One Vision, Maybe More
"Hey, Milka, can I ask you something?" Elka wondered, sitting with Milka underneath the cool shade of a tree in the cabin area. She crossed her legs, leaning against the tree and frowned as the bark scratched her arms. Rubbing her forearms, Elka looked at Milka, finding her entranced with the blade of grass in her hands. Pursing her lips, Elka cleared her throat.
Milka hummed and glanced over to Elka, noting her furrowed brow. Folding her blade of grass, she said, "Oh, sorry. I was trying to make a kazoo."
"A kazoo," Elka repeated, and she watched Milka bring the grass kazoo to her lips, blowing against it and creating a sound like a harmonica. Elka's eyes twinkled, and she clasped her hands together. "Hey, that's good! It sounds like something James would like."
"Thanks. I tried teaching Dogen how to make one, but it flew up his nose," Milka replied, and she blew once more, making a simple tune like a lullaby.
Elka listened, hearing the wind carry Milka's song throughout the cabin area to mingle with chattering squirrels. She placed her palm to her ruddy cheek, recalling how James would take her down to the spot where he used to play with Chops and play his harmonica for her. It was an acquired taste, but seeing the sparkle in James' eyes when he searched for her approval after each number made her smile. Unlike Nils, James was actually trying to make her happy and involve her in his pastimes. Even if she was not entirely keen on country music, she appreciated James' gestures.
"Oh, what did you wanna say?" Milka asked, lowering her kazoo. She licked her chapped lips, discarding her makeshift instrument with a flick of her wrist.
"Right, right, so..." Elka straightened her back and set her hands on her lap. "...you and Elton, huh? Congrats."
A smile split on Milka's face, and her mood brightened. She reclined against the tree and crossed her ankles, saying, "Thanks. We've been doing some soul-searching together, and it's been great."
Elka tilted her head with a quiet chuckle. "Oh, soul-searching? Like what?"
"You know, kissing and stuff." Milka waved her hand, a low chuckle bouncing off the roof of her mouth.
Elka watched Milka's gaze fog over in the heat of remembrance. She scoured the cabin area, listening to Milka recall her first kiss with Elton and the aftermath of enchantment. She found Kitty and Franke standing in their usual spot by the bridge occasionally casting them a glance.
Her heart skipped a beat when she spotted Nils strutting out of the boys' cabin, ambling towards Kitty and Franke only to fork over an arrowhead to pass them. Nils tried to take Kitty's hand, but Kitty shoved him down, and her laughter mingled with Franke's as they watched him stumble to his feet. As Nils shuffled off to the main campgrounds, Elka sighed.
"Uh, Elka, it's rude to ignore me," Milka spat, dragging Elka out of her trance.
Elka gasped, her head colliding with the tree when she swiftly raised it. Hissing, she gripped the back of her skull and said, "Sorry, sorry. You were saying something about Elton's messy curls?"
Milka searched Elka's expression, observing her drawn lips and half-lidded eyes. She crossed her legs, hunching forward and idly playing with a few blades of grass as Elka tugged the hem of her shirt. When a squirrel came near, Milka watched Elka shoo it away, and she ran her thumb across her bruised knuckles.
"His hair is just the nicest shade of blue. It's like the deep sea," Milka said, closing her eyes. "In fact, when I had my vision about us being together, we were in a really nice boat on the Atlantic. It was like one of those Navy boats. We were kissing, and there were dolphins jumping up and-"
"So, that's what your vision was," Elka whispered, her words cutting through Milka's recollection.
Milka grinned, digging her fingers into her knees. She had been suspicious when Elka decided to join her, knowing that Elka was spending all of her free time trying to make Nils jealous and run back to her. Even though Milka had not been in Whispering Rock for too long like other veteran campers, she believed Elka was like a book, and she could flip through the torn pages of Elka's life at her leisure. She just needed to say the rights words in the correct order to unlock the next chapter.
"And what about my vision? Isn't it great?" Milka asked, beaming and chuckling.
"I'm worried for you," Elka replied, and Milka's expression fell, replaced with a tight glare, "because this is all too sudden."
"What's that supposed to mean? Didn't you jump shark from Nils to be with JT?" Milka hissed, and Elka dug her fingernails into her palm, retaining her neutral composure.
"You weren't around last year, so you couldn't possibly know what I went through with Nils." Elka watched Milka surge to her feet, and she sighed, doing the same to protect herself. "In any case, I still think this is rushed."
"Why do you care?" Milka snapped, a hot flush of anger burning in her cheeks.
"Because-!"
Milka jabbed her finger between Elka's eyes, forcing the older girl to recoil as she shouted, "Besides, you sure didn't have any problem saying all those awful things to Chops like 'stay away from James' and 'I'll make your life more miserable than it possibly is' and other things like that! You can't say my relationship with Elton is rushed when you're doing everything in your power to make your little scheme to get Nils back work as fast as you can!"
Elka looked over her shoulder, finding Kitty and Franke keeping their stares directly onto them. She had hoped to avoid a confrontation, but Milka was painfully naive about foresight and too stubborn for anyone's sake. Elka's canines bit into the inside of her mouth, gnawing on raw skin.
Satisfied with Elka's befuddled countenance, Milka smirked and puffed her chest out. She gripped her hips, saying, "I'll stay out of your business if you stay outta mine. I think you're a good, mean girl, Elka, but you're not too sneaky. So, let's-"
"If you listened to someone else for once in your life, then you'd let me say my piece," Elka retorted, and Milka's visage did not change in the slightest. Milka's sneer irked her, but Elka took a breath and asked, "How many visions did you have of Elton?"
The question came as a surprise. Milka lowered her hands, flexing her fingers. She tilted her head as her first vision painted her thoughts, and she struggled to suppress her bliss. Closing her eyes, she immersed herself in that breathtaking scene of Elton lifting her in the air on his boat. She felt the crisp ocean air surround and purify her, removing all the toxins from her body. Cackling dolphins became the soundtrack of her happiness.
"Milka, how many visions did you have?" Elka demanded, crossing her arms, and her voice stormed through Milka's thoughts like an alarm clock waking her up from a peaceful dream.
Scowling, Milka hissed, "One vision. That's all I needed unlike you."
"I knew it," Elka murmured, shaking her head.
"What? Are you gonna be cryptic or are you gonna spill it?" Milka balled her hands into fists, shaking them at her sides.
Elka groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. Brushing her bangs, Elka said, "One vision doesn't mean a lifetime."
Milka rolled her eyes. "Oh, this is coming from the one whose whole family is entrenched in the future. Great."
"I don't need your sarcasm," Elka growled, molars gritting, but she exhaled her anger like her therapist suggested. "Look, nothing is set in stone. I might get visions about Nils, and those might be true, but that doesn't mean-"
"Yes, yes, it does mean they'll happen. You keep going after Nils because your visions say you'll be with him," Milka remarked, stomping her foot as she leaned closer to Elka. "In fact, just because I've only had one vision of Elton so far doesn't mean it's wrong. One vision, maybe more, whatever! To think I'm hearing you, out of all people, the girl with the best foresight in camp, saying my relationship with Elton is wrong is crazy!"
Elka watched Milka, the memory of her seizing on the floor sending goosebumps surging on her skin. She shuddered, her pallor turning snow white, and she knew Milka took great joy in seeing her crumble.
"And before you say I'm doing this to move on from Quentin, you're wrong," Milka interjected when Elka opened her mouth. "I'm totally over Quentin in a way that you'll never know."
Elka clamped her lips shut, her pupils turning into pinpricks. The wind carried the sly giggles of Franke and Kitty into her ears, and she diverted her attention to the ground.
"I think we're done here," Milka announced, side-stepping Elka. Standing next to her, she clutched her bony shoulder and murmured, "Stay out of my business, and I'll stay out of yours. I'll even keep what I heard you to say Chops to myself."
Elka did not reply and kept staring at the dull grass. She listened to Milka's receding footsteps until the familiar chime of invisibility tugged her out of her stupor. Elka bent over and collected the grass kazoo Milka made before the wind could claim it. She thumbed the slick material before tearing it in two.
"Well, that's not the first time I've had a wrong vision," she mumbled, turning towards the girls' cabin. "If I ever have a vision about helping someone again, I'm ignoring it. I don't care at all." She sighed, dragging her feet up the steps of the cabin and shaking her head. "Yeah, I don't care at all."