Tom leads the way, his stride confident and his eyes bright with excitement. Lucy follows, her camera swinging from her neck, as she pauses to snap pictures of butterflies flitting among the thistles. Peter brings up the rear, humming softly, his gaze lingering on the swaying grass. "This is perfect. We should do this more often," she says, grinning at her friends.

Peter jokes about finding hidden treasure, while Tom consults an old map, squinting at faded lines. "According to this, we just keep heading east and we'll reach the river," he declares, his voice full of certainty. "Are you sure that's not upside down?" teases Lucy, laughing as Tom flips the map around.

Lucy glances around, her smile faltering as uncertainty settles in. "Does any of this look familiar to you guys? I don't remember that big boulder," Peter says, pointing to a moss-covered stone. "Maybe we took a wrong turn back at the fork," admits Tom, rubbing the back of his neck.

Lucy tries to stay optimistic, snapping photos to distract herself, but her hands tremble slightly. "It's getting late. Should we call someone?" she suggests, voice tinged with worry. "No signal out here," Peter replies, holding up his phone with a wry smile.

Tom grins, relief washing over him. "That's the old tree from earlier! We must be close to the main trail," he exclaims. "Let’s stick together and keep an eye out for more signs," Lucy suggests, her spirits lifting.

"Next time, maybe we should bring a compass…and snacks," Peter quips, earning groans and chuckles from the others. "Agreed, but I wouldn’t trade today for anything," Tom replies, slinging an arm around his friends as they walk toward home.