as I can remember I always wish upon any shooting stars I saw. I made a wish that night, and it came true—for
a time at any rate. I’m not going to repeat it here though, even now I feel like it might ruin the magic if I told you.
I heard a scraping noise, then the sound of falling pebbles. I sat up and looked to see Anna’s face peering up
over the edge at me. “Hi.”
I had a deer in headlights moment and all I could respond with was a lame “Hi” in return. She scrambled up the
edge and took a few steps to sand beside where I sat. She wore a pink spaghetti strap top with those same
short cut off shorts.
Not knowing what else to do, I laid back down to look at the stars.
She stood there a moment, thinking, waiting. Then spoke “I forgot to bring a pillow.”
I glanced at her, trying to think of a solution. Then it hit me. “You could share mine.” I scooted over a bit to
make room. She didn’t say anything, just sat down before laying her head down beside mine. We stared at the
stars together, wordlessly enjoying the moment.
This is when I saw the shooting star. This is when I made my wish.
“You don’t see stars like that back home.” Her voice was soft, like she was afraid the sound might break the
spell.
“No, you don’t” I managed. I shifted a little, moving a small rock from beneath me. During my motion my hand
brushed against hers. I stopped as if frozen in time. My heart paused, waiting. My breath was held. Then her
hand locked around mind and our fingers twined together.
She moved so her cheek was resting on my shoulder. She rolled towards me, reaching her opposite arm
across me. She let go of my hand and I felt a moment of sadness in this. That feeling was quickly replaced
with warmth as my arm wrapped around her and pulled her slender body closer to mine. My other hand found
hers and they wrapped together to rest on my chest.
An eternal smile fixed upon my face, I lay there enjoying the feeling of her in my arms. Everything seem to
quiet, to pause, as if the world was taking a step back to allow us to enjoy this moment. If only it would never
end. Music drifted from the campsite below.
All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my arms
Words are very unnecessary
They can only do harm
Rarely, if ever, have I known contentment like that moment. It would be forever etched in my mind as a defining
moment of our history. I have no words that could describe how I felt, and words were unneeded. I just knew I
wanted to be with her, to protect her, to make her laugh and see her wonderful smile.
I first became aware of her sent, an imperceptibly sweet smell of flowers. For a moment I wondered what it
could be. Having no showers or even running water, it must have been some kind of body spray. This line of
thoughts was quickly driven out when I became aware of her small breasts pressed against the side of my
chest. The knowledge made my breath catch, and my blood started rising in my loins. I tried desperately to
think of other things. To think of video games or the book I was reading. Tried to think about the last movie I