mountains: part IV

We were nearly there. The dark velvety night surrounded us: we hadn’t been able to not-see so much in a long while. Stars were visible in a way I had forgotten they could be seen. That moment had been the best in a very long time… Cam started singing along with the radio: the song was one I had never heard before, but she sang it with such clarity and enthusiasm that I wondered how she could know that song. She looked outside furtively: I felt she didn’t want me to notice she was very glad to have come by car because that would mean I was right, but she seemed to be getting happier by the hour. I would let her think she had won this time, she deserved it. I knew she was giving up on many assumptions just by getting into that car with me.

I once again saw grey spectra flying by the car: I looked at Cam, hoping she would’ve noticed it on one of the little trips her eyes took to the sky and the trees, but it seemed as if she hadn’t.

‘Cam, did you see that?’

‘What?’

‘That… well… grey thing’

‘What grey thing?’

‘I don’t know how to explain. It flew by my window as we drove by. Twice already.’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

For a moment I thought I’d better shut up. Then ‘So you really haven’t seen anything?’

‘No, Soph, you little quirky fairy. I guess you’re just anxious.’

‘But twice already? It looked quite real, you know.’

‘What looked quite real?’ Cam answered, and her glance said “what are you up too, you mad thing?”.

‘The… the thing that flew by! The thing I just told you about.’

‘See, that’s the problem’ she said, flirtatiously. I couldn’t help but smile: she answered me quickly and grinningly. ‘What thing? I can’t understand what thing that is.’

I exhaled and smiled at her. ‘Okay, I get it. I don’t understand either, let’s move on’ I said, pretending to be annoyed. She laughed and got back to singing along with the unknown [at least to me] track.

Checking the map I noticed we were about to enter the last town before our destination, and I asked Cam whether she wanted to stop and buy some things for our stay. She said she would think about it, but she had no time to think: we heard a loud noise and at first I thought we would die: a second later, I realised it might have been a tyre blow out. Cam lost control of the car and for the seconds when she still hadn’t gotten it back I felt like drifting into a void of chaos and nothingness.

(Carol Smnt.)