Second day's shelter cabin

They are getting close to the day's destination, a shelter by a lake.

When they finally reach the shelter, they throw off their backpacks.

"Do you feel how light we are?" Nina says, smiling.

"It's like we can fly," Dan agrees, taking a few tentative steps without his pack.

Near their campsite, there's a lake. It seems to be quite large, but the twilight and the trees obscure its true size. Nearby, there's a canoe rack with canoes. Several of the canoes are oddly sunken.

"Probably it's been a long time since anyone was here paddling," Nina remarks.

"Or maybe it's been very windy," Dan suggests. They ponder whether they should help lift the canoes, but first, they need to take care of themselves.

Nina gets an idea. Now that Dan feels so light, she thinks he can carry her. She feels equally weightless and is convinced it should go smoothly.

Nina playfully looks at Dan as he jumps around. She smiles and says,

"You know, Dan? Now that you feel so light, do you think you can carry me?"

Dan looks surprised but goes along with the game. "Sure, I can try. Come here, my little butterfly," he says, bending down, ready for her to climb onto his back.

Nina steps onto his back, and he slowly rises. As he does, both of them truly feel how light they are. He carries her a few steps around the campsite while they both laugh and enjoy this playful moment.

"See, I told you we could fly," Nina says, laughing and waving her arms.

It really feels like they've conquered the world!

"You can put me down now," Nina says when she notices that Dan seems a bit tired.

Dan gently sets her down, and they both sit by the shelter. They feel light and joyful, as if nothing can stop them. It's a moment of pure happiness in the midst of their adventure.

The fire pit in front of the shelter looks like it has had an accident, with the stones scattered around, which is quite odd considering the weight of the stones. Together, they try to put them back in place, then they set out to find dry branches to start a fire.

"Nina, didn't I win the competition for who spotted the most trail markers?"

Nina looks surprised but then recalls their competition.

"No way!" she exclaims.

"But," Dan wonders, "how many markers did you see then?"

Nina thinks for a moment. "100?"

"I saw 101!" Dan triumphantly claims, although he didn't really, he just made it up, but Nina did too.

"101!" Nina retorts. "That sounds totally made up!"

"Okay," Dan says, "I confess, but admit that you made things up too."

Nina pretends to sulk. "Okay then," she says, "I still want to hear you sing though"

"I want to hear you sing and dance too!" Dan replies, simultaneously carrying a rather heavy, slightly oversized piece of firewood and placing it on the fire pit.

"If you sing first, I'll sing afterward," Nina offers. Dan contemplates what to do as he prepares the branches they've collected into smaller pieces and places them beneath the firewood.

"Do you dance too?" he asks, "and do you have matches?"

"Do you want me to set you on fire, the fire, or your song on fire?" Nina teases.