Riddles in the Wild

Maya stared at the chunky neon orange **vitamin** her mom had pressed into her palm before she'd boarded the bus.

"Take it every morning," she'd said, like that pill could somehow protect her from three weeks of wilderness camp. Maya pocketed it, thinking about how she'd rather choke on glitter than admit she was terrified.

The camp counselor, a lanky guy who definitely called himself a "spiritual guide" unironically, gathered everyone around the firepit on night three.

"Like the ancient **sphinx** guarded its secrets with riddles," he announced, spreading his arms like he was hosting a TED talk, "tonight you'll share your deepest truth. What mask are you wearing?"

Maya's stomach did that thing it did when she forgot to study for a bio test. The girl next to her, Raven—a twitchy streamer with 50K followers who'd somehow failed to mention she was basically internet famous—leaned over.

"He's been on a Joseph Campbell binge," Raven whispered. "Last night he made us compare ourselves to spirit animals. I got a **fox**, which apparently means I'm 'clever but elusive.' Whatever that means."

Maya cracked a smile. "What's really wild is you haven't posted about this yet."

"Phone's in the locker," Raven said, then shrugged. "Kinda nice? My followers think I'm at some exclusive retreat anyway."

Around them, kids started sharing. Jake, the quiet boy who'd barely spoken two words, confessed he was failing math because his dad expected him to take over the family business and he hated every second of it. Sarah, whose Instagram was a carefully curated feed of aesthetic coffee shops, admitted she'd been lonely since her friend group dissolved halfway through sophomore year.

When it was Maya's turn, the words stuck in her throat. How could she explain that she didn't know who she was outside of being 'the smart one'—that she'd been carrying this weight to **bear** alone since her parents' divorce, like if she just kept being perfect, maybe they wouldn't fall apart completely?

"I..." she started, then stopped. "I don't know what mask I'm wearing. I think I forgot what my actual face looks like."

Raven's hand found hers in the dark. "Same, though."

The next morning, Maya actually took the vitamin. Not because she thought it would help, but because her mom had packed it, and sometimes being a teenager meant letting someone take care of you even when you were pretending you didn't need it.