Full from eating blackberries, Lara and Julia walked at a more leisurely pace through a thick wooded forest of oaks. Their nude bodies slightly sticky from the sweat of a warm, humid day, and small bits of broken leaves and dust stuck to their skins.
The flat terrain of the valley, the carpet of dried oak leaves, and the shade from a thick canopy of trees made for a relaxing walk amongst chirping birds. Chipmunks and squirrels could be seen scampering ahead of them gathering acorns.
"How are your feet doing?" Lara asked.
"They hurt, but it's better on these leaves." Julia replied.
"I'm thinking if we can just go deeper in that direction, it looks like it gets more thick." Lara pointed. "I think we can stay for a few days, maybe more."
Julia looked to where Lara pointed, and then turned to her look at her. Lara had a way of taking charge in these kinds of moments.
"I wonder what my Dad is going to say about all this." Julia spoke.
Lara thought for a moment and chuckled. "I don't know.
"I wonder if the police already called him." Julia continued.
"Probably."
"Great! There goes my car!"
"Who needs a car anyways?"
Julia thought about it for a moment. She was still struggling between staying with Lara or giving up and letting the police catch up to her.
"I don't know." Julia said and then giggled. "Maybe I don't need one."
"Why are you worried about your father anyways? What does he have to do with anything?"
"Oh Lara... You know what I mean. He's just so domineering. Even my mom too! They spent so much money on me. That car, my tuition, my new clothes... I feel really guilty about it."
"Yeah, but they paid for all that because that's what they wanted. They put themselves in that position. Besides, even if you eventually go back to them, they'll spend all that money on you again."
"Oh my God! They'll kill me."
"No they won't. They'll do it because it's what they want for themselves."
"I don't know." Julia said.
"You're their only child. It's more about their own egos, it has nothing to do with you."
"You don't know my father..."
"I know enough!" Lara interrupted. "For one thing, you're over-analyzing him. You've been living under his shadow for so long that you're worried about disappointing him. But if you look at him from my angle, he's just all bark and no bite. If he tries to give you shit, then tell him he's no longer in charge and you're going to do whatever you want. And if he says he's not paying for your tuition anymore, then tell him fine, you won't be coming back."
"But I can't tell him that, he's my dad!" Lara rolled her eyes. "Ah! Parents. They're so overrated!"
"Besides, if I don't go to college where am I going to stay? I can't stay with my aunt permanently?"
"Julia! You stay with me! We're together now! We can do this! We don't need jobs or money. We don't need a car. We have each other! We have a lifetime to learn how to survive! There are lots of people who live out here and survive with whatever the Earth gives them."
Julia didn't want to argue. She knew she wanted to stay with Lara and really give it a try. She just couldn't shake the grasp her parents had on her. And now with the police looking for them, it seemed as if they would always be on the run.
Lara had waited for a response from Julia about staying together and surviving from the land. The fact that Julia had not responded, suggested she may have said something wrong.
"OK, I'm sorry." Lara said sincerely. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm one hundred percent confident in my abilities to do this, and I'm never going to leave you. I'm never going to abandon you. Even if the cops catch up to us, I'm not going to give you up!"
"Look, let's just enjoy what we have now." Julia offered. "I'm here with you right now."
Julia saw something unusual about 100 feet away, and kept her eyes focused on it as she kept pace with Lara. Finally, she slowed down to take a better look.
"Julia?" Lara spoke, stopping to turn around. "There's something over there."
Julia pointed her finger.
