Jane was a simple girl. She was from the city, she’d been there her whole life. She had lived alone in her apartment for a few years now. She was shy and not very outgoing. She yearned for something new in her life. 

She lived in Gunter City, she had always seen Mt. Madeline out her window, and it was what brought Gunter City fame. This mountain stood tall over the city, it was a glimpse of nature within an urbanized society. Jane looked up at this mountain one night, she didn’t know if she was just tired, but it seemed like the mountain spoke to her. 

“I understand,” she said to herself. After a restful night she decided that she would climb this mountain, she didn’t care how long it would take her. She was excited about this, but she knew that she wouldn’t be able to even begin this monstrous task right now. 

Jane knew that she needed to work for this, she needed to prepare. She decided to train every day until she felt as though she could begin this journey. After these daily outings, she would research what she needed, she had no idea how any of this would work. 

This was very difficult for her in the beginning, she never needed to keep herself accountable for anything, she usually just relied on others to keep her in line. 

She almost gave up,  

“It’s not worth it, why am I doing this?” she thought. 

Every time she thought these things, it felt as though there was a force telling her to continue this undertaking. It was as though the mountain was beckoning to her. She continued her training for her journey.

By now, Months had passed. Jane had been feeling better about herself since she began, for the past few weeks now she knew that soon she would be ready. And today, she didn’t know why, but she knew that she was ready. 

Jane had packed her very large bag, she had said farewell to her family, knowing that this journey would take a while. Now, in the early Autumn sun, she had set off on her adventure. While venturing to the trailhead, she began to see an old cabin just before the mountain, as she got closer and closer, she got more and more curious. When she arrived at this mysterious home, she heard the door squeak open. The man that had emerged from the cabin proclaimed, 

“Come in, traveler. Would you like a cup of tea?”

***

“Hugo?” Jane asked. The old man confirmed. There was a sense of welcoming to him, like he accepts everyone.

“Why do you pass here?” asked Hugo, he hadn’t seen an adventurer pass by in many months.

“The mountain seemed to call to me,” she responded. Hugo now knew that Jane was worthy of this climb, but he didn’t know if she knew it. 

Hugo made some light conversation, but mostly stayed reserved for a bit. After what seemed like forever, Hugo asked

“Might I tell you a story?”. Jane, bored to death, responded

“Sure.”

“Once, I was just like you, I felt a yearning for an opportunity, and took it. During this adventure, I was careful with each step and was perfectly prepared. After this journey had been completed, it was a complete success, there hadn’t been any hiccups. I would believe that this was the perfect journey, but I was forgetting the most important part, humility. I endlessly bragged to everyone I spoke to. Years after my adventure was a distant memory, I realized my mistake. In attempting to gain confidence, I had brought down others.”

Jane listened closely to Hugo during his story and thought deeply about it for a while. She thanked him for the tea and continued her journey with a new understanding of herself and humanity.

She had been hiking up the poorly defined trail for a few hours at this point. Her interaction with Hugo had already nearly slipped her mind. The path so far hadn’t been very steep or difficult so far, and she had become very confident in this climb. The landscape was quite dull at this time. In the distance, she saw a lush, green pine forest.

As Jane ventured further, she became more and more excited about arriving. Finally, she would have a more interesting view, one with a vast pink skyline and beautiful mountains. Although this excitement numbed it, she knew deep down that this was no average forest.

***

As the night fell, she knew that she needed to find a comfortable piece of land to center her shelter around. The tall trees seemed alive, like they were watching her. She was frightened but passed this off as just a silly thought. She had been searching for a good place for her tent for a few minutes when she thought she heard something.

“Hello?” she said fairly gently. She spoke with a soft tone as she was afraid of what she had heard. She knew it was a bad idea, but she began searching for the cause of this noise. As she ventured through the woods, she lost track of the trail, the path was too ambiguous at this point.

Dusk turned to night, she could see less and less now, and Jane became more and more weary and nervous. She gave up on finding this sound and decided to go to sleep, the ground this far from where she expected to be was filled with rock and pine needles. She had no other choice but to camp here for the night. It was very uncomfortable and painful for her to sleep here, but at least she could continue in the morning.

After a rough sleep on the sharp needles and rocks, Jane woke up late in the morning, not going to her pre-established plan. She was disappointed in herself, 

“This all could have been avoided,” She thought. As she regained her senses from her rest, she thought she saw an outline of another person through the thin tent fabric. She quietly exited her tent, making sure not to attract the attention of this figure.

Jane peered out of the tent door, attempting to gain an understanding of who or what this was that she saw. It was a bearded man, he appeared to be in his late twenties, and he was just sitting on a nearby log on the forest floor.

Just after she got a good look at him, the man began to slowly turn his head in the direction of Jane’s tent. She quickly pulled her head back, so that he couldn’t see her. She was frightened of what might happen if he knew she was awake. Her mind was flooded with questions, 

“Who is he? Why is he here? Is he waiting for me?”

None of this mattered as the man began to meander towards Jane. She didn’t know what to do, she just froze. The man spoke through the tent walls, 

“You shouldn’t be here.”

***

Days had passed. Noah and Jane continued up the mountain together, they had become very close at this point as their struggles helped them bond. Noah had told her about the oasis at the summit, it seemed impossibly large, and a wonder of nature. She became increasingly motivated to complete her journey.

As Noah took another picture of himself, Jane remembered the story that Hugo had told her nearly a week ago. She understood that Noah wasn’t doing this for himself, he just wanted more eyes on him. She was too shy to point this out however, she was worried that this would change his opinion of her. 

Jane decided to ignore this, blinded by the fact that she was close to completing her goal.

“There it is, see?” said Noah, with a sense of wonder in his voice. Jane saw the oasis in the distance knowing that her journey’s end was right in front of her. A mix of emotions rushed through her as she began to see the beautiful colors of the peak.

When they finally arrived at the summit, Jane reflected on her first interaction with Noah in the forest, she liked to think that she learned a lot from that experience. She learned to take risks, something that she had failed to do in the past.

After a while of admiring the view, Jane goes to Noah, 

“Hey, thanks,” she says to him. “For your kindness.” Noah smiles, he is glad to help his new friend.

“Can I tell you a story?” continued Jane. She told him the story that Hugo had told her those days ago. Although he didn’t say it, Noah understood why she was doing this. He knew he needed to live in the moment, he knew he needed to appreciate things for what they were.

Their descent came with a few struggles but with general ease. A few days after their climb had ended, Jane ventured back to Hugo’s house. 

“Hugo?” Jane stammered. There was no response. She let herself into his unlocked home. It was silent. She didn’t want to accept it, but she knew she wouldn’t see him again. 

Even so, she was thankful for him. And wherever he was, she knew he knew it.