Chapter Text
-Message failed to send-
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-Call failed-
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-Call failed-
Worry gnawed at Camilia’s insides as she sat at her and Luz’s favorite lunch place, sandwich untouched. She had assumed that Luz had just lost her phone or forgotten to charge it or somehow broken it doing something silly. It wouldn’t have been all that out of character for her. But it had been a week with no response from her little girl.
Even the letters had stopped and the more she read them the more unsettled they made her feel. Luz had spelled her name wrong in quite a few of them and the wording felt stilted and unnatural.
The camp would have called her if something happened, right? They wouldn’t let Luz get hurt and not tell her about it. They wouldn’t hurt her… would they?
She took a deep breath to calm herself and quickly searched for Camp Reality Check’s phone number.
The phone rang once, twice, thrice and on the fourth ring, “Welcome to Camp Reality Check where children learn to think inside the box,” said a rather tired voice, “My name is Alex, how may I help you?”
“Yes, hello, I want to talk to my daughter, Luz. Luz Noceda? She hasn’t responded to my calls or t-”
“Are you Camilia Noceda?” the person’s voice went from tired to concerned, “We have been trying to contact you for the last month.”
“What?”
“Luz Noceda never arrived at Camp Reality Check,” a pit formed in Camilia’s stomach, “We’ve been calling the number listed in our system but no one picked up. We assumed you backed out.”
Camilia ran a nervous hand across her face, “But she’s... we’ve been texting back and forth for the last month and a half. She’s been talking about how she has been making friends. She’s sent me letters.”
“We don’t have a way for the kids to send letters,” the person on the other line paused for an uncomfortably long time, “Is there…. anyone she could have been staying with?”
“No, she… was never good at making friends and our extended family done live anywhere near here,” she ran through other potential scenarios in her head. She knew Luz had no interest in meeting her father (who lived who knows where) and she wouldn’t have anywhere else she could go.
“I’m sorry mam, I suggest contacting the proper authorities and-” Camilia hung up and dialed another number as panic flew through her veins.
She barely choked out, “My daughter is missing.”
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One month turned into two, two months turned into three, four, five, six, a year, two years, three and there had been no sign of Luz. No sign of her baby.
She had been numb at first, then angry at the world, then herself, then regretful and now she had fallen into a sad pattern. Wake up, work, come home, sleep, repeat. Hold a quiet birthday for her, just a few balloons, the newest Azura book, and a small cake. She never ate the cake.
Sometimes she would read her daughter’s texts and other times she would read her letters and when she was feeling especially strong, she would go into Luz’s room.
The detectives had gone through the small room many times but only found her daughter’s vivid inner world. Posters of various books, TV shows, and a bi pride flag hung on her walls. A computer full of half-finished fanfics and anime clips, art supplies, and a stack of well-loved books sat on her desk. Notebooks filled with doodles that had gotten more and more impressive as time went on were tucked beside messily folded clothes.
Camilia sat on Luz’s bed running a tired hand across a picture of Luz as a child. All smiles and excitement as she and Luz stood side by side in front of the first rollercoaster she had braved or, “conquered” as she had put it. She had always been such a brave little thing and Camilia had held out hope that her Luz was brave enough to make it back to her.
Tears dropped onto the glass covering the photo.
The detective had told her that the chance of Luz coming home safe and sound was extremely slim. He had told her that the investigation was still ongoing but he called off the manhunts. The only lead had been one neighbor who had claimed to have seen her running into the forest that fateful day but any potential trail had been covered by a month of rain and animal activity. The trail had gone too cold for too long to find any evidence as to where she had gone.
She set the photo down face-first onto Luz’s soft blanket and stood. The floor creaked beneath her feet as she walked out of Luz’s room to get ready for bed. It had been a long day.
She had been given a job opportunity a few hours away. The pay was better and it would give her some distance from this house’s painful memories but, that foolishly hopeful part of her still wanted to believe that one day, Luz would come back. And if Camilia wasn’t still here Luz would never find her.
Camilia scrolled through potential apartments when she realized that she would only need one bedroom now. She put her phone down on her bedside table and laid her head in her hands.