The sky stretched wide above the beach, a soft pastel blue tinged with fading orange as the sun inched lower toward the horizon.
The sea whispered against the shore in calm, lazy waves. Most students scattered across the sand, chasing laughter, playing music from tinny speakers, and snapping blurry pictures with sun-warmed cheeks.
Naya sat quietly away from them all, legs in the water, toes curling into the cold, grainy sand. The water lapped gently around her calves, cool and grounding. It was the first time since arriving at camp that she felt even a little bit still.
Behind her, Nora wandered among the other students, watching with mild curiosity as several of them huddled around a table where small, pale stones were displayed on velvet cloth.
"What's this?" Nora asked a girl holding one.
The girl smiled. "Lover's stone. Legend says the stronger the stone breaks, the stronger your love is. You buy one, break it with the person you love, and the pieces you're left with say how much you really feel."
Nora raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Does it have to be with someone you're in love with?"
The girl laughed. "Supposed to be. But people are using it however they want. Symbolic and all."
With a shrug and a grin, Nora bought one.
Then she jogged across the beach toward where Naya still sat in the water, legs unmoved, eyes fixed on the horizon like it was holding all the answers she didn't have.
"Hey." Nora sat beside her, holding out the stone. "Found this weird little romantic myth rock. Thought you might want to throw it at someone's head."
Naya blinked, cracking a smile despite herself. "What's it for?"
Nora explained the tradition, and when she finished, she placed the stone in Naya's hand gently. "You don't have to use it. But I figured… even if you don't break it with anyone, you could keep it. As a reminder of something real."
Naya held the stone carefully in her palm. It was smooth and cold and oddly light.
"Thanks," she murmured, staring down at it.
"I'll be back," Nora said, standing. "I want to steal some marshmallows from the snack table before they run out."
Naya nodded. Nora disappeared into the growing crowd behind her.
That was when the footsteps approached.
Crunch. Crunch. Sand shifting.
She didn't look up.
But she didn't have to.
Jessica's voice was unmistakable—low, smug, too sweet to be real. "Wow. Sitting here alone like a tragic painting."
Naya's jaw tightened. She still didn't look up.
Jessica walked around and crouched in front of her, one arm draped over her knee like they were just casually catching up.
"You know," she said, her eyes flicking to the stone in Naya's hand, "those are supposed to be for people in love."
Naya finally looked up, eyes hard.
Jessica smirked. "So... did you buy that before or after you saw Lucien kiss me?"
Naya didn't answer.
"I mean, technically, I kissed him," Jessica added casually, "but he didn't exactly run screaming, did he?"
Naya's throat burned. Her fingers curled around the stone so tightly her knuckles went white.
Jessica stood, brushing sand off her shorts. "Here's a tip: next time you think you're special, remember—this isn't a fairy tale. He's not your prince."
And then she walked off, just as Nora returned.
Nora took one look at Naya's face and dropped the marshmallow bag. "What did she say?"
Naya didn't respond.
She stared at the stone still clutched in her hand.
Then, without a word, she stood up, turned away from the water—and threw the stone with everything she had.
It arced through the air and shattered against a flat rock near the shore. The sound of the break echoed louder than it should have.
Nora put a hand on Naya's arm. "Hey. That thing said the amount you break is the amount you love."
Naya's voice came out hollow. "Then maybe I loved him too much."
Later That Evening – Edge of the Beach
Lucien had been scanning the beach for a while, searching for Naya. He hadn't seen her since earlier that afternoon, and something about the way she shouted at him at the forest entrance hadn't left his mind.
He spotted Nora first—standing a little distance away, arms crossed, watching the tide. Her face was tight, lips pursed like she was keeping something in.
Lucien approached her carefully.
"Where's Naya?" he asked.
Nora didn't answer at first. Then she jerked her chin toward a spot near the rocks, where shards of something pale and broken lay scattered.
"She was here," she said. "She left after that."
Lucien looked closer. A shattered lover's stone.
His chest sank.
"What happened?" he asked, low.
Nora didn't look at him. "What do you think happened?"
Lucien followed the line of her gaze and saw it—Jessica in the distance, laughing with a group of girls like nothing in the world could touch her.
Lucien's stomach turned.
"She kissed me," he said quickly. "Jessica. It wasn't what—"
"She saw," Nora cut in. "Naya saw it."
Lucien froze.
"I didn't kiss her back," he said, breath shallow. "I pushed her away."
"Too late," Nora said. "You didn't see her face."
Lucien stepped back a little, the wind picking up and tugging at his sleeves like it wanted to drag him into the ocean.
"She thinks I…" He couldn't finish the sentence.
"Yeah," Nora said. "She does."
Lucien rubbed a hand over his face, silent for a long moment. Then: "Where did she go?"
Nora looked at him, finally meeting his eyes. "To be alone. Which, if you care about her, you should probably respect. For now."
Lucien gave a short nod, throat tight.
He didn't follow.
Not yet.
He just stood there, staring at the broken stone pieces glowing under the setting sun like fragments of something real that never got the chance to be whole.