Journey of the Heart (Camila/OC)

Chapter Six

Your POV:

"Sofi, slow down. We're not all as fast as you," Camila shouts from behind me as I run down the beach.

We were all in Los Angeles while the girls had their break from touring and traveling and I was able to come to visit her and the girls. We decided to go to the beach and explore the boardwalk of Santa Monica and Venice.

I come to a halt when a street vendor's shop catches my eyes. Necklaces, rings, and earrings lined the old woman's blankets and table. The different gems and patterns quickly caught my attention, but the one that held onto my attention was the one with a jade lion dangling upon a simple leather band necklace. It's simple yet still captivated me.

The girls finally caught up to me and were catching their breathe.

"Dawg, you have got to slow down," Dinah breathed.

"Yeah, you have way more energy and stamina than your sister, and that's saying a lot," Ally adds.

Camila notices my lack of attention on the conversation and walks over to me and bends down to see the necklace that has caught my eye. The other girls were in their own world of conversation.

"It's pretty isn't," she says as she grabs for the necklace and places it over my head. "How much for the necklace, ma'am?"

"You don't have to buy it, Kaki," I state while trying to take off the necklace but she gently slaps my hand away.

"Ahh, the lion, you must be a strong and courageous young lady," the woman says to me.

I nod my head in agreement and Camila simply smiles down at me.

"You know, the lion is a strong independent creature," I nod for the woman to continue. "But lions are known to travel in packs and to lean upon their pack to survive the chaos of the jungles." The woman nods towards the girls behind us. The woman leans behind her and starts to grab things from her bag and hands something to Camila. "Remember, a pack of lions, or lionesses, are a force to reckon with."

Camila looks down at what the woman hands her and sees that it's a bundle of lion necklaces similar to the one around my neck.

"A gift," the woman smiles up at Camila.

Camila immediately tries to offer her money but the woman simply shakes her head.

"Nonsense, you saved my daughter's life. It's the least I could do for her saviors," the woman says.

Camila is baffled from what the woman says and doesn't know what to say or how to respond. The woman notices and simply chuckles, knowing she was being a bit cryptic.

"My daughter constantly battles with depression. I've tried all I could to help her with it but it's just something that she battles mostly within herself," a sad expression crosses the woman's face. "But ever since she found about you guys, she's been the happiest I've seen her. When she talks about you guys it's like I see my little girl again. The same little girl that would laugh and smile at the simplest of things in life, so thank you for giving her that hope and happiness.

The woman wipes away the tears that escaped her eyes and so did Camila and I. Camila quickly disappears and talks to the other girls. The girls come over and quickly give the woman a hug and start to say that she was a wonderful mother and her daughter was happy to have her. They even made a video with the woman's phone so that the daughter would see it later on. They said various things but the underlying tone was to keep strong and keep fighting. The girls were true role models to look up to.