Noah fastened his belt before throwing a cape over his shoulders. He quickly buttoned it, then looked around the tent hurriedly before his eyes settled on a tall stick. He grabbed it and tapped it on the ground a few times before stepping outside the tent, where others were gathering with their hiking sticks.
Noah looked up at the moon, then his eyes traveled to the incline of mountain that was disguised by forest behind the village. He stared at the rising ground, intimidated.
This was his first climb up the mountain. The mountain was sacred to his village, but he didn't understand why. Those who had scaled it were not forbidden to talk about the trek, because those who had yet to take the hike were supposed to experience it for themselves and not take another's experience.
All that Noah has heard about the mountain is that something was waiting at the top. He wondered if it was a person, maybe an elder who could tell him everything about the universe and could live forever. It was vague as to what was waiting up there. For all Noah could know, it could be some horrid beast seeking human flesh. Noah decided to stick to his positive imagination for now.
A few experienced hikers were gathering in the center of the village. Noah joined them, and he recognized a few faces that were new to the mountain.
Agnes and Wyatt were present, as Noah expected. All three of them were the only new hikers. Agnes and Wyatt were his two closest friends, only because they were the only ones around his age. Noah was sixteen, Agnes was too, and Wyatt was seventeen.
Once you were sixteen, you were old enough to take the mountain trek. Wyatt had injured his leg last year when he slipped on the rocks while fishing, and he could not participate in the hike. But now, he was healed, and prepared to make the several hour hike.
"What do you think is up there?" Agnes asked as she squinted to see the mountain peak in the dark.
"Maybe a fairy." Wyatt said dreamily.
"I was thinking an old man who knows all," Noah replied to her question.
Agnes hummed in consideration. "I don't want to guess. I want to see." She decided.
They were silenced when one of the experienced climbers of the mountain began to speak over the small group that had gathered in the center of the village.
"New climbers, please make sure you have your essentials packed and your walking sticks. This climb is not an easy one, but it is an experience. It will take us until dawn to get to the top of the mountain," the man pointed to the top, following his finger with his eyes.
Wyatt groaned quietly. Noah looked at the position of moon again. It was a bit past midnight. The hike was going to take around six hours to complete, maybe seven if there are any rest stops.
Agnes whistled. "That's a... Long way up."
The experienced climber kept speaking. "You will all have an incredible time during this hike."
He turned away from the crowd, then started towards the forest. The group followed him, and the man urged those who have not climbed yet to stay in the front. Noah and his friends squeezed through the other hikers to get to the front, and they were directed by those who were experienced.
To their surprise, there was a path in the forest. Which made sense, since so many of these hikes took place. People would get lost without a trail, especially new climbers, and that would injure their individual experience with the mountain.
"Hey, Noah," Agnes said softly, "have you heard?"
"What?"
"The mountain top... Strange things happen at the top of the mountain."
"Like what?" Wyatt made himself at home in their conversation.
"I don't know... Just, weird things. Unusual. Unnatural. Things that can't be explained." Agnes expressed to both of them.
Noah looked at the dirt path before them. The moon shone down on their heads, its glare winking at them through trees.
"I think I've heard things like that... But I don't want to think of the mountain like that, since so many people worship it." Noah finally answered her.
Agnes wanted to argue, but found that she couldn't. There was no evidence saying that strange things did happen on the top of the mountain, because no one was allowed to discuss it. She wondered if it was something experienced climbers made up to intrigue those who were preparing to take the hike. Maybe it was the opposite. Maybe those who hasn't climbed the mountain made it up to entice themselves in the climb. She wondered if the hike really was worth it.
They walked in mostly silence for the next few hours. Noah watched the moon, keeping track of its position in the star-pricked sky. Wyatt kept yawning. He hadn't slept well for the past couple days because of his excitement about finally discovering what was at the top of the mountain after the year long delay due to injury. Agnes wrapped her cloak around herself tightly, shivering from the breeze that had kicked up.
They approached the top of the mountain just as the sun was beginning to peak over the endless sea of horizon. The group stopped to see the sun slowly chase away the night, then continued the trek upwards.
Wyatt craned his head upwards towards the peak of the mountain that jutted into the sky. "Is that—"
"I can't make it out!" Agnes said, her eyes straining to see the top. They quickened their pace, keeping their heads tilted towards the mountain top.
Noah could see something protruding out from the top of the mountain. It seemed to be a rock.
"Do we climb these stairs?" Wyatt called to the experienced climbers a few paces behind them. Before him was a set of wooden steps that were held by sturdy posts of wood. The lagging climbers ushered them to go ahead, and they began to ascend the steps.
Wyatt was in the front, and he used his tall stick to test the next step before continuing. All the steps seemed secure. They wondered how long this had been here and who had been taking care of it.
"Look! It's a— A monument?" Agnes guessed, squinting at the view of the top of the mountain. The sun was catching up to them now, rising feverishly, bothered by the night.
Wyatt stopped checking the sturdiness of the wood and began to climb the stairs quickly. Agnes followed him, pulling up her cloak as to not trip on it. Noah hurried after them, his eyes still attempting to make sense of what they were looking for.
At the peak of the mountain there was a dip into its surface. Rocks similar to those on the beach jutted out along the lip of the dip and created small cliffs. The wooden ascent of stairs had flattened to a bridge of wood platforms over a clear pool of water. Rocks rose from the pool and were reflected on the surface of the water. Lily pads floated peacefully in the small lake. Somewhere, a waterfall poured.
There were large, untamed bushes of luscious pink roses around the dipped mountain top, but none seemed to come close to the platform, as if it were to curse them instantly if they did.
To the left of the three hikers, something cast its marble reflection over the pool. They looked up and turned to see a statue of a woman, clothed in a silky dress and a flowing cloak that hooded her head. Her expression was peaceful; her eyes were closed and she had a small smile. Her hands were positioned in front of her chest and spaced apart, but facing each other. In the space between her palms was something glimmering white and blue. Behind the statue was a large archway draped with vines and foliage that hung down lazily that framed her elegantly.
"She's beautiful..." Agnes breathed, drinking in the sight.
"Is this it? What is she holding?" Wyatt asked, slightly irritated.
"I don't know, maybe a diamond?"
"It looks like a star to me," Noah said, resting his weight on his walking stick.
"What's the point of this?" Wyatt wondered aloud, and the expert hikers passed them.
"We'll leave you three up here until you're ready to head back down. Take your time." One said, then continued along the bridge to flat, stone ground. There was another path there on the opposite side of the mountain from which they came from.
Wyatt was still trying to wrap his head around the scene before them. "Are they seriously not going to tell us anything? What is this? Who is she? Why is this up here?"
Agnes shushed him. "We're supposed to have a personal experience up here."
"How am I supposed to feel anything personal from some lady's statue?"
Noah glanced around. In the distance, other mountains could be seen. He wondered if they, too, prized some monument at the top that took hours to get to. And once you got to it, you couldn't understand it.
He frowned. Was this all some sort of illusion? What was this statue supposed to mean to him? To them? Noah looked at Agnes, whose face was contorted with mixed emotions. She tried to understand. She wanted to understand.
The three of them stood there in silent unity, staring at the woman carved from stone and the object within her hands. The gentle sounds from the nature around them were the only things that spoke. The ripples of water, rustling of leaves, whistling wins. They all spoke, but gave no answers about what they were doing up there and what they were supposed to interpret.
Suddenly, a strong wind came by, and the rose shrubs shuddered, and the vines on the archway swayed with the motions. A few of the pink petals from the roses were snatched in the wind and whirled about in the breeze. The three watched in fascination.
"Well... I guess I can say that I enjoy the view. You never see anything like this in your life; I guess that's my experience from the hike." Agnes said, crossing her arms and smiling.
Wyatt was still puzzled. "This all seemed like a waste of time if we don't get anything out of it." He said irritably, looking at Agnes.
She looked over her shoulder at him. "Maybe you just don't have a fine taste in art."
"Maybe not. But I have a fine taste in food. This hike starved me. When can we eat?" Wyatt acknowledged his hunger bitterly.
Noah was paying no attention to their conversation. He was staring at the sculpture of the woman, his eyes now fixated onto it. The floating, star-like object between her hands pulsated with a soft, clear glow. As the rose petals flew past him and his friends, Noah inhaled a small gasp inaudible to Agnes and Wyatt.
Noah's eyes widened with fascination as the statue's held item's glow became a bright pink. Agnes and Wyatt didn't seem to notice, but Noah surely did.
Suddenly, Noah's eyes dissolved into a rosy pink that seemed to have always been there, hidden under a layer of rich brown.
With his eyes still on the statue, he saw something impossible. The woman's eyes had opened, and they were squinting down at him. They were the same shade of pink as his own eyes and the roses. Her once peaceful expression had vanished. Her smile seemed twisted, and with her narrowed eyes staring down at Noah, she seemed sinister. It was as if she somehow knew this was going to happen.
Noah couldn't understand. The petals circled him and blew past his friends, and the woman kept smiling down at him. But, that couldn't be, she just had her eyes closed a moment ago!
Then Noah heard Agnes' words echo in his mind once more.
"Strange things happen at the top of the mountain."
This was indeed strange. But, what did it mean? What was to become of Noah after this? Why was this happening to him?
Noah could hear Agnes and Wyatt talking behind him, but they were muffled. Something was blocking them out, and Noah realized that he could hear his own heartbeat and even breaths.
Suddenly, someone grabbed his arm. Noah was jerked back into reality, and he gasped loudly before nearly tripping over his own feet.
Agnes was the one who grasped him. "Noah, are you okay? You were spacing out for a bit." She had a concerned expression.
Noah blinked his eyes, then quickly looked at the statue. The woman was at peace once more, her eyes closed, lips curved into a smile. The item between her hands glistened white.
Had he imagined the whole thing?
The wind blew another collage of petals around them. Noah looked at his friends, who were waiting for a reply from him.
"I... Uh... I'm fine. I was just thinking—About all this." He answered, feeling like he had been rubbed the wrong way by their stares.
Agnes looked over at the waiting hikers. "I think we should go. We've seen what we needed to see."
Wyatt agreed and strode across of the bridge to solid earth, and Agnes followed him. Noah looked at the giant, stone woman once more, examining her, then hurried after his friends.
This time, the experienced hikers took the lead while Noah, Agnes, and Wyatt lagged behind. Wyatt and Agnes continued their conversation from on the top of the mountain, and Noah tuned them out once more.
He kept thinking about how the statue changed. She opened her eyes; he swore it. She was looking right at him.
"... Something happened." Noah finally cut into their conversation. They looked at him oddly.
"... When?" Agnes asked.
"At the top. When we were standing on the bridge. The statue— that woman— she opened her eyes. They were pink, she was staring at me. And her smile—"
"Hey, hey, Noah, slow down," Wyatt said, cutting him off. Noah took a breath to calm down. "Now, what about the statue?"
Noah explained his experience at the top of the mountain with the statue. His friends listened intently, but their faces expressed doubt.
Agnes was the first to speak after he finished. "Noah, I never saw that happen with the statue. Are you sure you did?"
"Yes, I'm sure. I didn't believe it at first either, but it happened. I swear." Noah insisted.
Wyatt was trying to piece together what Noah was saying. "Noah... It was a statue... You know, a thing made of stone... It can't move..."
Noah sighed in frustration. "Look, Agnes said that weird things happen up there, and I think that was one of those weird things."
"I never said that. I said there were rumors. It could've been made up."
"Just like your story," Wyatt chimed with a snort.
"I'm not making it up!" Noah became defensive
"If it's not made up, then why did it happen? And why you?" Agnes inquired.
Noah shrugged dramatically. "How should I know? I didn't even though that that could happen! Why would I know why?" He questioned her question.
Agnes stared at the ground before them as they walked. "Noah, I can't believe you, I'm sorry. It's just too absurd. And we should've seen it too. But we didn't."
Wyatt nodded. "You were probably hallucinating. Maybe it was the angle of the sun on the statue,"
Noah, defeated by the fact that his friends could not believe his story, kept quiet the rest of the way down and picked up his pace to stay away from them.
He did not hallucinate. It happened right in front of his eyes. Right when the wind kicked up. She was staring at him.
Noah frowned. He was beginning to doubt his own story. His friends had some points. A statue could not move, especially if it was made of rock. And, how could her eyes become pink? It truly was impossible, but somehow...
The sun was high above them now, it was probably noon. They had to be approaching the village soon, Noah figured. And he was right. It only took about a half an hour more before the village of tents was in sight once more. They were greeted with cheerful townspeople before being dismissed to rest. They had been hiking for twelve hours straight; they were exhausted.
Noah said goodbye to his friends.
"Hey, get better, Noah. Maybe some sleep will help with your... Imagination." Agnes said, and Noah stared at her before nodding.
Wyatt had already left for his tent, and Noah and Agnes parted ways to their respective tents.
Noah yawned and shrugged off his cloak and hiking gear. His encounter on the mountain top was merely a dream to him in his exhaustion. He shuffled over to his bed and prepared to lay down, but he paused as the entrance of his tent whipped open by a strong wind.
Noah slowly turned around to secure the flaps shut, and he froze.
On the floor, sitting in front of the whipping flaps of his tent as the wind whistled, was a pretty pink rose.
