To The Top

To the Top
'Whoosh!' The frosted wind engulfed the air, causing my fingertips to grow numb. I didn't know what was happening anymore, I just followed the rope which my team and I had been attached to. Constant 'clinking' could be heard through the raucous gusts of wind as the metal from my harness collided harshly with the carabiner system. As my goggles began to frost, my heart followed.

It's been over a month up here; the cold is starting to get to me. As I lug myself through the deep and never-ending snow, my breaths became shorter and shorter. I promised my grandmother I would climb Mt Everest, that I would make it to the top, but those dreams were inching further and further away. The snow ate my boots every step I took. I thrusted my ice axe into the wall-like-ice, the grip on my trekking pole tightened. "We were so close," at least that's what the Sherpa said. I looked up, only to find empty space, covered with a white blanket of snow. The rope, empty, no one was there.

I'm Eira, my grandmother conquered mount Everest in her younger years, I've even got her famous ice axe. She made it all the way up, survived the gelid, survived through thin air, and survived loneliness. She was amazing, and I'm here, stuck, after getting separated from my team by an avalanche. My puffy, blue, and red jacket could only shield my body from the cold for so long, I knew I was going to freeze, I needed to find my team. I searched in the snow for my beloved trekking pole. Though, this was as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. With all the remaining energy I had, I lifted myself up, checking my harness and shoving my ice axe into the wall of ice. I looked up, admiring the view, I felt so small compared to the rest of the world, it gave me a weird feeling of dominance as I visioned the outcome of making it to the top. Would I be proud? Happy? Content? The world was definably different from up here, as you search through the snow you couldn't find anything. No rubbish, people, problems, society, just me, myself, and the snow.

The sun danced across my face, bright, reflecting off the perfectly white snow. My heart was frozen, only beating occasionally as my lungs began to close into my body. I was jelly as I forced my feet to move, up and only up. I knew I was close, I had to keep going, I will keep going. 'Swoosh!' the wind whistled, blowing my golden-brown hair away from my body. My face was covered, until my eyes, I have goggles which protect my eyes from the cold. I don't remember how long I was walking for when I saw someone suddenly appear ahead of me on the rope, I wanted to scream of joy, but I was too tired. I could barely see who was up ahead, as my eyesight unblurred, I looked up, I took a deep breath and shouted,
"Hello!?"

I'm Eira, my grandmother conquered mount Everest in her younger years, and now I can say I have too. I made it to the top after finding my team just below the highest point. I did it. I kept my promise to my grandmother and lived without regrets. I was unable to recover grandmother's ice axe, but I think that's for the better. I'm not just my grandmother's granddaughter, but I'm a warrior, warrior of Mount Everest.

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