It was all I ever wanted.
“If you completed them this quickly, then they aren’t challenging enough. Go wash up and then you will clean every inch of this house.”
I had done as my mother asked, dejectedly dragging my feet through the house. After bathing and cleaning the mud on the floor, I’d run outside to check on the worms.
My mother had destroyed my entire creation.
It broke my heart.
Years later, when I was twelve, I told my mother I wanted to be an animal healer. “I want to save the hurt creatures. I want to have my own clinic and take care of them.”
“Nonsense, Cerise. That is a shameful career. You make very little money and spend all day dealing with blood and dirty creatures.”
“Oh,” I said, looking down at my feet.
“You will do research at a prestigious university. Like your mother. Don’t you want to do what I do?”
“Yes, mother…”
But I didn’t.
I sighed,pushing the memories away. How was Liam able to be so uninhibited? So easygoing? I initially thought him irresponsible. Oblivious. Foolish. But that wasn’t it, was it?
He was free.
And he’d shown me I could be that way too. That I could have fun. I smiled to myself at the memory of us releasing those insects into Dr. Rosenshield’s tent. I hadn’t laughed that hard in years.
“Morning,” Liam said, interrupting my thoughts.
I met his sleepy gaze, resisting the urge to brush a rebellious piece of hair from his face. “Morning.”
Liam’s eyes followed his arm draped over my waist and then widened. “Oh. Sorry.” He pulled away and sat up, retrieving his glasses and placing them on. “I didn’t realize I’d done that.”
“It’s quite all right. It was cold last night.”
“Indeed it was,” he replied, studying me closely.
“I’ll go check to see if our clothing is dry.”
I rose and left the tent, squinting against the bright sun. The clothing still hung where we’d left it. I approached and took my shirt, pulling it over my head. It was still a bit damp due to the humidity of the jungle, but significantly better than its previous state. I pulled on my pants, preparing to don my boots when movement in my peripheral vision made me pause. Turning, I found a family of sturudillos digging in the dirt with their long snouts.
“How are our—” Liam said, emerging from the tent.
“Shhh.” I waved my hand and pointed to the creatures.
He froze, stopping next to me, as we watched in awe. Sturudillos were rare. I’d never seen one in real life but had read about them in my field guides. They were small, about the size of a cat, with armored bodies that glimmered in the sun. Their large claws were used to dig in the dirt for insects.
Two adults and three offspring scurried around before us, oblivious to our presence as they dug for their meal.
We remained there, watching the animals until they finished and wandered off.
“Beautiful,” I whispered.
“Absolutely stunning,” Liam said, but when I met his gaze, he was looking at me.
Chapter 16
Chase Your Joy
