The Journey To An Unknown Destination

After the group of three was done with their breakfast, they headed back to their tents so that they could change and explore around.

"Hey, are you guys done changing? I've been waiting for like fifteen minutes!" Emily protested outside the changing cubicles. "Almost done!" Aiden replied, unlocking the cubicle and coming out. "Okay, now what about you Cyril?" Emily now turned towards his cubicle and started banging on the door. "What are you even doing in there?!" She said in exasperation.

"I... I'm doing my makeup! Don't disturb me like that or you'll ruin it. I still have to style my hair and also paint my nails. And then put on some dazzling accessories." Cyril replied from inside. Emily huffed in annoyanace but then burst out laughing.

The door unlocks and a clean, fresh Cyril comes out, smiling from ear to ear. Emily punched his back saying, "Joker." Cyril tried to rub his back and pretended to cry, "Ow..! Emily hit me. Boohoo!" Emily rolled her eyes and said, "Just hurry up! We have a lot of exploring to do." She said and started jogging towards the trail leading into the forest.

"Okay, where shall be go first." Aiden said, taking out a map from his backpack. Emily leans in to get a btter view of the map and saying, "Hmm... We are here right?" She pointed in the corner of the map. Aiden nodded and continues to look around the map. "Where do you want us to go?" Cyril asks. Aiden finally puts the map back inside his backpack and answers his question.

"Yesterday, we went towards the far west of the park, so today let's go and explore the north west of the park. The map even shows a majestic waterfall in that area!"

Emily claps excitedly in agreement, "Then let's go!"

So then, the group of three left the campsite around 10 in the morning and walked along the bumpy path for almost an hour. The sun was shining gently over the dense yellow trees and the wind was no longer blowing. Blocks of clouds were floating above them and it was quiter than usual.

They did not talk much during this journey because the were busy enjoying the view of the forest around them. Emily broke the ice, trying to start a conversation by saying, "So... I was just thinking about Linda, and I came to realize that we've been friends for more than a decade! We were first neighbours, and then we met each other in school the next day. That's when we started to talk to each more often and travel back and forth the school together. Slowly and gradually, our friendship started to deepen and we became best friends."

Emily told them her story as she gazed in front of her feeling nostalgic. The two of them listened intently. Emily then turned towards them and asked, "And... The two of you had actually known each other for quite some time, right? So, how did you meet each other?"

Hearing her question, Cyril's experssion turned mildly pale as flashbacks from his childhood swept past his eyes. He took in a deep breath and glanced at Aiden from the corner of his eye. His expression was also complicated and hard to read. Emily noticed the tension and inquired cautiously, "Is... Everything alright?"

Aiden realized that the atmosphere was a little tense and chuckled softly. "Ahah... Of course everything is okay! It's just that..." Aiden paused for a second, thinking whether or not to tell her about his bitter past.

Oh well... I think there won't be a problem. She's my close friend. I don't see a reason to hide anything from her. Aiden thought, and opened his mouth to tell her about their past.

"Well... You know, we are famous in college for being rivals and all... But that's not exactly how things started. We used to be friends in school but..."

Aiden paused yet again. Emily faced Aiden, trying to read his expression. It was clearly filled with sorrow. She said, "Aiden... Something is not alright. If you don't feel like telling anything, I am totally okay with it! Seriously." Aiden shook his head, "I-uh... Don't know..."

Emily smiled sympathetically, placing her hand on his shoulder, "It's okay. No need to stress yourself out over this topic. Let's talk about it some other time." Aiden also smiled in response and nodded.

They, however, did not notice that Cyril's eyes had turned misty as he forced his tears not to escape. He took in a really deep breath and sighed loudly. Emily looked at him, "Uhm... You okay as well, Cyril?" She asked.

Cyril forced a smile and nodded his head energetically. "Of course! Everything has never been better. Let's go and race down this track." He pointed in front of him. A narrow trail, which was sloping downwards, at not a very large angle. Emily and Aiden pumped their fists in the air and shouted, "Let's GO!"

The group of three raced down the path, until they could run no more. Cyril and Aiden being better atheletes, were ahead of Emily by a small extent. Emily huffed from behind, "Hey! That's unfair!"

The duo laughed and continued running. Since the path was bumpy and uneven, it was difficult to run and Aiden pushed himself a bit more. As he was on the same pace as Cyril, he wanted to get just a step further.

They ran for a few seconds before they started to slow down. Aiden suddenly lost his balance and tripped on a rock letting out a scream as he fell forward.