“C’mon Aisha.”

  “We’re not in a hurry…”

  “Still, we still have to set up the tent and some other things.”

  Even after arriving at the station, we still had a lot to do before we could see the stars.

  First of all, we needed a good place so we could put all our camping stuff. Lusia explained that the best place would be a lake she found by searching online.

  “Why can't we choose any other place…?”

  “I’m wondering the same.”

  “Lakes are the best places for camping. The placement and the reflection of the stars are perfect.”

  “You are the expert…”

  We started walking, following Lusia's. This wasn't anything new for me, and Camila didn't mind, so this part was easy. But easy doesn't mean perfect.

  “Hey, Aisha.”

  “Hmm?”

  Camila whispered close to me so I approached and started whispering too.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “What exactly was your idea? I know it's a bit late to ask, but I'm curious."

  “It's like…the thing I felt in all those places I visited with Lusia.”

  “That?”

  “Yes…”

  “You got the idea thanks to a painting, right?”

  “Right.”

  “You don’t have a single way to describe your feelings during that moment?”

  “Hmm…big.”

  “That literally could mean anything.”

  “I know…”

  “What you need is a mirror, not a lot of stars.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “What are you both talking about behind me?”

  We stopped talking after Lusia turned around. I didn’t understand why we were whispering, and now I’m trying to understand what Camila was trying to say.

  “Look, over there.”

  “I don’t see any lake…”

  “I’m talking about the signal.”

  Ahead of us, a sign indicated the distance to the lake. Lusia got very excited and started walking faster. She probably has very fond memories of her camping days.

  “Wait for me…”

  “Don’t leave us behind!”

  We followed Lusia’s steps for a while until we found our goal.

  “Woah.”

  The place was impressive. The green extended for the zone, the water reflected the light, and a few ducks floated peacefully. I didn’t even know lakes could have areas without stones on the ground. Any description Lusia could give us probably wouldn’t be enough for describing this place.

  “This is…”

  “Is?”

  “...”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  Without wasting more time, Lusia began setting up our tent with Camila's help. I quickly stopped the admiration and tried to help.

  “Aisha, please give me the hammer.”

  “Okay…”

  “Be careful, I have a knife in there.”

  “Without a sheath?”

  “It was too expensive.”

  Carefully, I searched in the backpack until I found two hammers. One had a standard shape, and the other was a mallet.

  “Which one?”

  “The mallet, I prefer that one.”

  After giving her the mallet, I tried to organize all the camping stuff until I was required for something else.

  Lusia had brought everything: Insecticide, two tiny kitchens, a tiny extinguisher. It was quicker to mention what she hadn't brought.

  “Where should I put the meat?”

  “That stays in the backpack until we cook it. A fly could step on the food.”

  “That have sense…Oh, a blanket.”

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “Oh yeah, can you please attach that to the ground? That way we can sit.”

  “As you wish.”

  My first idea was to use stakes, but to avoid damaging the blanket, I simply used some stones to add weight. Once the blanket was secure, I sat down on it, enjoying Lusia and Camila's company after they finished their part.

  “Phew, that was tiring.”

  “The tent looks good…”

  “Thanks, Camila also did a good job.”

  “You did almost everything.”

  “Your part was helpful.”

  Without anything to do for some hours, we rested and gazed at the lake. The water was different to the one that I usually drink, and that just made me wonder what it tasted like. Unfortunately Lusia explained to us that we couldn’t drink that water without distilling it, and that probably would give it a different flavor, it wasn’t worth it.

  “What things people can do in a lake...?”

  "This!"

  Lusia picked a stone from the ground and threw it really far. It skipped four times before sinking in the water.

  “Woah…”

  “I’m gonna try it.”

  Camila imitated Lusia’s movements and threw another stone. It only skipped one time before sinking.

  “A close one.”

  “That wasn’t close.”

  “...Can both repeat it?”

  “Huh? Sure.”

  When they threw their stones, I looked carefully at how Lusia did it. After getting it, I stood up.

  “You’re gonna try?”

  “I’m curious…”

  I picked a stone and tried to get a good distance. I moved my whole body with my arm for a good throw.

  "Uh, Aisha, that is not the-"

  When I threw it, the stone went farther, surpassing the distance that Camila and Lusia managed…but apparently I did something wrong because it simply sank.

  “...Technically Aisha won.”

  “Yeah but the stone didn’t skip a single time.”

  “I changed the moves too much..."

  “Hmm…I guess she deserves a little prize for being strong."

  “That ruins the purpose of doing the stones skip, but okay.”

  With a conflicted expression. both gave me a little bag with some cookies with different shapes.

  “Camila brought those cookies, thank her.”

  “Thanks…”

  “Are you her mother?”

  I ate some cookies while Lusia and Camila competed by throwing more stones. They left on the ground the stones with a weird shape, and I carefully piled them up. The competition only stopped when some ducks were passing by the spot they were using for shooting.

  “Ducks…”

  “Do we have bread to feed them?”

  Lusia inspected her backpack and mine trying to find some bread. The zone we're using didn’t have any sign prohibiting feeding animals so we didn’t think about that. The only sign we saw on the way was a ‘No fishing’ one (And of course the one that indicated the distance.)

  “I have some natural juices, that works?”

  “No, but it's good to know.”

  The ducks moved very slow, so we used that time doing questions about camping to Lusia.

  “The best would be run away, unless you have a shotgun.”

  “Playing death wouldn’t work?”

  “It's too risky. If you're going camping and you're afraid of bears, just ask Aisha for a shotgun.”

  “It's not mine…”

  The hours passed slowly until the sun finally started to disappear and the sky became orange. I was touching some grass for bordemon. Lusia and Camila…

  “Obviusly the bear wins!”

  “The gorilla has those giant fists, how can a bear resist that?!”

  “A bear is a killing machine, his killer instinct is clearly better!”

  Somehow our conversation degenerated too much with the time. Whatever they were discussing, was intense. The best move was looking at the lake while they continued with that.

  “A fish…”

  To entertain myself I tried fishing with my hands. Obviously it didn’t work. I clearly wasn’t doing anything interesting, but even so, I felt a little different than usual. That made me think of Camila’s words.

  “A mirror…”

  Whatever she was talking about was beyond my comprehension. She was talking about looking at myself? That didn’t make any sense, Lusia is always with me, she would notice any change, somehow she always does.

  “Hmm…”

  Without any clue about what her words mean, I looked at myself in the lake.

  “C’mon, give me some answers…”

  Obviously, complaining to myself wasn’t working. I don’t even know what I’m trying to do….

  “Maybe if I ask directly to Lusia…”

  I feel unable to comprehend Camila's words, but maybe Lusia could. Unfortunately, I remembered that we were talking whispering. She wants to have this as a secret.

  “Why are people this complicated…?”

  “Aisha! Do you prefer sweet or salty food?”

  Like nothing happened before, they were cooking something together. I was curious about how a tiny kitchen works, so I approached Lusia.

  “What is it?”

  “A curry recipe that Camila explained to me.”

  “Pay attention, you’re gonna ruin the consistency.”

  “I’m the campist.”

  “I’m okay with any flavor…”

  “Good, we’re gonna finish it on a while.”

  “...So…Do you need help?”

  “No, soon we’re gonna watch the stars, so choose a good place to see them.”

  “...You only need that?”

  “Yes, we can handle the food.”

  “...”

  Obediently, I returned to our blanket and started searching for a good position. I don’t know why, but something about not helping with the food felt…bad? Four hands are enough, and I can prepare the principal event, then, what is this feeling?

  “I also know how to cook…”

  It was difficult, but I found a perfect place after some tries. At the same time, Lusia and Camila approached with three plates with curry on them.

  “Thanks…”

  “Wanna add something?”

  “I’m okay with this…”

  During our early dinner, we talked about some random topics. School, hobbies, places to hang out, those topics made this experience different from a normal dinner.

  "Some of you knows how to play an instrument?"

  Camila asked that putting her finger like she was playing a piano. Probably for doing a visual example.

  "I know about flute, but only specific songs..."

  "After seeing a concert I became interested on bass, so I bought a book about that."

  "Just search it online."

  "I already have to use my aunt computer or phone for that. It was better and cheaper to buy a book."

  "I see."

  "I also can play voice."

  "That is not an instrument."

  Eventually, our plates were empty, so we put them on the mantle.

  “Thanks for the food…”

  “Great, I’ll put the plates in-”

  Just as Lusia was about to offer to clean everything up, Camila picked up our empty plates.

  “I'll do this part, you both can start without me.”

  I ended up being alone with Lusia. The first thing she did was lie down on the mantle, so I did the same, being at her side.

  “I think I can see a star.”

  “Just one…”

  “It's better than nothing.”

  “I guess…”

  The sky was slowly turning black and the stars were slowly appearing. I admit it was a little impressive, but for now, I didn’t feel anything special.

  “...”

  “Do you like the view?”

  “It's different from the city...”

  “Yeah.”

  “...”

  “Is something wrong?”

  “It's just…”

  “Hmm?”

  The stars hadn't arrived yet, so I spent that time talking with Lusia. I didn’t have any topic, so I talked without thinking.

  “Next time, I will help with the cooking, I know how to cook.”

  “Your father teached you?”

  “Yeah…”

  “In that case, I accept the offer. Your cooking must be very good.”

  “Maybe…”

  “...Is something bothering you?”

  “Maybe…”

  “What is it?”

  “I don’t know, I feel…I don’t know.”

  I tried to distract myself by watching the stars slowly appear, but it didn't help. Somehow, this place feels really small… Maybe it's the blanket…

  “Wanna play something so you can stop feeling that way?”

  Lusia’s words distracted me from whatever I was thinking or feeling. I guess I can only accept.

  “I don’t know if that’s gonna work but…okay.”

  “Nice, the first one who finds a really brilliant star wins.”

  “I can do that.”

  Every second the stars were increasing. My eyes were trying to find a really brilliant one, but the only one with a different brightness was the first one, and of course that didn’t count.

  “How's it going…?”

  “I just started.”

  “Right…”

  “I didn’t know you could be impatient.”

  “...Sorry…”

  “Don’t worry, I’m also very impatient.”

  “If that were the case, you wouldn’t be my friend.”

  “Don’t say that, you’re just a little complicated.”

  Lusia stroked my head while her eyes moved in all possible directions, trying to find a bright star.

  “Let’s do this again someday. Not for a project or getting some idea, just for fun.”

  “Fun…”

  “Yeah.”

  “...”

  “This blanket is really comfortable.”

  All the things we did for this project came to my mind when she proposed doing this again. At that moment, I just talked without thinking about anything else.

  “Then…we can also go to a museum, or spend a whole day in a zoo looking for interesting animals…”

  “...”

  “...We can also go to that store and buy more cookies. I could show you the place where I got my earrings.”

  My mind was full of places where I could go with Lusia…No, it was full of places where I wanted to go with Lusia.

  “...”

  “Lusia?”

  “Zzz…”

  “...I guess this blanket is comfortable for her.”

  I looked again to the sky. Watching the new stars appearing and remembering the things I made with Lusia, somehow I felt some kind of ‘click.’

  “Giant…variety…of course…”

  I quickly picked a notebook from my backpack and wrote everything. This is what I was thinking during our visit to the art gallery, but it felt even more vivid. Somehow this trips worked.

  “...Bright…”

  I stopped looking at my notebook. I already had everything we needed, so looking at it would be a waste. But, I wasn’t looking at the stars either.

  When I noticed what was happening, I finally understood Camila’s words, and at the same time, I found the brightest star I could.

  A star that I couldn’t find looking at the sky, but is always with me, making other stars bright even more.