The trail up the mountain was thin and barren. The path they walked up from the town was well-trodden and packed with soft earth. Now they were almost up above the tree line, and it was all rocks and the sun was hot on their necks without the shade of the trees. The taller man and the shorter man reached their campsite in the wind-worn rocks beneath the final great peak, where a patch of gravel allowed them to nail the stakes for a single tent into the earth. Tomorrow they would ascend the peak in the early morning and in the evening they would hike back down the mountain towards home.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s for dinner?\u201d the tall man asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not hungry,\u201d said the short man.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhisky, then.\u201d<\/p>\n
He went into his backpack and pulled out a bottle.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot or a little?\u201d said the tall man.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tall man poured two glasses out of his backpack. He brought them over to where the short man sat on the edge of the cliff and handed it to him. He stood and drank. In the distance, over another thin line of mountains in the east, purple and black clouds gathered against the white sky.<\/p>\n
\u201cStorm comin\u2019,\u201d the tall man said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYep.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould be a nasty one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWife and kids alright?\u201d<\/p>\n
The short man shrugged and looked down into his whisky. Through the glass bottom, he could see two thousand feet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s your son now? Thirteen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFourteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFourteen. Right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are you asking?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan\u2019t a man ask?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tall man looked across the valley at a distant peak in the center of the storm. \u201cWe should do that one,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich one?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh. Sure. How do you reckon it is?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA few days at least. Camping. Maybe a few climbs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a long trip.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe a week if we stretch it out. Take our time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMore whisky?\u201d the tall man asked. The short man nodded and the tall man poured himself a deep glass. He started to pour the short man\u2019s but instead handed him the bottle. The short man took a swig before filling his cup. He took a long drink, then hissed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess it could be dangerous,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything is dangerous. That\u2019s what you said about this one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. I mean I guess it could be really dangerous. Being out there alone for a whole week.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI smell like this,\u201d said the short man.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike whisky?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh. And whisky.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t joke,\u201d said the short man. He took back the rest of his glass. He was starting to get drunk.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine. I was just trying to mess around.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are messing around.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean like we used to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if I can do that anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not? It\u2019s not risky.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything we do is risky. It feels like we\u2019re always trying to get ourselves killed.\u201d\u00a0 The short man held out his glass and wiped his chin with his sleeve.<\/p>\n
\u201cSay when,\u201d the tall man said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tall man looked across the mountains at the storm. It crept into the valley. \u201cIt\u2019s beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe storm.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh. Yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan\u2019t you talk to me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am talking to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t pretend.\u201d<\/p>\n
The short man laughed. \u201cI am talking to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou used to think about storms.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used to talk about things like that. Like storms.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are talking about the storm right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah but when we used to talk about storms it was never really about storms.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you even saying?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing. Nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
They were silent. Cold wind starting coming up the canyon and blowing on their feet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhiskey\u2019s good,\u201d said the short man.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have to do it,\u201d said the tall man.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know. I know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat it like?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it dangerous?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot as much as you think.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens afterwards?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean once we\u2019re done. What do we do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe go back home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you think things will be okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think things will be just fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what if I don\u2019t feel like talking about things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s fine too. We don\u2019t have to say anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean ever. To you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLook: I don\u2019t want to do it if you don\u2019t want to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you do want to do it. I know you want to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can say that and it doesn\u2019t really mean you know anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to be disposable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tall man poured them both more whisky. Then he fished around for dead shrubs to light into a fire because the sky was getting dark. It crackled behind them on the cliff when he rejoined the short man.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to be happy,\u201d said his friend.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want all of us to be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWill we? Will this help?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t tell you that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if it kills us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt won\u2019t. It\u2019s safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not what I mean. I mean what if we don\u2019t do it, and it kills us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow so?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNever mind. You wouldn\u2019t get it. You\u2019ve done it.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a moment of silence. Lightning cracked in the distance. Across the valley, rain was starting to fall in a grey curtain.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes I think I want it to kill me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t say things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re drunk. What about your kids? Your life?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kids? What life? I made it all up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo you didn\u2019t. Be serious.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am serious. I made it all up. I picked out what I wanted and I made it. I\u2019m not like you. I didn\u2019t take what I got.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to do it anymore,\u201d said the tall man.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean? Of course you do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo I don\u2019t. Not if you think it\u2019s going to kill you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKill me, not kill me. Whatever. You can\u2019t kill something that doesn\u2019t exist.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going up the mountain tomorrow,\u201d said the tall man.<\/p>\n
The short man opened his eyes. \u201cWhat? Of course we are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I don\u2019t think so. I\u2019m too tired. I don\u2019t feel good about it. You\u2019ve got to trust your gut. Going up mountains.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWait. Wait. Come on now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. I thought this would be good for you. Coming out here. I think I just want to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease,\u201d said the short man.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease. I feel better. I\u2019m sorry, I really do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. Come back and sit next to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tall man sat next to him and steadied his friend with his shoulder.<\/p>\n
The short man looked out at the mountains. \u201cI love this. I really do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,\u201d said the tall man. \u201cLook: I will be in the tent. When you feel better. You can come in with me. Okay? I just need a minute. Okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you really fine out here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, yeah. I\u2019m fine. I just want to watch the storm come in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tall man went to the tent and zipped up. On the ledge, the short man looked down. He felt the lonely tent behind him. In front of him, there was the storm, moving black and slow.<\/p>\n
Beneath him, he could hear the whisper of empty, dead air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On the ledge, the short man looked down. He felt the lonely tent behind him. In front of him, there was the storm, moving black and slow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2621],"class_list":["post-18433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fiction","tag-fiction","writer-thomas-kent-west"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18433"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19199,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18433\/revisions\/19199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}