The scenery around the lake was beautiful but also surreal. Orion had never encountered such a beauty; standing before it was mystifying. He was unable to make sense of the emotions that bubbled up into his throat and left him at a loss for words. For a young boy, naive to the wonders of the world, it was a lot to take in.

He walked out from underneath the canopy of needles and leaves, and was overwhelmed by the star-studded sky. The vast expanse stretched out into infinity, engulfing the woods, the lake, and everything that existed underneath it. Orion strained his eyes to look as far into it as he could, but it was futile; the sky wouldn't divulge its secrets to just any mere mortal.

The lake itself was a sight to behold. Orion was hypnotised by the dark waters—which were just as mysterious as their empyrean counterpart—and the way the surface rippled whenever the wind brushed against it. Gracing the shores were freshly budding maple, birch, and pine trees, the prescient sources of the change in the aroma as well as the lake's chief protectors. Inadequacy niggled at his heart; his appreciation alone would never do the landscape justice.

"I agree, it's much more beautiful at night," Barbara said, breaking the Zen-like stillness. Her arm fell away from Orion's waist when he shifted his weight to his injured ankle, so, instead, she opted for a firm grip on his bicep.

"How did you find this place?" he whispered, still in awe. He couldn't bring himself to tear his eyes away from the lake, afraid that it would disappear and he would wake up from a dream.

"It's a long story."

Orion attempted to take a step forward, towards the edge of the water, but Barbara briskly pulled him back.

"You can't go in there. The water is freezing; you'll get hypothermia."

He raised an eyebrow; Barbara had reverted back to her default settings. She stared at him blankly, the flashlight casting ominous shadows across her face. When realisation dawned, her mouth broke into a sheepish grin, and Orion could've sworn her cheeks grew pink. Barbara opened her mouth to protest, but he raised a hand, shushing her.

"I'm only going to dip my feet. Cold water helps against the bruising." Before his brain could register the movement of his limbs, Barbara tapped his shoulder.

"You do need my help to—"

"Barbara, please. I can do this myself." It was an arduous task keeping the annoyance out of his voice. Now she was starting to get on his nerves, and while at any other time he would just comply with it, right now he wasn't in the mood. Orion was battered, covered in crap, and exhausted as hell—all he wanted was for at least his feet to feel clean. Was that too much to ask?

He limped away with a storm cloud floating above his head. When he reached the steep, grassy ridge, he sat down and began untying his shoes. They were so filthy, they were beyond recognisable—it made Orion wonder about how he would cover up his nightly escapade.

At this point in time, sleep wasn't an option. He couldn't jump into bed in his current condition, and sleeping for only a few hours wasn't worth a day-long headache. Getting through school without passing out would be quite a feat, but at least, it was a Friday. He could probably get away with napping for a couple of hours before getting any homework done. If I cover up my tracks, they shouldn't suspect a thing. Orion pulled off his shoes and placed them by his side. His disorderly thoughts were beginning to terrify him; the first thing that had come to mind wasn't how he would come clean to his parents, but rather how he would lie to them.

He balled up his socks and tucked them inside a pocket, then inched forward and lowered his feet into the water. When he was hit by the cold, he drew them back up, his toes curling.

"I wasn't a hundred percent serious when I made that promise."

Orion yelped, his hand flying up to his chest. He hadn't heard her take a seat by his side, too engrossed in his own thoughts. "Can you please not sneak up on me like that? It's already scary enough being in the middle of nowhere on our own," he said, throwing a glare in her general direction. Without the flashlight, the two were shrouded by complete darkness.

"Sorry." A soft chuckle ensued, then rustling.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm taking off my shoes. How is the water?" Two dry thumps as Barbara tossed them away.

"Cold."

Barbara plopped her feet into the water, spraying droplets of water onto Orion. After both of them complained—for two very different reasons—a comfortable silence fell. Neither one found themselves obligated to fill the quiet with noise; it was enough to be in each other's present.

A while later, after a lot of fidgeting, Orion finally spoke up. "You still haven't told me how you found this place." The gentle ruffles of water caressed his numb ankles, calming his nerves.

Barbara didn't reply for some time and due to her soft breathing, he thought she had fallen asleep.

"It's a long story, it will take forever." She chuckled again, but this time it sounded...anxious. Orion turned his head to look at her dark form, his lips pursed in a thin line. He had a feeling that her story wouldn't involve rainbows and unicorns, but that didn't stop him from prodding further.

"I have all night."

Barbara clicked her tongue and exhaled, letting her breath drag on until she ran out of air.

"I come here often, more often than you'd think," Barbara said, "Being here alone, surrounded by nothing but...nature—it's calming, it helps me think about...things."

Orion lifted his feet out of the water and wrapped his arms around his legs. He hung onto her every word, even though his gaze remained fixated on the ground. "What things?" he asked, as tactful as possible. He was slowly opening a Pandora's box, unknowing of what could jump out at him.

"Things. It doesn't matter—school, family....him." The volume of her voice had followed a steady decrescendo until the last word was barely a whisper. This isn't right. Barbara is never like this.

Orion dragged both hands through his hair. The woods brought out that side of them they were too afraid to show the world; for Barbara it was vulnerability, for Orion it was strength. He looked up at the lake, wondering whether it had something to do with it, whether this was one of the secrets it had accidentally disclosed. Orion didn't want to go back to his old self, the one who stuck in a perpetual state of naivety and immaturity. In spite of that, he knew very well that the moment he set foot out of the woods, things would go back to normal.

This was a slice of paradise, a taste of what he could be, of what he could become. It was tempting, very tempting, and with every second that passed, he allowed himself to give in, little by little.

"You know you can talk to me about anything. That's what I'm here for." It wasn't him who was speaking anymore, it was someone else. A more confident, more spontaneous Orion.

"I really don't want to bother you with my problems...you have enough on your plate al—"

Orion swivelled and grabbed her hand, even in pitch-black darkness. He gave it a firm squeeze and said, "You're my friend, and I'm going to listen to whatever you have to say, it doesn't matter what it is." The gesture was very bold, and his head was starting to feel its repercussions.

"You already know the story." Barbara tried to pull her hand away, but Orion was unrelenting. He held it in place, deciding that he wouldn't shift a muscle, not even if the stars came crashing down on them.

"All I know is that he...passed away. That's it, I swear."

Barbara stopped struggling, and her hand grew limp. Orion loosened his grip, until the palm of her hand was cradled in his. Now that he was aware of this, he found himself growing hot with embarrassment, and even though his mind yelled at him to let go, his hand remained stiff in place.

"When Alejandro died, a part of me died with him," Barbara said. Orion felt her reposition herself beside him, and now felt her eyes on him. They were sitting face-to-face. He kneaded a thumb into her knuckles, giving her the vigour she didn't have.

"I blame myself every single day for what happened." Her voice cracked at the end of the phrase, but she kept going. "I should have paid more attention to him, I shouldn't have allowed him to play on the street, instead I did...I was supposed to be responsible for him but—but I wasn't and now...he's gone, and it's all my fault."

This time, Orion allowed her to draw back her hand as she sniffled. He didn't reach out for it, preferring to give her space. It wouldn't take much guesswork to know what had happened next.

"Don't blame yourself‚ you couldn't have imagined..."

"Who's to blame then?" Melancholy was replaced by anger in the blink of an eye, and the air became tense and hard to inhale. "The driver, for talking on his phone while at the wheel, my mother, who put the care of three children in the hands of an eight year old, or my brother, who had to go out and get himself killed?"

The harshness of her words struck her mute.

Anger, pain, sadness—all emotions Orion didn't have to see to feel them himself. He thought about his own brother, and how aimless his own life would be without him. Shen was his rock, his reason to fight, to accept their parents' mistreatment, his reason to live. Without him...Orion shook his head. It wasn't about him, it was about Barbara. Yet here he was, thinking about his own problem, as always.

Think Orion, think. It was his turn to make her feel better about herself.

"There is a Chinese proverb that says: 'to die is to stop living, but to stop living...is something completely different from dying. It's worse.'" One of many quotes from the fountain of wisdom that was his deceased grandmother. It was one of the few that had really remained imprinted into his mind, helping him get through the worst days sane and in one piece.

Barbara sniffled. "I don't understand..."

Orion took her hand again, more gently this time, and caressed it. "It means..." He pursed his lips for a second, deep in thought. "You shouldn't beat yourself up because of what happened to your brother, I-I mean...you couldn't have predicted something so horrible would happen...nobody could. I just...I admire you so much, Barbara. I wish I had even an ounce of the strength that you had."

As his friend choked back a cry, he leant forwards and hugged her as tightly as he could.

"I love you so much, Orion! You're the bestest friend I could ever ask for." She said, her warm breath tickling his reddening neck. Orion couldn't help but smile until his cheeks hurt; those three words were like music to his ears. It made him feel on top of the world, even bold enough to pull away and give her a kiss right on the lips—in his dreams.

"Do you know how to skip rocks?" Orion said out of the blue, hands now on her shoulders.

"Yeah." Her voice was still a little shrill, but that was only an aftereffect of her emotional paroxysm. Orion had tranquillised her considerably, reducing her tears to a fit of sniffles.

"Could you teach me?" A handful of pebbles had materialised in a hand, as round and smooth as the ones from his dream. Skipping rocks was a simple past-time, and he didn't want to go back home just yet.

"Sure!" she exclaimed, as enthusiastic as a little girl. Orion knew this would cheer her up. "Just let me get my flashlight and I'll show you—I'm practically a pro."

"Whatever you say." Orion chuckled, earning himself a hair ruffle from Barbara.

When she clambered back up the ridge to her backpack, he turned towards the lake, a smile on his face.

If only he could stay here forever.