Aesthetics of August

❝ 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛,

𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚔. ❞

I jumped back in fear as a cold hand wrapped around mine. I tried to yank my hand back but the hold was too tight.

"Please", a frightened boy's voice said. "I'm, I'm...scared of the dark and this, this damn camp guy wouldn't let me sit outside and wait for the team to return. Please I beg you", hearing his stammering plea I murmured, "O-Okay..I'll lead you but only until you don't let your hands wander anywhere, where they shouldn't be".

I tried to pat his back but I had to twist my whole body to do. I tried. I really did try to pat his back but ended up patting his head which was sweaty. Remind me to scrub my hands please.Jokes aside this guy is shivering and his breath is loud and uneven.

"It's okay I'll help you through the cave,okay? Besides there is already a trail that the previous groups had made. If you look, I mean feel carefully there are just scattered rocks like the camp people purposefully did it. So it's okay I can assure you that there will likely be no snakes or bats or whatever you are scared of besides the dark", I blabbered trying to distract his mind...

Instead I recieved no response so I continued, "I don't know if me blabbering makes it any better but you know on the bright side I think we've reached the end of the tunnel"

He just let out a huge breath that he probably held in. To make it easy for him I tried to kick away any rocks that were present to the dark ends.

"There's the light", he whispered and as if on cue our instructor boomed, "We are not going through that light filled tunnel, it ends in nothing but an 80 ft drop unless you want to die the most painful death of course", at this my partner shifted a bit away from the tunnel as if it was a feet or two away.

"Since I'm your tour guide for this 'menacing travels through a cave' adventure I'll tell you guys the back story of the pit. It was dug out by the previous tribals that lived here to misguide the colonial rulers. They have even constructed a walkable path underground to go and retrieve their bodies", the instructor yelled loudly for everyone to hear. His voice boomed through the walls of the cave.

I heard a small whisper from my right,"Why? What would they do with their dead bodies?"

"I don't know bud",was all I could say before the hold on my hand tightened more."To feast", the instructor replied quite sardonically.

After this little horror bed time story for kids with various phobias and fears, I tried to help my partner. I asked him the most random answers but he wouldn't answer. I couldn't help but grow worried "Hey, are you okay? Are you sick? I don't want you to be dying on me you know", I tried to joke but his hold loosened up a bit.

I turned around and I swiftly grabbed his hand, it was cold and clammy. "I just feel nauseous can we go and stand in the light for a bit?", he asked hopefully. Didn't he hear what the instructor said about the tunnel. Was he nuts? Oh holy moly God of avocados. I'm so not going there. Never. "No", I refused in a final tone of no arguments.

I didn't receive any response but it really made me worried how cold his hands where. Instinctively he would shuffle behind me trying to follow me, rather walk beside me into the unknown. We were at a not-so-normal summer boot camp. I mean it was obvious by their name and advertisements. Especially their ID cards had a not-so-dark but dark promise.

I could've applied for the fitness camp, after my last years various business meetings with icecream tubs over mental breakdowns but decided against it. I've always wanted to try this adventure camp but it has an age-limit so till then, I tried out all the other camps. While my brother and I were enrolled into boot camps my parents would go visit our grandparents. We would ask, if we could but they would just refuse and say we can't communicate there since we didn't know the native language.

We passed from the light tunnel and I just tightened my hold on his hand. The whole area around the open cave hole was brightened and the rays peeked through it.

I saw our entwined hands. I could see his hand and his sleeve but before I could look at his face the darkness surrounded us again. His hand, it was bruised and what I thought was sweat was a bit of blood.He probably hurt himself in the process of finding someone. I tried to squeeze his hand to sense for any open gash but I didn't find any. "Uh?", he said in confusion but I just ignored him.

Note to self : don't forget to get him some help.

We continued to walk and it got more and more quiet. Our feet's thumping on the ground was the only sound heard other than whispers. As much as I would love to think that those were the caves untold stories I shouldn't because that would be pretty stupid, wouldn't it?

Our instructor said that these caves would lead to small ponds that the tribals had built. They were occasional whimpers and pleas echoing through the cave. Our instructor wanted us to 'tackle our fear of the unknown' and venture into caves without flashlights and cellphones because he said and I quote, 'The spies that he set up in the team last year told him that kids would switch on their phones flashlight' but of course I didn't want to believe the crap that he said. Spies? Is he for real? Not to mention the 'tackle your fear of unknown' was the camps slogan.

The guy's grip on my hand seemed to tighten, as if to reassure himself. "What's your name?" I said in hopes of making a friend. I have been here for two days now and I haven't made a friend. Of course I had friends in other groups of the camp. but it would be nice to have one from my team and I have started to feel lonely.

Since I didn't get a response. "Hey?",I said loudly for him to hear.

"Yeah?"

"Your name." I repeated instead of asking politely. Good gosh what were these camp people mixing in their food, I was beyond horrified now.

Yesterday I fought with my roommate for keeping the lights turned on till 3o'clock. I wouldn't be bothered much because back home, my twin brother too does the same but it was her hyena laugh, that has crossed my final breaking point. She was laughing at one of her girlfriends accusations, when I officially snapped like Molly Weasely.

"Can I hold your hand?", a child whimpered not to far from us and the guy holding my hand replied, "Here" and I'm assuming he offered his hand and I now felt more weight pulling me back. The guy still didn't answer and I kept pondering how to ask without seeming way to weird and creepy. Oh! How much I hated my awkward self. I don't want to sound needy, so, I'll give up on my tries.

Oh! To hell with all Pomegranate seeds! Why do I do this to myself ?

The older one hummed for a while and we continued to walk through the cave. The instructor wore a

glow-in dark neon-green hat to make sure everybody could follow him and for the ones at behind they had the instructors assistant.

Suddenly the small boy tripped on possibly a rock and we all lost our balance. I panicked, thinking about the small boy. Is he hurt? Oh! That poor little Pumpkin!

Okay,enough of the dramatics.

I waved my hands down trying to find the child and pick him up. I held the child's body but I could hear hiccups to my right and the older one groaned.

"Would you remove your hands off my legs, please?"