Camren: “Ha…ha…ha…”
Katie: “Ha… H-hey! Where are we going!”
Camren: “Huh! Oh! I’m sorry! We’re almost there!”
Katie: “Where are you- a park?”
Camren: “Yeah… ha… ha… ok… My brother should be here somewhere.”
Katie: “What are you talking about?! First you drag me out here and you won’t ex-”
Camren: “Shh! Don’t forget! We are outside right now,”
Katie: “Oh right! Sorry, I’ll be quiet.”
Camren: “But anyways, I’m sorry for dragging you here with me.”
Katie: “Yeah, what’s all that about?”
Camren: “In our family, we have a special tradition we follow on everyone’s birthdays.”
Katie: “What?”
Camren: “Everyone will hide somewhere around the city block, and I have to find everyone and get the clues they have set up for me, before the clock strikes 8.”
Katie: “What happens if you don’t get them all in time?”
Camren: “I… Won’t have a present this year.”
Katie: “...”
Camren: “...? What?”
Katie: “So you made me run all the way here,”
Camren: “...”
Katie: “And scare the living crap out of me,”
Camren: “Y-...”
Katie: “For. Your. Birthday. Gift???”
Camren: “LISTEN! I have a very important gift this year, and I am getting it no matter what!”
Katie: “What could you have asked for man…”
Camren: “So there was this butterfly at the store…”
Katie: “Y-you’re kidding…”
Camren: “... I like butterflies.”
Katie: “W-wha… dude there are butterflies everywhere here!”
Camren: “That one is special! It had beautiful wings, I think it was named Haetera piera or something,”
Katie: “...”
Camren: “Anyways! I need to get that one because it was the only one at the shop! So help me find my brother!”
Katie: “How should I know what he looks like?!?”
Camren: “Then follow me! We just can't keep standing around!”
Katie: “You- you owe me big time!”
Camren: “... I’ll buy you ice cream or some-”
Katie: “ICE CREAM?! Let’s go then! Clock’s ticking!”
Camren: “... IS THAT ALL IT TAKES FOR YOU?!?”
Katie: “I haven’t had one in yeeeeaaaars!!! C’mon! It’ll all melt away!”
Camren: “Keep your voice down!!!”
Katie: “Oops, my bad, hehe.”
Camren: “Well you’re lucky that no one’s here today, but that also means it should be easy to find him.”
Katie: “But how did you know that your brother would be in the park?”
Camren: “They always give a starting hint, we gotta have something to work with right?”
Katie: “Ooohhh, that makes sense.”
Camren: “Yup, but anyways! Stay focused. We’ve been walking for a while now, have you seen him yet?”
Katie: “Remember? I don’t know~ what he looks like!”
Camren: “He’s usually not this good at hiding… Where could he be?”
Katie: “Let’s sit down for a bit! My legs are killing me~”
Camren: “I guess we’ve been out for a while, be careful, the bench could be dirty.”
Katie: “Ha, that’s much better!”
Camren: “Still… I hope he’s ok, but he hasn’t been in the usual spots…”
Katie: “Well think long and think hard Cams! I gotta go use the bathroom real quick.”
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Camren: “Oh right, you’re on your period huh?”
Katie: “IT’S NOT THAT! I just gotta go pee, that’s all! I’ll be right back.”
Camren: “We don’t have much time, so if you could,”
Katie: “I know I know, just stay here, I’ll be out in a jiffy!”
Camren: (Ha… What am I missing here? Even though we haven’t looked everywhere yet, I feel like I would’ve found him by now! Ahhh. To be fair, it is a big park, hope he didn’t get lost or something…
Oh crap! I forgot to tell her that the bathrooms are locked on Saturdays! Well she’ll come back anyways. Will she be mad? Nah she wouldn’t, I’ll just tell her I’m sorry.
Actually, now that I think about it, I should really give her a change of clothes! She said she was out for days, does she even have anything with her?
But then again, she can’t borrow my boxers! Wait a minute, would Kate be mad again if I… lent… her… my… No! I’m just helping her! I can’t let her stay in those clothes unwashed! Yeah!
It’ll be fiiine, I can just let her borrow them while I wash her clothes. It’s not big of a deal anyways!
I wonder if any of my shirts would even fit her- NO! Don’t think about that!
But… Now that I think about it, her chest isn’t the only thing that’s…-!
STOP IT! NONONONONO!
You menace! I can’t keep thinking about this! I have Kate! AND EVEN THEN! She’s supposed to have had a husband! She isn’t my business! This isn’t the time to be thinking about such things!
I love Kate! And I wouldn’t trade her for anything el-)
Katie: “Boo!”
Camren: “WHA- W-when did you…”
Katie: “Hehe, I think the bathrooms were locked, but uh… Is everything ok?”
Camren: “Y-yeah, but how’d you get behind me…?”
Katie: “Well, you looked like you zoned out for a bit, what were you thinking about?”
Camren: “I! Uh! N-nevermind that! It was nothing!”
Katie: “Hmmmmm fine~ Anyways, wanna start looking for your brother again?”
Camren: “Oh yeah sure, let’s get going again!”
Katie: “... But that being said, this is a pretty big park…”
Camren: “Yeah, and it’s almost been an hour already, this could be a problem…”
Katie: “Say, what is your family like?”
Camren: “Huh? Oh, hmm where do I start,”
Katie: “You have siblings right? Brothers? Sisters?”
Camren: “The youngest is my brother, he’s only 5, but he’s a super smart kid. My sister is our middle child, she’s 12 and can be a bit… pushy with what she wants sometimes. My mother is the nicest and the sweetest woman, and my father is the most caring man who fell in love with my mom when they were both teenagers. They had me fairley young, and they moved here with my grandma almost 20 years ago.”
Katie: “Wow… You love your family very much, don’t you?”
Camren: “Yeah, I love them, although they can be a bit too caring sometimes, but that only lets me know how I’ll always have a place to come back to when I’m alone, right?”
Katie: “Right…”
Camren: “Oh… Sorry, I forgot.”
Katie: “I-it’s alright! Don’t worry about me haha… It’s not my place to feel bad about you having a nice family, I have one too remember?”
Camren: “Yeah… Anyways, l-let’s focus on finding my brother for now, I feel like we’re just wasting our time going around in circles…”
Katie: “Now that you mention it, we have… seen that tree at least 3 times now.”
Camren: “God, where could he-”
Stranger Women: [Aha so I was right! Good morning Mr. Camren!]
Camren: (Miss Han?!?)
Stranger Women: [My, it’s such a beautiful day isn’t it? What are you guys up to today? Is she your friend?]
*Nods
Stranger Women: [Not from here is she? Can she speak too?]
*Nods
Stranger Women: [That’s wonderful! Well I’m glad you’re making new friends Camren! I’ll be stopping by your house later tonight as well, so I’ll see you then!]
*Waves
Katie: “Hey Cams, who was tha-”
Stranger Women: [Oh, also!]
Camren: “???”
Stranger Women: [I saw your brother earlier, he said he was waiting for you, but had to go home because the public bathrooms were locked today. He also wanted me to give you ‘the clue’? I don’t know what that means, but here you go! I’ll stop bothering you two now haha! Stay safe!]
Camren: “Ha… that caught me off by surprise, but yeah, she’s my homeroom teacher. She’s also close with my family so she comes by my house often.”
Katie: “Does she know? That I'm...”
Camren: “I guess so! But she’s a very nice and a very open lady, so we welcome her with open arms.”
Katie: “She’s very pretty too! How old is she?”
Camren: “Don’t know, but on the younger side apparently.”
Katie: “Wow Cams, you are one lucky guy to be so close to a beautiful lady as herself~”
Camren: “I already said, I have Katie… And I could never think of something like that!”
Katie: “Yeah yeah I know, but be honest here, not even once~?”
Camren: “Quit it…”
Katie: “Hehe, but anyways, that’s the note your brother was supposed to give you right?”
Camren: “Yeah, but I hope he’s ok… He started having stomach aches yesterday.”
Katie: “What does it say??? What’s the clue?”
Camren: “Hold on, let me see, uh…”
Where the sun never sets, and the light is brighter, follow the faint trails of lit candle glitter, and there you can find her.
Katie: “Wow, you’re telling me your brother wrote this?”
Camren: “I told you, he’s a smart kid, but a bit too smart… I have no idea where to even start…”
Katie: “Where the sun never sets… Is he talking about the British Empire…?”
Camren: “Yeah because HE would know about that…”
Katie: “You told me he was smart!”
Camren: “Also, he wouldn’t make it that direct… But he did also mention candles.”
Katie: “Ooouuu so romantic!”
Camren: “What if they’re séance candles…”
Katie: “Do they glitter?”
Camren: “Hm…”
Katie: “Any ideas?”
Camren: “Maybe he could be talking about the library?”
Katie: “The library? How so?”
Camren: “But it could also be the cemetery… No, that can’t be right.”
Katie: “...”
Camren: “Ha… I don’t know.”
Katie: “Well don’t give up so easily!”
Camren: “Let’s get some ice cream while we figure this out… Now that I think about it, we haven't had anything to eat yet.”
Katie: “For breakfast… Welp! I can never say no to some ice cream! Let’s go!”