There are tiny holes burnt into the plastic that makes up the bottom of the tent. If anyone asked, they would have no idea where they came from. No one could even sleep in the tent, there was just stuff everywhere. They sat in the tent for a while, watching each other in the dark.
They played Superstar. They walked in formation with the Brits. They watched them fall over with laughter and helped them up almost falling themselves. She wore too many pairs of pants. They spoke about life and were shushed from the inside of tents by strangers. They figured out why we speak the way we do, and tested out our their theories on passers by. They watched the stars fade into the darkness as they tried to find the constelations, but ended up making up their own. They lost eachother and found eachother ten times over. They leaned against eachother for what seemed like ages, back to back, equal. There were words that seemed more important than they were. She told stories while he listened, only half paying attention to the things she was sayng. They were overly descriptive and he quickly decided that they were made up fantasies of a lost girl who likes to cause trouble. He ran his fingers over hers and through her hair. He rested them gently on her face as her breathing became deeper, steady. Her eyes fluttered closed for the last time and she was over come with slumber. They fell asleep on the hemp mat, a clump of mismatched sleeping bags.
***
It started on the hill on the other side of the tent city. His fingers gently caressed the strings of his guitar in the early dusk. They sat huddled in a blancket and watched the sunset and the sky settle into a deep dark blue. They told jokes and stories, clutching our sides in agony from laughing too hard. His husky voice eminated from his chest louder; softer. No holding back. They sat in the tent, hunched over. Too close. You could see the small holes from the night before if they caught the light from the torch at just the right angle.
They didn't want to miss the concert this time so together they hurried to the Main Stage area and chose the best seats in the house. They tried to get people to pass around an empty Coke can.
"Pass it On"
The older poeple weren't having any silly antics tonight. The five of them giggled at the confused strangers. Three renditions of slow claps later, and the lights finally went down for the show to start. A beautiful women dressed in a flowing white gown took the stage, castenettes clicking between her fingers. You could barely hear them over the music. The flower in her hair shook slightly with each step. Five other women dressed in white skirts took the stage. They jingles and moved their bodies, mesmorising the audience. They moved like contortionists, but danced and swirled like smoke in the lights. Aplause, and it was over.
Two of them, a girl and a boy didn't stand up right away. They sat, back to back, and waited for people to start dancing, watching their bodies sway to the music. A man started chanting at them to get up and within a second everyone had joined in. he two qickly rose, giggling uncontrolably and joined the writhing crowd, moving and swaying to the beats. Loud. She left.
She found the rest of them playing soccer on The Grass. He met up with us later and we went in search of a good tree to climb, but failed miserably and ended up sitting on the grass beneth it. He thought it weird that she hugged and comforted the tree, but didn't say it out loud. A kind soul. She was woken up with a start to the sounds of someone asking obtrusive questions.
"It's in the fridge!" She told them, and went back to sleep.
Music and singing filled the cool air in the early hours of the morning and she leant on her elbows watching the group of people hug eachother good morning and disperse to finaly get some sleep. She soon followed their example and settled back down onto the cool grass, breathing in the smell of stale sweat and deodorant mixed with an unfamiliar scent and the smell of dew on the grass. She rolled over and watched the branches swaying in the breeze for what seeed like an eternity, until her eyes closed again.
***
The red and blue lights from her Glow Poi lit the earth around them and there was a whisper from somewhere. Looking up they could see the culprits in the tree. They both climbed up and found a comfortable plae to watch the soundcheck for that nights performance. They joked and laughed excitedly at stories about Asher and made plans for the night, none of wich we actually went through with. Rebekkah anoyed them all by dropping leaves in their hair. It was impossible to get out because of all the other dirt and greese. They looked like monkeys scratching their heads.
Scary Men told them to get down and they went in search of a better tree to climb.
Finding one, they climbed up and called to people on the ground, each person looking around confused and dazed as to where the noise came from.
She played harmonica and he beatboxed to a rhythm that was questionable. Gal almost fell out of the tree from sleep deprivation and Rebekkah went off with her new BFF to do something that would probably have gotten them into trouble.
She sat on the mattress and he sat directly opposite him. They moved their hands in unison as the dull thump from the trance music made the floor come alive. People stopped to watch, to ponder, to look upon the intensity of two people making eye contact.
"Do you ever stop? Turn off I mean..." She asked. An inquisitive look on her face.
He thought for a moment.
"Yes. Well, No."
He was second guessing himself again and she could see the thought process in his eyes.
It had become something she was used to seeing, but that always stood out from all the other expresions. In that moment she vowed to herself that she would find out how. she wanted to see the person who wasn't always thinking of something to say. They spoke excitedly for a few more hours, but the time was ticking away and she would soon have to leave. He leaned in closer and closer. A kiss. Two people, better off as friends but unable to keep that distance. There is something betweent them, but they cannot see what.
Uncontrollable laughter eminating from them, a wonderful aurah that had been created through thought and emotion. There were things that still needed to be heard, but didn't need to be said just then.
She left, a smile still on her face as she fell asleep that night on the way home, only imagining what he could be doing. She missed him. She missed them. She missed the desert and wished she could be back. There was a twinge in her stomach and a small seed of anger but that all subsided as she remembered they would be back soon.