The Night Walk to the Flag

It was the second night of school camp. The teacher gave each group a map. It was a simple map of the woods. A red cross marked a hill.

"A flag waits on that hill," the teacher said. "Your group must find it. No phones. You can use the map, a light, and your eyes."

Bruno, Chiara, and Dmitri made one group. Bruno held the map. Chiara held the light. Dmitri carried the water bottle. He said he was good at carrying.

It was eight o'clock. The sky was dark blue. The first stars came out.

"We start at the big oak tree," Bruno said. "Then we follow the white stones."

They walked into the woods. The path was narrow. White stones sat on the ground, one every few steps. In the light, they looked like little moons.

For ten minutes, everything went well. Then the path split in two. One way went left, up a small hill. The other way went right, down to the water.

Bruno looked at the map. "The map has no split here," he said. "I do not understand."

"Look at the stones," said Chiara. She moved the light. "The left path has no white stones."

"The right path has stones," said Dmitri.

"The map shows the hill on the left," Bruno said.

They stood still. A bird called in the dark. It was a long, low sound. Dmitri jumped.

"It is only an owl," said Chiara.

"I know," said Dmitri. But he stood a little closer to the others.

Bruno looked up. "The Pole Star," he said. "Our teacher showed us. It tells us where north is. The hill is in the north, I think."

He found the star over the trees. It was small, but it was bright. The stars around it turned slowly, like a big wheel.

"The right path goes north too," said Chiara. "It curves. Look. The stones follow it."

"Then the stones lead us," Bruno said. "The map is not complete."

They took the right path. After five minutes, they came to a stream. The water was black and cold. A line of flat rocks lay across it.

Chiara went first. She stepped from rock to rock. She held out the light. Bruno followed. Dmitri came last, with the bottle in his hand.

On the third rock, his foot slipped. Splash! One shoe went into the water.

"Cold! Cold!" Dmitri shouted. He jumped to the bank on one foot.

Chiara laughed so hard that she dropped the light. Bruno caught it just in time.

"Sorry," said Chiara. She tried to stop laughing. She could not.

Dmitri shook his wet shoe. Then he started to laugh too. "I carry water," he said. "I did not plan to carry it in my shoe."

They climbed the last hill. At the top, the trees opened. The sky was full of stars. A white flag stood in the grass. It moved in the soft wind.

Bruno touched the pole. "We did it," he said.

Chiara turned off the light. For a moment, nobody spoke. The stars were bright. They did not need the light.

Then they heard voices. The teacher and two other groups walked up the hill. Someone gave each student a cup of hot chocolate.

Dmitri held the cup with both hands. His wet foot shook in the cold.

"Again tomorrow?" he asked.