All I can hear is the rain. All I can see are the rocks in front of me.
My physical strength is at its peak, almost ebbing at two thousand eight hundred odd metres above sea level, and nearing the finale of a nine hour trek. The rain has been pouring for three hours and showing no signs of stopping and it is getting dark. I am cold and wet, drenched despite the thin raincoat I wore.
I sit on a rock, exhausted, reaching of a piece of chocolate and I cast my eyes behind, seeing him slowly make his way up to where I am.
Both of us not knowing where the end was, and climbing up with the remnants of our energy. The remnants of energy and a blind hope that something would soon appear behind the bend, a sanctuary where we could finally rest and regain some warmth. He had been a tower of strength, the most reliable of rocks, and I am glad for his company.
However, at the moment, his face mirrored the exhaustion I feel, and I know he was suffering much more than I was, for he wore no protective covering, no raincoat, and had no shelter from the relentless rain. Soaked through and through, and I worry for his state. It was nine degrees and the horrifying thought of hypothermia has flashed through my head more than once.
I pat the ground beside me and he sat. Both of us in silence, for a little while, recovering our energy for the unknown trek ahead.
Then he spoke. “For some reason, I can’t stop thinking about her.”
It is funny what the mind is like. Freezing, tired and hungry, sitting in the dark with the rain pelting down and his thoughts were of her.
A love story. Or perhaps a love lost.
My heart almost breaks for him. I know not the situation, or perhaps I know the situation more than I want to know. All I know is that I wish for his happiness, and it was a wish that I cannot fulfil. His demons are his own and his angels are his own as well.
I no longer think about the rocks ahead, and I no longer think of the rain.
All I see is a man with his heart exposed, vulnerable and raw. In those few words, so much was conveyed. And despite his pain, he has the strength to move forward, and it is a lesson I bring with me today.
