Chapter 10 Summit

"ADVANCE!" Einille screeched.

Vale lost count of how much Einille yelled that word. They never stopped walking and passed by to the hikers in front of them, which they would give way for them to go through.

While the elevation went high, the oxygen runs low. They had to make a breathing technique by deeply inhaling and exhaling through their mouth

Vale could see that Einille was tired, but she never complained. She held bottled water, and they only stopped for a few minutes to refill from the water source.

"Let's have a five minutes rest. You're tired," he said while sipping to his hydration pack.

Einille hardly shook her head, "I can do this. Let's proceed."

They continued the trek, and they finally reached Camp Two. But Einille didn't stop. She just followed the hikers to the front. She was dedicated to seeing the sunrise, which he perfectly understood since this was her first time scaling this mountain. He had been here many times and tried different trails.

Vale observed that Einille paused and looked at one steep hill a few meters away from them.

"Is that the summit?" she asked.

"No, it's not. But we'll get there."

Einille deeply breathed out and just tilted her head up.

"Excuse me, guys. We'll hike up there, going to a tower point. That's the best spot where we'll wait for the sunrise. The sea of clouds here is at its best." Mark said, who was silently following them from behind.

Einille smiled. She started moving again. While he was just guarding her back, making sure she would not sprain her foot.

They successfully reached the tower point. It was called that way because there was a tower erected there. Maybe for communication purposes.

It was still dark, the billions of stars still twinkling. They found a spot and seated comfortably while waiting.

"See? We've made it. You'll witness the sunrise above the sea of clouds. Then we'll proceed to the summit." Vale said.

From the dim light of his flashlight, he saw Einille smiled despite catching her breath, "Thank you."

They seated beside each other while their bags on the side. The air up there was no joke, it was very windy, and the dust around could be felt on their faces.

Einille looked down while he stretched his arms in her shoulders to keep her protected. They had to endure it. The wind calmed down after a few minutes.

Then he heard Einille hyperventilating.

"Hey, are you all right?" He was suddenly worried.

"I'm cold," She rubbed her palms despite wearing gloves.

"Give your hands." He reached out her hands and enclosed them to him. He did not hesitate to bring it near to his mouth and blow air. He just noticed that her gloves were not thick.

"Feeling better? I guess we came too early."

Mark came near with a huge stainless mug in hand, "I made a coffee."

"Thanks, Mark." He held the cup of coffee. The temperature was just right. He let Einille touched the surface of the cup to help her ease the cold.

"Drink some. It'll take longer for the sunrise."

Einille nodded and quietly sipped a coffee. Then she handed him the cup. He drank a little before he gave it to Mark. They couldn't drink all of it because it turned cold already.

"Gosh, I was prepared for this. But I'm still freezing." Einille deeply inhaled and exhaled.

Vale pitied her, especially when her body started to shiver. She might suffer hypothermia if he couldn't find a way to warm her.

He opened the zipper of his thermal jacket. He snatched her hands and circled them to his body for better insulation.

Einille did not protest. He prayed her body heat would be enough to ease the cold.

His hand gently caressed her back and made her lean her head to his shoulder.

Vale thought it was a good thing that he went along with her mountaineering adventure. Based on his observations, she would have been endangering her life if she was alone. What a hard-headed woman!

EINILLE felt the light tapped from Vale on his shoulder. She did not hesitate to move closer to him because her body started to feel numb and wouldn't stop shivering.

Vale's thermal jacket was thick, and his body heat helped her ease the cold. He quietly waited until her body adjusted to the temperature above.

"Ein, feeling better now? I can see the sea of clouds from here." Vale muttered to her ear.

She loosened up and seated straight while rubbing her palms. She wasn't feeling cold that much. Perhaps her body finally adapted and acclimatized.

She did not focus on the icy cold because when the sea of clouds below was formed, she was bewitched.

Vale helped her stand, and she busied herself, taking videos and photos of the sun starting to go up on the horizon.

"This is it! The gods must be in your favor. They provided the best clearing of the sunrise and the sea of clouds." Vale said, ecstatic.

"This is heaven!" Einille was teary-eyed, looking at the surrounding. The clouds were just within her reach. It appeared as if they walked above the clouds.

Vale was just gazing at her, smiling and letting her enjoy the moment.

She couldn't describe the perfection of the surroundings.

They stood on the grassland near a cliff, but below was not visible since the clouds seemed dancing around them.

It took only a few minutes before the sun fully showed up. She let her eyes feasted on the natural beauty of the earth, and it calmed her spirit.

They started to move again, going up to the summit this time. Einille thought that from their location, the summit was near. But she was wrong. They hiked uphill many times. But she didn't mind at all. The vast grassland looked like a paradise as the sun touches it.

The fog was thick, and it moistened their cheeks.

Some hikers were going down already, and they would happily greet them. This time, Einille was not in a hurry. They would rest for a moment and eat chocolates.

"I've noticed, the male climbers around here are sizzling hot," she joked.

"I agree. They're equally gorgeous and handsome, except their runny noses-the mucus is getting out." Vale laughed out loud.

"Yuck! That's gross." She couldn't help but also laugh.

She touched her nose, thinking that her runny nose would betray her. But thankfully, she was clean. Although, it was not surprising because of the cold. The last time they checked, the temperature reached negative four.

Vale checked the altitude from time to time. Einille made him her official photographer, and he gladly obliged.

Einille was amazed at how good his photography skills. At the same time, Mark would take a picture of them together.

They have reached the summit, at last, they comfortably seated on the grass near the signage.

There were dwarf bamboos, about twelve inches tall. They rested for a while and enjoyed the place before they make their descent.

Einille noticed there were a group of people gathered a few meters away from them. She gestured at Vale to look at what was going on there. To her astonishment, there was a guy who just proposed to his girl.

Einille looked at Vale and her brow raised.

"Aw, that's so sweet." Vale smiled, looking at the couple. The guy was on his knees holding a small red box with a diamond ring inside. The couple seemed oblivious about the people around, not even flinching on the stormy breeze.

"If I were to propose, that guy would be out of style," Vale said in mischief.

Her eyes rolled, "Rubbish!" she went on, staring at the couple, and her nose crinkled, "There's no such this as forever, soon they'll break up."

Vale cackled, "Says a bitter lady. Why don't you just give them best wishes?"

She frowned. But she found another reason to smile when her vision caught one old man wearing a sleeveless shirt. Unbothered to cold. At first glance, she thought he might be Japanese. He seemed to enjoy the weather.

"See that? I'm envious." She giggled as she pointed at the man.

"Leave him alone. Come here." He gently grabbed her hand and guided her to the part of dwarf bamboos away from the crowd, where they could see the clouds like cotton candy.

"This is it, scream all you want. Let go of your bitterness. So that when we're back home, you'll feel better." Vale urged her. For sure, he might have an idea what happened to her.

He shook her head, "No need. I won't waste my precious voice on a useless man. He doesn't deserve it." She deeply inhaled and slowly leaned her head to Vale's shoulder. She regretted that she hadn't met Vale before Hero did.

She came to a realization that she wasted almost a year of her life on an undeserving man. How could she be so lousy in her choices?

Granted that Vale made him forget her problems for a while. But she would never take advantage of the situation. At least now, Einille had learned that Vale was fun to be with. She felt so secure with him around.

Einille sensed sadness, remembering that it was almost time to go back home. She prayed that she would gain the courage to go through this. She didn't have a choice but to face the problems she temporarily escaped.