It was late in the afternoon. The sun was low on the horizon, and it was simply beautiful. Walt was walking Vincent around the mock golf course.
"Hey!" a voice called from the distance. Walt turned around. No one.
"Over here!" he turned left. Emily was waving to him. "Your name's Walt, right"
"Yeah," he said. He went up to her.
"I'm Emily," she said. "This is Vincent," said Walt, pointing to his great big dog, who licked Emily's face.
"Oh," she said, patting Vincent's head. "Hello, Vincent"
Walt pulled on the leash, and Vincent backed away.
"Want to play soccer with me?" Emily asked Walt. "I brought a ball with me"
"Sure," said Walt. He hadn't had much to do with all these adults around. It was nice to have another kid. Even if she was older than him. And she was a girl.
Walt and Emily let Vincent run free while they kicked the ball back and forth. Emily created a goalpost between two trees. "Wow," said Walt, stopping to catch his breath. Emily had just kicked the ball past Walt ten times. "You're really good"
"I used to play in Central Park with my sisters," said Emily. "No one can beat me"
"Oh, yeah?" said Walt. "Get in the goal"
Walt kicked ten balls, and Emily had blocked eight.
"Okay," said Walt. "You win"
The two of them laughed, and they walked back to camp together.
"So you're from New York?" asked Walt.
"Yes," said Emily. "I was there until Mom died. I mostly lived in foster homes on Long Island after that. Once in Manhattan. But then I moved to Australia to be with my Dad." she squinted at the sky. "What about you"
"My stepdad lived all over the place," said Walt. "Last place was Australia. Then my mom died. So now I'm with my real dad." He indicated towards the raft on the beach, where Walt's father was working with Jin. "Michael"
Vincent barked. "Can I hold his leash?" asked Emily. "I'm good with animals"
Walt handed the leash to Emily. "So where are your sisters now"
"My sisters?" Emily said. "Last time I checked, Sara had been adopted by some family in Queens, and Mindy was in an orphanage. They were supposed to come live with Dad and me in Australia. But we couldn't get a hold of them"
"Oh," said Walt. "I also have a half-sister, and two half-brothers. But they're much older than me. Eleanor is twenty-seven. She's very nice. She's a maternity ward nurse. That's how I knew about Claire's baby"
"Mmm-hmm." said Walt. Emily sure talked a lot. Still, she was very nice. "My half-brothers are twenty-two and eighteen. Tyler is still in college, and Jordan still lives at home. Well, with his mom- Annie, my stepmom- and my dad." she stepped over a branch and said, "What about you"
"Huh?" said Walt. "Do you have any brothers? Or sisters"
"Oh. Nope." They reached the beach. Walt sat down, and Emily sat down beside him. "Just Vincent"
Emily patted Vincent's head again. "That's nice. I never had a dog before. Or even a goldfish, or anything"
"Yeah," said Walt. "Well, I never had a sister or a brother. Or a half-brother, or anything like that that you have"
Emily laughed a little bit. "It's not as fun as it seems." Walt smiled. "How old are your sisters now"
Emily thought a little bit. "Mindy is eight," she said. "and Sara is just around fifteen. I don't know where they are"
"Oh," said Walt.
Lull.
"Wanna know something?" he asked Emily.
"What"
"Today's my birthday"
"Oh," said Emily. "Happy Birthday. How old are you"
"Eleven"
"Oh." said Emily. "Nice."