“What was I thinking?” I sighed, huffing and puffing. It was 2 am and the air was chilly from the evening’s rain. While everyone else slept, a bunch of us had decided to climb a mountain in the middle of the night.
“Just half an hour more to go,” the guide cheered us on. But I trailed along unfocussed, busy placating every ligament in my body that screamed for mercy. My mind teased me with images of my comfortable bed, soft pillows and cosy blanket. The next second, stones rolled over beneath the soles of my shoes. Taking a nasty fall, I realised distractions can be detrimental. Covered in scratches and bruises, I was ready to give up.
“Are you okay? Don’t worry, this will be over soon,” someone said, giving me a hand. Inexplicably, that changed my mind. The fact that I may never come back to the place dawned on me in that moment. I made a conscious effort to take every sight and sound in and etch the memory in my mind. “Don’t overthink. Just take one step at a time,” I said to myself.
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