave them a grateful look.