After supper Ian shows me the hasher schedule so we know who has to help set the table for each meal. I’m not on for a few days. The rest of the evening gets filled with a never-ending game of capture the flag. Bella keeps waving the flag when it’s supposed to be hidden. Duncan is on the verge of a stage-three meltdown in the middle of the field, because he doesn’t want to hide. When he throws himself on the ground, I sigh and come out of my hiding spot. I kneel down next to him.
“I want to go home,” he whimpers.
I help him stand up. “Come on. Let’s sit this game out.” I take him over to the pavilion, and we watch from the steps instead. He spends the whole time talking to himself. At the end of the game Ian notices me and comes over.
“That was fun, eh?”
“What part?” I say with a sarcastic tone.
“Oh, did you sit out the whole game?”
“Pretty much.”
“That sucks.”
“Tell me about it.”
“OMG. Look! Look!” Ian says. “Over there by the arts-and-craft building. See? That’s the girl I was telling you about!” Ian jumps up. “Let’s go over. Her friend is there too.”
I get up and am about to follow him when Duncan says, “I want to go home.” Sighing, I say to Ian, “You go. I’ll find you after.”
Back at the cabin everyone is getting ready for the first campfire. I glance over at Duncan sitting on his bunk. I can tell he’s totally exhausted. He’s not used to the constant go-go-go activities. His head is buried in his hands. Kenny is asking him questions about stupid stuff. It’s all too much. I knew he wasn’t going to last a full day here.
I tap Sam, who’s singing loudly, on the shoulder. “Can we turn the music down for a bit? My brother is getting upset.”
Sam’s face falls. “You don’t like my singing?”
“It’s not me. It’s Duncan. Look at him.”
Snot hangs from the tip of Duncan’s nose as he cries quietly.
“Oh no. That’s not good,” Sam says. He immediately turns the music off and hands Duncan a handkerchief from his shirt pocket. “It’s okay, Spider-Man. You’ll get your powers back.”
Within seconds everyone is either kneeling by Duncan or standing around him, trying to cheer him up. I’m about to tell them to give him some space when Duncan starts talking into his hand about some rescue he’s about to go on. This causes everyone to clap.
“Spider-Man’s back!” Kenny announces.
“You guys ready for the campfire?” Cole shouts from the doorway.
Everyone bustles out of the cabin, including Duncan. Thank god he stopped crying. Cole leads us down the path through the woods. Used coffee cans filled with candles light the path. Our flashlights flicker all around the woods.
When we get to the bottom of the path, we can see a huge bonfire crackling and popping in the middle of the beach. The water is still as glass, and the sky is filled with a million stars. I spot Ian sitting on a log, sandwiched between two girls and grinning like a two-year-old.
Sighing, I plunk down on a log next to Bella and Sam, who both start swaying to the music. Before long I notice they’re holding hands. Which makes me think of Mom and Derek.
Then Bella startles the crap out of me when she leans over and grabs my chin. “You have to sing. We’re at a campfire, silly.”
I pretend to sing for a bit, then zone out, staring at the fire and getting lost in my thoughts.
“Look!” Bella squeals, pointing toward the water.
Off in the distance the flame from a torch moves closer to shore. I can’t tell who’s holding it, but it looks to be the person in the middle of the canoe.
“Shh,” the counselors say. “We have to be quiet so we can hear the message from the Spirit.”
My cabinmates don’t say a word. The only sounds are the crackling from the fire and the paddles dipping in and out of the water.
When the canoe reaches the shore, I can see that the person holding the torch is wearing a mask and a wool blanket around his shoulders. In a deep voice he says, “Welcome, fellow campers. I come to you in peace as the Spirit of Little Cove.” He raises his hands in the air and continues talking. I quickly clue in that it’s Ben, but the rest of my cabinmates act as if he’s really some sort of spirit. Sam’s mouth is hanging wide open. Even Duncan seems mesmerized.
Ben walks around the fire pit, holding his torch. “While you are at camp I am asking all of you to dig deep within to find the parts of your soul that lead you to harmony, self-confidence and respect for yourself and those around you. Your time here will be filled with great joy and wonder. My hope is that your spirit will be filled with peace and a new sense of self by the time you leave.” Then, just as he arrived, he slips quietly into the dark and back into the canoe.
One of the counselors stands up and says, “Let’s show the spirit our appreciation by singing the Little Cove song:
Take off your shoes and stockings and let your feet go bare,
because we’re the kids from Little Cove,
catch us if you dare…”
The singing continues. Before the last song of the night, a lantern gets passed around, and whoever’s holding it has to say what he or she thinks camp will be like. Everyone’s answers are different yet sort of the same, until Sam says, “It’s going to be epic!”
Bella adds, “Yes. That’s because of me,” and kisses him on the cheek.
“That’s gross,” Kenny mumbles.
When it’s Duncan’s turn, he says, “My dad.”
My eyes get blurry. I pretend smoke is in them and cough. Duncan never ceases to amaze me. One minute he seems clueless, and the next minute he says something really bang on. Dad did love to go camping, and we loved to camp with him.
The lantern gets passed to me. I can’t think of anything to say that hasn’t already been said. I’m trying to come up with something good when Bella cuts in. “He’s going to learn how to sing!” Everyone laughs. My face turns red again, though maybe nobody can tell.
We all stand up and hold hands in a circle around the campfire. One of the counselors starts singing, “Day is done, gone the sun…” I glance around. Duncan has a peaceful look on his face. Maybe he will be okay.