When I was little, I used to kick down the ant hills or drown them out with cups of water. I didn't do it because I liked hurting the ants. I am no Jeffrey, but I had to find the queen ant. I'd been watching the ant hills for months, waiting to see the mother of them all. When that never happened, I took control.

The hills I had been so fascinated with, the marches, food runs—all ruined. The ants fled during my rampage. Well—most of them fled. The others lay dead, left as small black shells in the dirt.

Burnie reprimanded me for it. But I didn't feel bad about doing it. The queen ant should have protected them. Instead, she left them to fend for themselves and sacrifice their lives for hers. It should have been the other way around.

I wondered if the Queen's motherly instinct would kick in. Would she defy all odds to rescue her children and her loyal worker ants?

Why didn't Talula's motherly instinct ever kick in?

Is it because Talula Hicks killed someone?

Talula's words hit me hard. I doubled over and threw up off the railing of the Cannon Beach water tower. The vomit landed in the yellow daffodils below. Talula couldn't have murdered anyone. No way.

I plopped down onto the platform and leaned against the belly of the tower. I wiped the traces of vomit from my lips, opened a bottle of water I had brought along with me, and swished out my mouth.

If I had stayed and listened instead of rushing out of GiGi's house like a child, I would have gained more insight.

Do I want more details? I didn't think it could get any worse, but they have proven me wrong once again.

I rubbed my forehead and ran my fingers through my hair.

"If you are thinking about jumping, don't do it; from this height, it would be a waste of time."

I glanced over toward the voice, and I staggered to my feet. It was her, standing by the ladder.

She held on to a brown cylinder case, and her elbow pinched a stack of papers under her armpit. An oversized Led Zeppelin sweatshirt swallowed her thin frame. This time, she wasn't soaking wet. Her hair wasn't frizzy or matted from the rain. Instead, she wore it slicked back in a neat ponytail that bounced as she moved.

Whoever oversees fate, thank you.

"That would be embarrassing, not my style," I joked. "Now screaming from the top of this thing—that's more my style."

The acidic, herby smell of vomit and roasted chicken whiffed as I spoke. My breath smells horrible. Great.

"Ah." She smiled at the ground, then took a few steps closer. As I stood up, her eyes met mine. Without speaking, I extended my hand, and she looked at it.

"Kellen," I said.

She nodded. "Handshaking is for golfers, the president, job interviews. Not for—what was it? Tree hugging. Something or another—Oregonians?"

I let my hand drop back down at my side and mentally kicked myself.

"So, you're from Oregon."

Of course she is, idiot. But how had I missed a face like hers all these years? We would have crossed paths without a doubt.

"Happily." She put the papers down and used the case she had as an anchor to keep them from flying away.

"Led Zeppelin?" I asked, nodding toward the lettering on her sweatshirt.

She looked at her outfit, her face showing that she had forgotten. She gave me a playful smile. She gave me a sly smile before speaking. "Zeppelin, love the guy. Don't ask me to name one of his songs," she quipped.

"You could make up a name for one of his songs, and I wouldn't know if you were right or wrong. I love the guy too, though," I smirked.

"Chandra," she said.

I shook my head. "What?"

"That's my name."

Chahn-drah. Where have I heard that name?

I mulled over it until it clicked for me.

Chandra-Chandra. Yes, the Sanskrit word for moon. It's fitting.

"The same as the moon?" I asked.

Her eyes squinted at me as she talked. "I have no Sanskrit roots; I only have a mother obsessed with astronomy." But yes, Chandra, like, the moon."

She flicked an uncertain gaze. "How do you know that? Most people find it difficult to pronounce, let alone to know the meaning of it."

I shrugged. "I had a phase."

She nodded, then she took a seat next to the case and the papers.

"What's in the case?" I asked.

"Telescope," she replied. She unclipped the latches on it and pulled it open. Sure enough, a shiny black-and-white telescope was snug inside.

This girl is.... intriguing.

She's great with animals. She's named her after the moon. And she stargazes.

Am I in the Twilight Zone?

"You take that everywhere you go?" I asked.

What I asked made her let out a soft laugh. "I know what you are thinking. It's all coincidence," she said with a smirk.

She set the telescope up on its kickstand, then adjusted a knob on the side of it. She peeked into its eye and twisted the knob three more times until she felt satisfied. When she finished that, she picked up the papers, which displayed lines and dots, like some kind of map.

A map of the sky?

"You gonna stand there and watch me like a creep or have a look for yourself?" she asked.

I was still worried about her catching the wind from my stale vomit breath.

I walked to the telescope and watched as she positioned it.

"There you are," she whispered. She had it aimed at her target in the sky.

"Have a look," she said. She held on to the scope to keep it in place and waved for me to look in.

I listened to her orders. I stepped into her spot, then squinted my left eye and fitted my right eye to the tunnel. I have never used a real telescope before.

I looked up into the sea of shining dots. It seemed as if I could reach out and grab one to put in my pocket.

What exactly am I supposed to be looking for? I couldn't focus. Chandra had an intoxicating warmth about her. This close to her, I could smell her scent. She smelled of rich, warm, sweet tonka bean.

I smell of vomit and rotisserie.

"Tell me what you see," she said.

"Swimming stars." This must have been a trick question. I looked closer for anything I was missing.

"Any patterns? Shapes?" she wanted me to see what she was seeing.

I thought of her star maps. Ah, the constellations.

I looked closer at the stars.

"A triangle?" I asked.

She chuckled as she spoke, as if she found my answer amusing.

"That triangle is the Summer Triangle. You can only see it from February to December."

She tapped me on my shoulder and gestured for me to move out of the way. She then popped her eye back in.

"Missed my chance to map it last year," she muttered, concentrating.

"What's the story behind it? I know they all have them," I said. I was trying to sound more knowledgeable than I was when it came to the universe.

She did the thing again with her tongue, licking her bottom lip. She was thinking.

"The stars Vega, Altair, and Deneb form the Summer Triangle." These stars are part of the constellations Aquila, Lyra, and Cygnus," she said.

The only ones I knew of were the Dippers and Orion.

She smiled as she talked. "There are three main love stories from different cultures surrounding the Summer Triangle. My favorite is The Weaver Girl and the Cowherd. A Chinese story narrates the tale of two lovers whom fate separated and banished to the sky. The stars Vega and Altair represent the lovers. The magpies create a bridge across the Milky Way. They meet once a year. People celebrate that day as Chinese Valentine's Day."

"You're teaching me new things," I said.

I leaned down for the papers and picked them up. They were star maps, with dates, locations, times, constellations, and stars. But one of the papers caught my eye; it wasn't like the others.

I looked closer at the dots; I noticed that this one formed more like a chart. A timeline?

Chandra snatched the papers from my grip. "Star maps," she said. Tucking the one I was curious about at the bottom of the stack.

Is she embarrassed? Is there something about that map she doesn't want me to see?

She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and pulled a pen from her back pocket. She bit the top off and kept it clenched between her teeth as she created the new spots for the summer triangle.

When she finished, she clicked the top back on and looked over at me.

"You shouldn't look through people's things without asking Kellen." Her eyes weren't bright anymore; they drooped.

Fuck.

"I'm sorry, I never saw anyone map stars by hand before. They are amazing." I can save myself here.

She paused, studying my face for sincerity.

"You want to make it up to me?" she asked.

I see what she's doing.

I smiled. "What can I do?"

"You like adventures with strangers?" she asked. Her eyes beamed at me.

I'm sure this isn't about a one-night stand or a walk in the park.

"I'd like to think I am capable of an adventure with a stranger." I'd go about anywhere besides back home to face Talula and her closet of horrors. Besides, even though I met Chandra a couple of days ago, I wouldn't mind being with her longer. It couldn't be anything too bad, could it?

Chandra raised a brow at my fancy shirt and laughed.

I glanced down at the silk shirt that was now clinging to me. Why didn't I change?

My face got hot.

"Don't judge a book by its cover. I can get dirty."

Her cheeks flushed a soft pink.

"Not that kind of dirty."

Shut up, Kellen.

She cleared her throat before speaking. "Come with me to the Terrible Tilly; I am looking for a co-conspirator."

She can't be serious.

"To look at it from the trails?" I asked.

"No. Across the water. Over the rocks."

"The Tilly is inaccessible. Unless you are a captain who excels in skill, you can fly, or you are a fish," I joked.

She stayed serious.

She was serious.

"I know, I remember all the Terrible Tilly stories. I want to go; it's on my bucket list. Imagine how the stars will look from inside the brain of Tilly."

"Chandra, even if we make it to Tilly by some miracle, it's locked, I am sure." What if it isn't locked? What if we do make it to Tilly? Imagine the photos I could get that not a lot of people have.

Am I contemplating this?

No one besides the owner of the Tilly has been inside the Tilly since the 1980s. Unless flown by helicopter or washed up on the rocks with the seals that live there.

Chandra let out a breath of air. Without saying anything, she packed up her telescope.

Did I blow it?

"The deaths. The lores. No docking for boats. Jagged rocks. Disappearing ships. Decommissioned. None of that bothers you?"

Without turning to look at me or stopping what she was doing, she shook her head.

"Retake, a fisherman, reached the Tilly by boat. "This occurred after they stopped using it and before it turned into a columbarium." "It's possible, Kellen." I'll do it with or without someone with me."

I chewed on my bottom lip.

"You got a death wish, Chandra?" I asked.

"Death wishes on us," she said.

She's crazy. She must be. But I can't let her do this alone. Could I? Why do I care?

"Do you have a boat?" I asked. I will likely regret this.

Chandra turned to me with a wild smile. "Yep." She looked like she knew I'd cave.

"If Retake can do it, then so can we," I said.

Dammit. What was I about to do?

I pulled out my cell phone and sent a text to Burnie.

If you don't hear from me by morning, send rescue for two people on the Terrible Tilly.

I'm sure she will kill me herself if we survive.

I was about to slide my phone back into my pocket, but instead, I started typing again.

I love you all.

Before I pressed the send button, I changed my mind and deleted it. They already know I love them. Plus, it sounded like a goodbye.

"Let's go," Chandra chirped.