Mystical Words: A Short Story Collection

Realistic Fiction: Life's Ascent

3.00 a.m.

The loud rings of an alarm clock shake me awake. I roll over, slam a palm on the table, but miss the 'off' button. With a groan, I hit it multiple times until it stops ringing. I roll onto my back and stare at the wooden planks above my head.

Shaking my head, I step out of bed. The moon shines and reflects off my mirror and onto my clock. It reads 3. a.m. I yawn and get dressed, pulling on my waterproof jacket over my exercise shirt. As I walk into the kitchen, I make myself a sandwich and pack it into my rucksack along with two water bottles.

3.13 a.m.

All I hear around me is cricket noise as I walk away from my log cabin and into the woods. The sky is still dark and I can barely see my way. Aiming my flashlight at a pile of twigs and leaves, I choose a long branch to use. I brandish it and imitate fending off wild beasts with it for a moment.

Ahead of me are countless trees shooting up like arrows into the sky and barely visible prints made by feet, both animal and human, leading in different directions. The minty smell of pine wood wafts by occasionally. I walk past the trees and enter a glade, the absence of the towering trees reveals a blanket of twinkling stars shining at us.

When I reach the dirt trail leading up to the mountain peak, I use the stick as a steadying guide to stay on track. Although I have explored this area a few times, carelessly tripping over a rock or losing my footing could still have disastrous consequences on this lonely stretch of the trail. My mind races to imaginary headlines of a lone hiker discovered dead several weeks later. Gulp. Calm down, nothing will happen.

Just as I chose to live here by myself, in a sort of diversion on my life's journey, so was this morning's hike to view the sunrise. Locals in town talk about it all the time, and I decided I was going to see it for myself. I hope the sunrise is worth the price of waking up at 3 am.

4.09 a.m.

Wow, it's been a long hour of hiking and I'm already having difficulty breathing. Whew! I walk some more for a bit, but then I soon perch myself on a rock nearby. Taking out my water bottle, I drink some of the water as I take a look upwards. The locals say the higher you go, the higher the altitudes, and the more times you will need to catch your breath.

I screw the bottle cap back onto the bottle. If that's true, I can't stop for too long now.

6.20 a.m.

Phew! After a lot of climbing with only two breaks, I'm almost there! The dark night is slowly getting lit up by tiny rays from the emerging sun, and I can see the sky brightening, spurring me on. Almost there!

6.25 a.m.

I climb the last bit of the track and reach the summit. I came just in time and the golden rays of the sun are now blending with the purple and navy blue hues of the night. It's better than what the locals claimed. I mean, don't they say 'a picture paints a thousand words'?

I'm speechless and staring at the picturesque sun, slowly lighting up the day. This really was worth my while to come and see. I choose a spot as near as possible to the edge and start on breakfast. When I decided to give up my high-paying job in the city and move out here, everyone questioned my choice. Why are you deviating from the normal track that everyone takes? Is this price too high to pay? What they didn't know about were the long, long hours, the constant pill-popping, and the doctor's check-up that eventually led to his recommendation of a sabbatical from work, or else. Those words hung over my head like the sword of Damocles. But after years of ignoring the warning signs by my body, I couldn't gloss over the growing discomfort anymore.

After packing up and moving out here, I slowly regained my mental and physical health. This climb would have been physically impossible for me just eight months ago. Now, I'm feeling much better. Maybe I could go back to the city soon.

I open my rucksack and take out the sandwich I had made. Taking a bite out of it, I turn to the sun, higher than ever, like my spirits. Hmm. Maybe I'll have to wait and see.