Luke starts to speak again, but the words die in his throat.
“What’s that noise?” He stops suddenly, the others almost walking into him.
He lifts a hand and they all go quiet.
“That’s what we came for,” I say.
“Is that a?—?”
“Come on. It’s just around the bend.”
We round it.
The waterfall spills over dark stone in a steady, gliding sheet, feeding into a still lake that catches the sunlight and throws it back in fractured color. Pines and aspens ring the water, mist hanging low, softening everything, like the place exists slightly apart from the rest of the world. Birds move through the trees,light flickering through them, rainbows forming in the spray where the water hits below.
“Okay…” Luke exhales. “Yeah. This was worth it.”
I don’t answer him.
I’m watching Sierra.
The way her expression changes—softens, opens. The tension she’s been carrying eases in real time, her shoulders dropping as she steps toward the water.
She kneels at the edge, trailing her fingers through the surface, watching the ripples spread.
“It’s… beautiful,” she whispers.
They all stare, taking it in.
“Am I really seeing this?” Luke murmurs. “Or have I somehow died and gone to heaven?”
I don’t respond.
I’m watching Sierra.
That look—that’s what I wanted.
Wonder. Awe.
Her lips part as she breathes in, stepping closer, fingertips brushing the cool flow.
“It’s beautiful,” she says again, softer this time.
She’s beautiful. She’s perfect, and ever since she told me she loved me—loved us—I haven’t been able to think about anything else.
I love her too. More than I’ve managed to say. Maybe this… maybe this is how I show her.
“Has this been here the whole time?” Reid asks.
“Yes,” I say. “I didn’t tell anyone. Too many people ruin a place like this. The water is… sacred.”
“It is?”
“My grandmother used to tell me stories. Her grandmother said warriors came here after battle. Said it washed something out of them. Left them calmer.”
“Oh, so it’s full of ancient blood and fecal matter. Lovely,” Luke mutters.
The explanation wasn’t for him.