Someday BEGINs Today - Part 4

The rest of the sunset blended with gorgeous hues of warm red and orange. Waves gently rolled in, caressing the sand. The scene was mesmerizing.

“What a beautiful evening it has been!”

Ethan sighed with contentment. Maya nodded.

“It’d be amazing to stay out here all night and watch the stars come out.”

Ethan grinned.

“Actually…”

He looked back toward the other side where the cars were. Continuing,

“I have a tent in the back of my car. So, we could actually do that.”

Maya giggled.

“A tent? I didn’t know you liked camping.”

“Yep! Here, you wait here. I’ll be right back!”

Ethan hopped up like an excited cricket.

Maya continued to watch the ocean waves. Talking aloud to herself, she whispered,

“Florida really is very alive!”

Ethan came back, appearing like a pack mule that was trying to balance too many things at once.

“Woah! What’s all that?”

“You’ll see. Now you get to see my spontaneous camping skills in action!”

Ethan proceeded to set up a tent. He pumped up an air mattress and then started a small fire in front of the tent.

“Need some bug spray?”

Maya accepted the bug spray and sprayed her arms with it.

“What kind of bugs are here?”

“Mosquitoes.”

He paused and then continued,

“And lots of other types of bugs. Florida has a lot of bugs!”

A light breeze tussled his hair. Looking down at her for a moment, he sat down by the fire.

“You are even more breathtakingly beautiful in person than I could have ever imagined!”

The light of the fire flickered on her face. She blushed and made a soft humming noise.

“Here, come check out the tent window view in the tent.”

Slipping into the tent, Ethan zipped it closed so the bugs wouldn’t get in. They both laid down on their backs on top of the air mattress. The top window was open. Through the netting window, they could see dozens of stars.

“Brilliant, twinkling stars! They’re so clear!”

Maya felt such a calming peace in her soul. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes for a moment.

“You smell so good by the way.”

Ethan smiled.

“Thanks. It’s Noire.”

He paused and added,

“I just can’t believe you’re here. It’s like a dream that’s really reality!”

“I know. I can’t believe I’m here either and I never would have imagined that I’d be camping on my first night in Florida but this is so great!”

“Thank you for being real. I know it was a huge journey for you to come all this way.”

“We’ve been friends for a while now and I needed an adventure… so here I am!”

“Meow…”

“Did you hear that?”

Ethan asked. His pupils had dilated. Maya shook her head.

“There’s a cat out there.”

They hurriedly flopped out of the tent with very little grace. By the fire, lounged a single tiny black kitten.

“Aww… we already have company.”

Maya said as she scooped up the kitten into a cuddle. The kitten meowed again.

Ethan laughed, stating,

“Now, kitten food is one thing I don’t have in the back of my car!”

They sat by the fire and took turns holding the small kitten. Fortunately, the kitten didn’t seem to be overly famished at the moment. Ethan and Maya eventually fell fast asleep on the air mattress in the tent. The kitten had nestled itself comfortably in the middle of them under a blanket. Occasionally, the kitten would pop her head out from under the covers as if she was the nighttime chaperone.

~~~~~

Stay tuned for part 5, to be written by Komal. Her profile link is provided below.