Breath With In


Chapter 15 - Climbing the mountain

The next morning I woke up at exactly five o'clock—though it could have been earlier, or later, but it was exactly five o'clock for the sake of this story. I stared at the ceiling for a solid five minutes, contemplating the meaning of life, before I realized I had to get up. I sluggishly got out of bed, rubbed my eyes, and grabbed my bag, double-checking it. Inside, I had a sleeping bag and a few pre-packed, mysterious ready-made meals I had bought at the store. I wasn't entirely sure what they were, but they seemed appropriate for a mountain adventure.

I made sure to wear my heaviest winter coat, the one that made me look like a walking puffball, and a pair of ridiculously thick pants. A hat was necessary, obviously, to keep my head from freezing. I gazed out the window for a moment as if contemplating some deep life decision, then shrugged and headed for the door.

I arrived at the bus stop at quarter to six, a bit earlier than necessary because I was always early, like that one guy who shows up to every party too early, making everyone uncomfortable. I waited. I stood there, looking at the gray sky, thinking about how the world was cold, and then there was Yuuki, appearing out of nowhere, walking like some ethereal figure in the frosty morning air. She had a backpack, and she stood next to me, wordlessly.

The bus finally arrived after what felt like a lifetime. We got on, and Yuuki immediately took the window seat, leaving me to sit next to her. There were like, a thousand empty seats, but she took the window one. I didn't mind though. A few minutes later, she leans on my shoulder. I don't know why, but I didn't question it. Maybe she was tired. Maybe she was cold. Who knows?

The entire bus ride was quiet, except for the sound of the bus engine and the occasional bump as we hit a pothole. I looked out the window. We were heading to the bottom of the mountain, but honestly, I couldn't see it yet. Eventually, we arrived. I woke her up, shaking her gently, because that's what friends do. She looked a bit shaken at first, but then she regained some composure. I think it was because of the cold.

We started climbing immediately because who doesn't want to start climbing a mountain after barely waking up, right? I picked the easiest trail, because I'm not in great shape, and it seemed like the smart thing to do.

For the first twenty minutes, we didn't say anything. I was already out of breath, so any words I could say would've been entirely unnecessary.

"So, how do you feel?" I asked, desperate to break the silence. It was so awkward. It was cold. The wind was practically slicing through me.

"I'm doing fine. Not tired yet," she replied, though I could see her face turning slightly red from the cold. I couldn't tell if that was from the exercise or something else.

"How was life growing up here?" I questioned, trying to fill the silence even more.

"It was good. I never had anyone I was really close to. My life has been a bit difficult. My dad left when I was six," she said, her voice tinged with something hard to read. I felt the urge to reach out and pat her on the shoulder. I didn't. "How about you?" she added.

"Umm," I responded, my brain momentarily shutting down as I processed her question, "When I was in the twenty-first century, there were tons of people outside enjoying the sun. For me, I was more interested in exploring than anything else. I made most of my friends by telling them my outrageous stories. That's until a random hole appeared in the ground, and I thought it might lead to a new world, so I jumped into it."

She gave me an odd look, but I just kept going.

"What about your family and friends?" she asked.

"I hated my parents and wasn't attached to my friends," I said bluntly, because why not make things awkward?

"Well, that's unfortunate," she said, her voice softer than I expected.

We climbed for two hours after that. At this point, the conversation had turned into an endless loop of random topics. School. Life. Future. And other things that popped into our heads. I didn't even know if what I was saying made sense anymore. I was getting tired. My legs were sore.

We stopped for lunch by an overlook. You could see the snow-covered town far below, and I took a moment to appreciate how beautiful it looked, even though I didn't really care. I mean, what is beauty, anyway?

As we pushed on, it became more and more obvious that we were getting slower. We started dragging our feet. Time seemed to crawl, and my body screamed for rest. I don't think we even talked much anymore. We just climbed, step by step, until the sun started to dip behind the horizon. We were still a mile from the peak, and I wondered if we'd even make it before nightfall.

"Do you think we're close?" Yuuki said, gasping for breath like we'd been climbing for a thousand years.

"I think," I replied. It was the most non-committal answer I could muster.

"Are you sure?" she asked again.

"No, not really," I said, though I tried to sound confident. "But at least we made it this far." My legs were about to fall off at this point.

The last mile was the worst. We barely spoke. Every once in a while, I'd ask her if she was okay, and she'd mutter, "I think so." But I don't know if either of us believed it.

Finally, we reached the top. Exhausted and barely able to move, we took out our sleeping bags and lay down. The stars above were twinkling like some cosmic joke. We just stared up at them. I wanted to say something profound, but nothing came to mind.

"Hey, what do you think is out there?" I asked after what felt like an eternity.

"I dunno," she replied. "Maybe there's nothing. Maybe it's all just nothing."

"I want to ask you something," I said, my voice shaking a little.

"What is it?"

"Why did you come up here?"

"Well… honestly," I said, taking a deep breath, "I wanted to see my past one last time. Most of my outrageous stories were made up, but one thing was real. I climbed this mountain hundreds of years ago. I took the hardest trail during a hurricane. It was horrible. I thought I was going to die, but then I came above the clouds and saw the night sky. It was… the most beautiful thing. But no one cared. No one listened. I never had real friends. I guess that's why."

"Do you consider me a friend?" she asked, almost too quietly.

"Yes," I said immediately, without even thinking. I don't know why it felt right to say that.

I smiled at her. She smiled back. It felt like we'd just solved the world's biggest problem with a smile. I looked up at the sky and fell asleep. I wasn't sure if it was the exhaustion or the weird connection we'd just made. But either way, I was asleep.