Snowfall in Canada in April wasn't entirely unusual. Weather could change in an instant from any pressure system or meteorological phenomenon. Or maybe, from something a bit more mystical. If she knew where to look, Cam was sure that Maya would see him there in the snowflakes. But that was a pretty big if. Maybe if he could get her attention somehow…
When Cam had first made his way back to Earth, he wanted to do something meaningful to help Maya understand. He briefly recalled a memory of theirs from the last night before he'd gone back to Kapuskasing. The doctors had tentatively agreed to let him return to the ice, and he'd played a pretty decent game that night. Of course, Maya had been in the stands, cheering him on the entire time. After the game had ended, he'd waited until the rink was empty before changing into his street clothes and going to meet her.
As Cam walked out of the boys' locker room, his gear thrown into a duffel, he looked to see Maya sitting in the stands. Upon seeing him, her eyes did that amazing luminescent thing that always made his heart skip a beat.
"Hey, I was wondering where you were," she said. "So, Tori and Tristan are at Little Miss Steaks already. Wanna go?"
"In a minute," Cam said. "You remember when you told me you hated hockey because you never learned to ice skate?"
"Yeah," Maya said. With a grin reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat, Cam reached into his bag and pulled out two pairs of skates. "What…Cam?"
"Time to learn," he said. "That way we can play one-on-one."
"I'll just fall on my ass," Maya said.
"No you won't," Cam said. "If you do, I'll just catch you."
Maya looked at him for a moment, her eyes narrowed slightly playfully. Cam grinned again and she chuckled.
"If I do this, you have to let me teach you how to play the cello," she said.
"Deal," Cam said, extending a hand. The two shook hands and he held out a pair of skates.
For all her hesitation, Maya had been a natural when her skates touched the ice. Cam had glided along close behind her, intent on keeping his promise to not let her fall. It wasn't long before Maya had gained enough confidence to lap him a bit, and before long, they were filling the rink with happy, carefree laughter.
"Alright, you can skate," Cam said after a moment. "But can you do this?"
Maya stopped, looking back at him as he did a skating move, like something she would see from the pros. When he started skating backward, she clapped for him. Cam raised his hands in mock celebration before losing his balance and falling on his back.
"Cam!" Maya said. She skated over to him as he lay on his back on the ice, groaning. "Are you okay?"
"Help me up?" Cam asked, extending a hand. Maya took his hand, but before she could pull him up, he pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her. She squealed in slight surprise, and Cam planted a kiss right on her lips. When he pulled back, he smiled at her. "Told you I'd catch you."
Now, Cam drifted along the sky with Orion by his side, tracing light patterns as a snowflake. He'd drifted over the streets of Toronto, passing by his old stomping grounds of Little Miss Steaks and the rink. When he got to Degrassi, he could see students beginning to file in. He only hoped he wasn't too late, that she would still be outside.
Cam floated past the greenhouse, lingering for a moment in the place he'd taken his last breath. It seemed like so long ago, eons even, when it was actually only a few days before. Time didn't really mean much when you were dead. Or, as he preferred to think, elevated. He couldn't really think of it as death anymore. He knew from chemistry that energy could not be created or destroyed, only converted from one form to another. When he'd ascended, he'd realized that his life hadn't ended entirely. He'd just finished one level and was ready for the next. It was a point everyone reached at their own pace. Well…maybe that meant he was gifted. The fact that he still existed out there, in whatever form he needed, was just proof that he would never truly be gone.
Suddenly, Cam was free from his introspection as he realized he wasn't alone in the garden anymore. He somewhat expected to see Katie or Jake there, but, through what he would only categorize as some sort of divine intervention, he found himself looking at the girl he'd traveled across the universe to see once more. And in a whisper that he knew she'd hear in the wind, he spoke one name.
"Maya."
Months, weeks, days before, Cam and Maya had been in the garden under different circumstances. Cam could once touch her hand or caress her cheek as he brought her in for a kiss. Now, he still could, but unless she looked closely enough, Maya wouldn't know his caress from a late winter's breeze. So, Cam focused all of his energy and changed form once more. Anyone else would attribute this move to Jake and Katie's green thumbs, but Cam hoped that Maya would get it.