Genesis

Blueberries

     With a full stomach and the taste of pancakes still lingering on my tongue, I walked in such a way that it was almost a skip, making my way back to my tent to grab my coat before meeting Dorian. That's when I heard a shout.

     "Hurry up! We need to get going before sunup!"

     "I know!" another voice shouted harshly, "I'll be back in a minute!"

     I was about to exit the cluster of tents I was making my way through when a figure rushed past me, his pace so steadfast that I was sure if I hadn't stopped when I did, he would have run me over. I stepped out into the clearing, turning to look at the figure searching near the firepits. I recognized him immediately.

     "Good morning, Colt," I said as I walked up to him, "Is something wrong?"

     He turned towards me, a look of confusion cast on his face, pausing for a full five seconds to see if I was serious. I supposed he realized that I was because he decided to reply.

     "Yes," he answered honestly, "I can't find my knife and--"

     "Colt! Hurry up!" shouted Danny's voice in the distance.

     He took a moment, closing his eyes and pursing his lips with a deep breath.

     "As I was saying," he continued, "I can't find my knife, and we need to get going for hunting now."

     "Oh," I said, "Well, where did you last see it?"

     "In my pocket," he replied, "Where it always is. I don't remember taking it out anywhere, and I never leave it out of my sight... I've looked everywhere but here."

     I nodded, "Okay, I'll help you look."

     He looked at me with a puzzled expression yet again.

     "Okay, sure."

     And so I started looking on and under each camping chair, around the stones of the firepits and in the leafy spaces in between.

     "By the way," I started to say, deciding to tell him what was on my mind, "I wanted to say thank you. For the blueberries."

     He stopped dead in his tracks once I said that, becoming the perfect statue of a person crouching down by a camping chair. A few still moments passed as I watched him, unmoving, contemplating what I could say to break the tension in the air. Just as my lips began to move again, he stood up and turned to look me right in the eye.

     "The hunting party has to leave now. I should get going," he stated simply before starting to walk away. Just when I thought he was done, he stopped dead in his tracks and turned his head slightly towards me. I never could have expected the words he'd say next:

     "Happy birthday, by the way."

     And with that, he continued to pace towards the trucks. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I kept my eyes trained on his back, wondering what on Earth and Mars had actually just happened. I chalked it down to Colt being Colt, suddenly realizing the color of the sky. It was becoming quite the splendor of purple and pink. 

     I checked my watch, figuring that sunrise was moments away. I turned tail and ran to our tent, grabbing my warmer jacket hastily and putting it on. I threw my windbreaker into the tent before zipping up the door and running to the treeline, bubbly feelings of excitement filling me as I knew I would see Dorian soon.

     Before I knew it, I was at the pond shore. I glanced left and right, a feeling of disappointment coming to rest in my chest as I didn't see Dorian anywhere. I bit my lip. He did say that he'd meet me after sunrise, so he was probably just running a few minutes late.

     "Quinn!" I heard a voice shout. I turned in excitement to see Dorian-- but it wasn't him. I was greeted by Kraig, running towards me and handing me the basket he'd made for Dorian and me.

     "Hey, Quinn," he huffed between breaths, "You forgot this."

     "Oh," I said, taking the basket from him, "Thanks, Kraig."

     "I'd say it's not a problem, but you did force me to run," he smirked before looking left and right, "Hey, where's Dorian?"

     I bit my lip and shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know."

     "Weird," Kraig said as he furrowed his eyebrows, placing his hands on his sides, "I'd have thought he'd be here by now. He's always been quite punctual. Annoyingly so. He's the first one to everything."

     Kraig glanced right and left, stopping when he realized the look of concern crossing my face.

     "Hey, don't you even think about worrying. You know that he loves you. He's probably just so nerve-wracked that he's double-checking everything before he meets you here."

     I took a deep breath, "You're right. I'm being silly."

     A few moments passed as I glanced left and right again.

     "Hey," Kraig said softly, placing his hand on the side of my arm, "Are you sure you're okay? Because, I mean, if you need to run from the altar in that wedding dress, I can give you my sneakers and cover for you."

     I laughed, "No, it's okay. I'll be fine, really. I'm overreacting. He'll be here soon, so, in your words, 'get gone', so that the camp doesn't fall into mutiny when they wake up without breakfast."

     Kraig smiled at me, "Alright, if you say so, madam. See you around."

     I waved goodbye to him, watching him go for a second before I went back to scanning the treeline around the small pond, searching for any sign of Dorian's approach. A few minutes passed before I decided to sit, leaning against the bark of a tree, noticing the sky had turned golden. The feeling of despair in my stomach grew immensely when I noticed the first streaks of bright blue appear in the dome of the world.