Chapter 14: The Echoes of Nature

SAGE

After I painstakingly placed a set of stones in an oval shape on the ground, I gestured my hand to Val, telling her to hand out the fire log Simon had brought for us. But instead, she stood up and carried the picnic box with her and sat on the trunk with me.

"Are we really doing this?" she asked, placing the wooden logs in the middle of the stones I'd gathered. "Cooking is not my specialty."

I chuckled. "Don't worry, I got it. My Moms and I love camping so we always do this kind of things. Though it's been a long time since we'd done it with just the three of us."

"Why is that?" Val asked while pouring the bottle of fuel all over the logs.

Clamping my lips, I stared at the sight of the beautiful view in front of me. When was the last time we'd done it? Yes, it was seven months ago before my younger brother passed away. Once I realized I'd zoned out, I withdrew myself back to reality and turned to Val, curving up a little smile. "Mom's been busy lately with, you know, searching fo