The sky that was once so blue and the light turned into black and darkness. Fog rose rapidly over the field. People nearby dropped to the ground unconsciously. Everything changed at that moment.
The beautiful green leaves of the tree become bloodshot red. The sky that had changed color is now pitch black. The sun was nowhere to be seen. Instead of the sun, there was a red moon above the sky.
In the main building of the camp, I saw myself falling to the ground and hitting my head against the cold hard ground. I got knocked out and was unconscious. A man ran up to my body and shook me lightly; he tried to wake me up. It was Pastor Hull, but he-
“Nariko?”
Who's calling me? I thought.
“Nariko, are you alright?” I heard pastor ask me.
I opened my eyes and quickly blinked. I sat very uncomfortable and went back straight to my seat. I looked up at the pastor and said, “ Yes, I'm alright.”
That was a weird dream. It almost seemed, so real. I shook the thoughts of those dreams away. I was still on the road, on my way to go to a camp in Belgium. For nine days I will be staying there with other teenagers and a few adults. And mind you, I arrived in Europe five days before agreeing to go to this camp.
My gaze shifted towards the window. For a few seconds, I saw a small brown box on the side of the road after pastor drove into another roadway. I wonder what's inside the box, but that's none of my business.
After a bumpy ride down, Pastor Hull parked the car next to some green tents. He waved to the person who was in front of the vehicle.
Maria, Aria, Andrew, pastor and I all got out of the car. Then we grabbed our stuff from the trunk. Pastor and Andrew went to the main building while the girls and I went to the dorms.
“ I'm excited,” I told them as we headed towards the dorms. Maria was walking beside me.
“ Really?” She asked.
I smiled brightly at her, “Yeah! I mean, yes! 'Cause I'm gonna meet more peeps and yeah!”
Maria, Aria, and I entered the dorms building through the double doors. There were showers and toilets in the back and four rooms with bunk beds. We went into the first room on the left.
Some other girls were already there and each chosen a bed, and we decided to join them and also select our bed.
A girl with long black hair jumped down from her bed and hugged Maria and Aria. I'm not a person who likes hugs, so I turned her hug down when she came up to me. She pouted but understood.
I figured out that her name is Altina.
After that encounter with Altina, I went to the bunk bed that was in the left corner. Maria chooses the lower part of the bunk bed, and I was on top. I threw my sleeping bag and bed sheets on top of the bed and put my suitcase underneath Maria's bed.
Before going outside, I needed the money to pay for camp. After finding my wallet, I went out to go to the main building. As I was walking towards the building, I remembered the fun times I had with my family before I came to Europe.
I walked up the stairs that lead to the porch. The main building also had double doors. I saw more people coming to camp; this place is going to get crowded soon. I went inside the building. There was a lady that was accepting the money, and I went up to her.
“Hello!” She greeted me. I said hello back.
“What's your name?” She asked.
“Nariko,” I said.
"Last name?”
“Nakamura.”
“Okay. Thank you. Do you have the one hundred and fifty euros?”
I nodded and gave her the money. The lady then told me where my sleeping area was. I already knew that, but I still listened to her anyway. After her explanation, I left the main building through the double doors that lead to the porch.
I walked to the railing and took in the breath-taking view, but I furrowed my eyebrows, still a place... which looks so familiar. My eyes widened, and I took a few steps back.
This campsite is the place from my dreams. The area where people dropped to the ground! Suddenly my vision changed...
I was standing at the place where I gave the lady my payment. Pastor Hull was also there, but he was kneeling and had his hand in his ear. His eyes widened, it was as if he heard a voice that he didn't want to hear at all. He suddenly fell to the ground next to my body. What seems to be gasping for air, it's like I'm suffocating.
Soon he also started struggling for air. I ran up to my own body and knelt next to it. Examining my own body is weird. I looked at my left hand and noticed that a strange marking started to form.
The light then traced the marking, and my body suddenly got up from the floor. I stumbled back and looked up at myself...
“Hey, Nariko!”
Maria's voice was like the ringing of a loud bell. It took me back to reality. I looked up at her still dazed from the vision.
“It's time to find out what color team we're on and who's going to get dinner!” She said. Maria quickly looked at me before turning back. But then she looked back and stared at me.
“Are you alright, Nariko? You look a little pale.” She asked in concern.
I shook my head, “No. I'm fine. And thanks for telling me, Maria.”
She nodded. Although she's still suspicious of my behavior, we went inside the building and sat down on the benches.
Some pitchers had drinks in them, napkin dispensers and utensils on the table. Soon the place began to fill up with more people. I watched as some people put their hands up and I followed suit. Pastor Hull was in the front and was the first one to put his hand up. He also was the one to put his hand down, we all followed as he did.
“Thank you all for coming to this camp. I'm sure that we're going to have a fun time during these nine days. I'll be calling out the names of the people for each team. First is the Red team, they are..."
I waited for my name to called, but all the names called expect for mine.
“Is there anyone who doesn't have a bracelet yet?” pastor asked.
I raised my hand. Pastor Hull told the person who was handing out the bracelet to give the orange bracelet to me. I gladly accepted the bracelet and put it on my left wrist.
“Okay guys, blue team will be doing the dishes after dinner,” pastor said. “ Let's bless the food, and blue team will be getting their food first.”
Pastor Hull prayed for the meal for a few minutes. After he is done, the blue team members got up and went for the food. The pastor went to each table and told them to get their food. He finally came to ours!
I got up and went to the food table. It looked so good, but I only got the food that I wanted. I went back to my seat and started eating. During that whole time, I did not talk to anyone.
After dinner, the blue team cleaned up the room. After the team has finished, we went outside to play some games. I played it and loved it. Everyone was playing it rough, and I also liked that. I'm a very competitive player so that you know.
I also finally started socializing with others.
“Well, this games will define our friends,“ Aria said as I got out of a game.
I laughed, “That's true.”
The games were almost finished, and everyone went to their respective dorms. My roommates and I prepared our beds. We had our devotions and took a shower. Well, we took a shower after the girls in the other room finished.
We were done with showering, and we had already prepared our beds. Our counselor, Olivia then came in the room.
“Alright girls, it's almost time to go to bed. But before that, I'll give you all a hug and goodnight kiss!”
Olivia went to every girl in the room and gave all of them a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Including me!
After giving us all a hug and goodnight kiss, she stood by the door.
“Goodnight, girls. Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite,” she said and turned off the lights.
This day was the first day of camp. I wonder what tomorrow will bring. Well, we'll find out in a few hours.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
