Fire and Rain [🗸]

16. ferries and sun children

dedicated to lena bc i guess ily :/

***

TO EVERYONE'S RELIEF, the van is eventually back in order.

Zahra and I returned about fifteen minutes after Josiah had returned. We finished setting up the gas, and luckily, that seemed to be the problem. Elliot, Sadie, and Azul managed to survive in our absence, and the van was back up and running in no time.

We've been back on the road for a hot minute, and conversation has erupted in the Makeshift Mystery Machine again, as it usually does. Josiah details the plan, which entails us going onto a ferry to providence. Josiah's already booked the tickets, because Josiah.

He lowers the windows so that I can stretch my arms out of the window to feel the wind billow past me. It's euphoric, really. Zahra's next to me, her gaze on the window, too.

We haven't talked all that much since we made it back to the van (after having got lost just about a million times), but it's not awkward or tense. There's an easy sense of calm between us, and it doesn't really need words to fill it up.

We arrive at the entire ferry area about half an hour later. I have no idea how any of this shit works, but Josiah seems to. We pass by some guy who checks our tickets, and then we're driving into the parking-lot area of the ferry. The lighting is dimmer inside, and we eventually slip out of the van, making our way past the other vehicles parked around us.

We make our way up the elevator, with Azul humming the theme song of some 90s show and Elliot nodding with the beat, which is something he always has to do when there's some sort of rhythm around. I've seen him find music in the sound of footsteps against concrete or the honking of cars. Dancers are a little too powerful.

My gaze flickers back to the elevator walls, and a few moments later, we arrive at the next floor. We eventually settle down in an area of seats across from each other, surrounded by families or couples or individuals immersed in their own lives. 

Once we settle down, Elliot and Azul go off to find trinkets in the gift shop on the ferry, Josiah sits down and flips through a brochure, Sadie settles next to him, sketching people, and Zahra and I sit across from them.

The ferry eventually starts on its course, and I take in the entire space. It's been about twenty minutes of this when Zahra glances over at me, a question slipping from her lips. "Are you bored?"

I allow my shoulders to fall into a shrug. 

Zahra nods her head slightly. "Wanna head up to the top deck?" She's already on her feet before the proposition escapes her lips. She holds out a hand. 

I wouldn't mind going somewhere. The ferry ride is slow and everyone seems relatively busy. I stare at her hand for a few moments, pausing for a couple of seconds before taking it.