I Heard Your Voice In A Dream

Chapter 4

Lauren raised an eyebrow. “What’s 21 questions?” she asked.

“You don’t know what 21 questions is?” Camila asked, mouth agape. She grinned. “This is going to be way more fun than I expected…” she smirked.  Camila swung her legs from the edge of the bed. “So basically, 21 questions is when we take turns asking each other questions—21 questions each.” She explained simply. “Do you get it?”

“Oh.” Lauren said stupidly, nodding. “I see now. So we just ask each other any question?”

Camila nodded. “Yup. We just ask each other questions. It’s easy, you’ll get the hang of it.”

“You start then, I can’t think of anything.” Lauren replied, leaning her head against the headboard.

“All right,” Camila furrowed her eyebrows together as she thought up of a question. “Who’s your favorite singer?”

“Lana Del Rey.” Lauren answered without a second thought.

Camila smiled softly and nodded. “I like some of her music. I’ve been listening to ‘Brooklyn Baby’ since I got here. Mostly because I was moving to New York so I figured anything that had to do with this place should be in my playlist.” She chuckled.

Lauren looked amused. “That’s one of my favorite songs from her new album. It’s fucking brilliant.” She raised an eyebrow. “So you’re not from New York? Then where are you from?” Lauren asked.

“I’m considering that a question, just so you know.” Camila teased. “But no, I’m not from New York. I moved from Miami. My dad got a promotion at his job and it required us to move here. It sucks, but it’s whatever.” She shrugged.

Lauren chuckled, shaking her head. “Fine then. It saves me the trouble of coming up with a question anyways.” She paused. “Can you describe how Miami looks like to me?” she asked softly.

Camila thought for a moment, closing her eyes and thinking of what to tell her to describe her home. “It’s…tropical.  There’s…palm trees. The leaves are so green and the trunks brown. And when you touch them, they’re so warm. But not as warm as the sand. The sand in your feet is the best feeling in the world, honestly. It’s like…when you feel a warm blanket fresh out of the dryer. It’s warm and makes your feet feel awesome.” She grinned. “And the ocean, god, don’t get me started on the ocean.  It smells amazing, with the sea salt and all. It’s so blue too. And when you swim in it, it’s refreshing. Not too warm but not too cold either. It’s a perfect temperature.” Camila opened her eyes and looked at Lauren who seemed to be paying close attention. “At night, you could see all the lights coming from downtown. They’re so bright and colorful. It’s like a lights show, with the lights just shining at your face. The beach at night is incredible too, because the moon is beaming down on the ocean making the blue water look so beautiful. It’s wonderful. I would sometimes sneak to the beach at night and lie on the sand and stare up at the starless sky. It felt nice.” She finished, still staring at Lauren. “Do you see it? In your head?”

Lauren nodded, a small smile on her face. “Yeah…I do. It sounds beautiful.” She paused. “Thank you for describing it for me.”

“It is. So beautiful.” Camila agreed. “No problem, I kind of felt like I gave my eyes to you so you could see it for yourself.” She shook her head. “It sounds stupid, I know—“

“It’s not stupid.” Lauren disagreed. “I think it’s…nice.” She coughed. “So, um, it’s your turn to ask a question.”

Camila nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. And so they began throwing each other questions back and forth. Both of them learned a bit about each other. Like Camila’s undying obsession with plantains and pizza. And Lauren’s love for Edgar Allan Poe. Camila shared that she hated odd numbers and that she owned exactly 106 bows (her go-to accessory). Lauren shared that she hated open doors and if she didn’t hear the door close, she’d throw a fit. And that beanies was her accessory of choice, owning a variety of them.