Chapter Eleven — How to Touch the Sky
Lyra's POV
The week after Soraya's sleepover felt like trying to hold sunlight — too bright, too fast, too good to last.
Somehow, the five of us had decided that this was the week we'd finish most of the senior list.
Soraya had drawn a messy calendar on the back of her math notes. "If we do at least one every day, we can knock out half before exams."
Saphira groaned. "You say that like we're not all sleep-deprived high schoolers."
"Sleep is for the weak," Soraya said dramatically.
Evan leaned across the cafeteria table. "So what's today's chaos?"
She grinned. "Rock climbing."
Rina, who had wandered over from art club, blinked. "You guys realize the wall at Lumera Heights is, like, twenty meters tall?"
Soraya only smirked. "Then we better stretch."
The gym smelled like chalk and adrenaline.
I tied the rope with trembling fingers, pretending I wasn't scared. Evan stood behind me, double-checking the harness with the same calm focus he always had.
"You good?"
"I'm good," I lied.
"Sol, you've got this." He smiled, brushing my shoulder before stepping back.
I took a breath, looked up, and climbed.
Halfway up, my arms were burning, but then I heard Soraya yelling from below — "LYRA YOU'RE ALMOST THERE!" — and Saphira adding, "If you fall, at least you'll go down a legend!"
That made me laugh, and somehow I kept going.
When I finally touched the top hold, I let out a shaky laugh, heart hammering.
"See?" Evan called from below. "Told you you could."
When I rappelled down, he met me halfway, grinning wide. "Proud of you."
I rolled my eyes. "You didn't even climb."
"I was the emotional support."
By the end of the day, our hands were covered in chalk and our group chat was full of blurry photos and screaming emojis.
Saphira posted one with the caption 'mission almost impossible but somehow we lived'.
That night, we checked off "do something terrifying."
The next day, it was "watch an R-rated movie."
We all piled into Soraya's living room, lights off, popcorn everywhere, Saphira hiding under a blanket half the time.
"Remind me again why this was on the list?" Aveline whispered.
Soraya smirked. "Character development."
By the credits, we were all yelling at the screen, laughing too hard to breathe.
Evan glanced at me once during the movie, and I swear my heart forgot its rhythm for a moment.
The rest of the week blurred together — trampoline sleepovers, stolen photos, nights that smelled like sugar and shampoo.
Every morning, my necklace glinted in the mirror; every night, I texted Evan until my eyes hurt.
It was happiness that didn't realize it was fragile.
On Thursday evening, Mom called me into the kitchen.
She was sitting by the window, papers spread out, her glasses sliding down her nose — that "serious talk" posture every kid knows.
"Lyra, sit down for a sec."
I hesitated. "Am I in trouble?"
She laughed. "Not this time."
Relieved, I sat.
"I talked to your lola this morning," she said. "She's been asking for us to visit. So I took some time off work. We're going for a month — next month."
My spoon froze halfway to my mouth. "A month? As in four weeks?"
"Mm-hmm." She took a sip of tea. "I already spoke to Principal Dela Cruz. You'll go to your old school during that time, just to keep your attendance record clean."
I blinked. "My old school?"
"Yes. It'll be nice to see your friends again, right?"
I forced a small smile. "Yeah… yeah, it will."
She reached over, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "You've been working so hard lately. It'll be a good change of scenery."
Maybe it was the way the sunlight hit her face, or the smell of her jasmine tea — but for some reason, the whole moment felt like something I wanted to memorize.
At the time, I didn't think it meant anything.
It was just Mom, planning a trip, being her usual warm self.
If I'd known how much that one decision would change everything —
I would've begged her to stay.
That weekend, the group met again at Clover's Café.
Saphira waved the crumpled list like a victory flag. "We're actually doing this. We've got what — five left?"
Soraya nodded, mouth full of muffin. "Road trip, midnight picnic, and… sky lanterns."
"Oh, that one's going to be so pretty," Saphira said, dreamy-eyed her blonde hair glinting in the sun.
Evan glanced at me. "You think we can pull it off before Lyra leaves next month?"
I blinked. "How did you—"
"Saphira told me."
Saphira gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry, my bad."
Evan leaned forward, chin resting on his hand. "Then we better make the next few weeks count, yeah?"
And something in the way he said it — light, casual — made my chest tighten, even though I didn't know why.
That night, as I lay in bed, I traced the silver star on my necklace and the little charms on my bracelet — the star, the bear, the paintbrush.
So much had happened in just a few days.
So much good.
I couldn't imagine it ending.
Not yet.
Not when everything finally felt like it was starting.