Lightning (Camren)

Chapter Three

        Over the course of the night, Lauren looked up more information regarding the puzzle competition in Miami. She found that it was actually having sign-ups for contestants at the end of the week. Even though the contest wasn't for a month, they still wanted to gather all of their entries together ahead of time. Lauren also took it upon herself to research through Camila's medical files to see what was actually the cause of her blindness.

        Camila had congenital blindness, which is when someone is born without the ability to see. Unfortunately, this could not be cured. Lauren had discovered something that was called gene therapy, which was the transplantation of normal genes into cells in place of missing or defective ones in order to correct genetic disorders. This wasn't a cure, nor was it perfected, but it was something that was currently being put to the test. She read a few articles that explained that gene therapy has helped the patients see contour lines, and has helped them distinguish the lights from the darks. As much as Lauren wanted even that for Camila, she thought that it was best to leave it be. After all, Camila probably already knew about all of this.

        The next day, Lauren waited at Camila's door for yet another exciting day. There was always something new and interesting about the woman that Lauren came to adore so much. Camila was just so strong and brave, creative and insightful, and independent and smart. Lauren began to even look up to Camila as her role model, and she strived to be more like her. 

        Camila opened the door suddenly with a smile, then welcomed Lauren into the house happily. She looked very well-rested now, and she was in brand new clothes. This was much better than yesterday, so Lauren assumed that she had gotten plenty of sleep and was in a good mood. She led Lauren into the kitchen, where two plates of bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast were placed on the table. The table was perfectly set with two knives, two forks, and two glasses of orange juice. Camila had done this all by herself, which was absolutely fascinating.

        "I cooked breakfast for us. Hopefully you like what I've made. It's bacon, eggs, toast, and orange juice. Is that okay?" Camila asked.

        "Of course! This is actually my favorite breakfast meal, as cliche as that sounds."

        "It's not cliche. It's my favorite too." she said with a smile.

        Lauren smiled, as they sat down on opposite sides of the table. Before they started to eat, Camila blankly stared in Lauren's direction as she thought deeply about something.

        "Lauren," she began. "I've been thinking about how, even though you are my missing piece, we don't even actually know anything about each other. You know that I am blind, and that I love puzzles, but that's about all there is. I've never told you my life story, and I'd honestly love to. In return, I'd love to know your story as well. Would this be alright?"

        "Absolutely." Lauren responded happily.

        "Okay, I'll begin. I was born on March 3rd, 1997 to Sinuhue and Alejandro Cabello. The day that I was born, there was an awful thunderstorm brewing in the area, so I guess it was too awful for the heavens to bless me with the gift of vision. I'm exactly half Mexican and half Cuban, and I actually lived in Cuba till I was about six years old. I've got a little sister named Sofia, who was lucky enough to be born with the five senses. I was home-schooled, because it was easier on my parents and I, so I was never actually able to make friends. We had a neighbor who went by the name of April, but she never wanted to get to know someone who couldn't see.

        "It was always very difficult for me to make friends, you see. There was an opportunity, once, when my mom brought me to weekly support groups. I met a girl named Angela, who was born without arms. We really bonded over the fact that neither of us could actually do anything for ourselves. She was very nice, and we got along well, until she stopped going to the group for some reason. Since our mothers exchanged our phone numbers, I had given her a call. Angela had confessed her feelings about me, saying that she was a lesbian and had been crushing on me since the day we met. Unfortunately, I was insecure back then, and I told her that she deserved someone better than me... someone who actually had the ability to admire her beauty. We never talked again.