The Thing about Falling ✓

Fifty Three • At Last

Owen

The moment Fitz and I get to the camp grounds, he slipped away, that fucking bastard.

It had already been a challenge being the one to drive him to the party with him doubting the legitimacy of my license, I couldn't think of anything more challenging than finding someone in a place where there are another hundred people or so mingling with him.

The place was unsurprisingly not as accessible as anyone with a wheelchair might want it to be. The grounds were uneven, and the paths were quite rocky. I was limited to only a few spots in the campgrounds and thankfully, that included the restrooms and the food stations.

I gave up searching for Fitz after a while. He was hard to track and I couldn't simply go anywhere. So there I was, sitting by the food stations  with a light alcoholic drink in my hand, when I saw her.

Athena.

She seemed to have just arrived, and if I could, I would've went up to her and also stared at what she had her big, brown eyes on.

The floating lanterns.

It was unfortunate how I couldn't go up there, but I was satisfied by watching her beam at the lanterns that rose above her, their soft, golden glow making my girl laugh and twirl around them, like she was the center of the universe.

Like she was, in that moment, infinite.

Her eyes twinkled as she looked up at the lanterns and her nose crinkled as she took in the beauty she found in such a beastly place as somewhere people actually camp on. She was adoring, and I was there, not too far but not too near, to be the one to adore her.

I almost felt scared for her after all the spinning she did under those lights. I watched her lose her balance and I feared she would break her other arm or something, but she didn't. Someone caught her, and that someone was the same person I had been looking all over the grounds for; Fitz, that bloody idiot.

They seemed to engage in conversation for a while, and I didn't want to seem like a stalker, so I went around the accessible parts of the campgrounds, dismissing the few clumps of soil clinging to the wheels of my chair. This might be a little tiring to get rid off later.

A lake, crystal clear to the eye and shining in the moonlight, entranced me. It seemed peaceful, and what I needed the most was silence from the loud music they had blaring earlier.

Well, the place had almost been perfect with the exception of seeing quite too many bare asses and dingly-danglies, even in the dark. I merely shook my head at them and just, sat there, staring out into the lake, dismissing the hollers coming from those who were stripped naked in the far corner of my eye.

Seconds turned into minutes, and I was feeling a bit drowsy just staring at the lake. The only thing that most likely kept me awake was the loudness of those guys jumping in and out of the lake, naked. I think I even saw someone grab a bunch of clothes and dash away, back to the party.

I smiled to myself. They may act like complete idiots, but at least they are having fun.

Inaccessible places limit where I go, so I had to be smart about finding places I could find myself comfortable with. This area around the lake was one of them, and thankfully, a good one. With it's flat lands, dry grass, and dirt that doesn't cling much to the chair, it was better than anything else that had the feel of nature.

I inhaled the scent of the lake, and found myself calmed by it. It was a sight to behold too, with the water glistening from the silvery sheen of the moon.