Tanya pushed on, exhausted down to her bones. She thought there was plenty of time to reach the summit before she lost daylight, but she wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep going. Her pack grew heavier with every step. She resigned herself to the fact she’d have to hike the rest of the way tomorrow and started looking for a place to set up camp. The narrow trail opened up into a small, mostly level clearing and she reached to loosen the straps on her pack. Why did I ever think I could handle a challenge like this? I suppose this is just as good a place as any to sleep off my failure, she thought, but then she spotted something out of place. She trudged across the clearing until she could read a sign someone had made, “You are exactly where you need to be.” The words settled something inside her, and she dropped her pack next to its post. The rest of her energy was gone by the time camp was set up and she ate a granola bar before crawling into her tent and falling asleep almost instantly.
Her stomach woke her before dawn the next day, grumbling and growling over not getting enough supper the night before. She grabbed her headlamp and crawled out into the dark, dewy morning. By the time she’d made breakfast on her rocket stove, the sky was beginning to lighten. She could see the peak she’d been striving to reach and felt the ache of failure yet again. “Happy birthday anyway,” she murmured to herself and leaned back against a large boulder to eat. She thought of the sign’s message again, “You are exactly where you need to be” and wondered what prompted someone to carry it up the mountain and place it here. She cleaned up her breakfast mess and made herself another cup of instant coffee before setting the stove aside to cool and turning off her headlamp. She stared into the cup warming her hands and settled back against the rock again to contemplate her plans for the day. She’d planned to celebrate on the summit with a day of rest before continuing on to the terminus and was beating herself up for not being able to make it. A burst of color caught her eye and she looked up toward the peak. The sky looked like it was on fire, the sunrise painting brilliant colors across the clouds and casting an orange glow over everything it touched. She sat mesmerized as her coffee grew cold, watching the colors change as the world came to life. A blinding ray of light burst over the peak and she ducked her head, blinking to clear her vision. She carefully raised her head and saw the sign almost glowing in that ray of sunshine. She read again, “You are exactly where you need to be” and smiled. Tanya lifted her mug to the heavens and murmured, “Message received, Lord. Happy birthday to me.”
I loved your summit story, and I loved the imagery too. Gorgeous.
Loved this, Dawn! Well written and had me hooked right away!