She heads for the summit

Brooklyn took one last exhausted step and let herself turn and fall onto the seat of her pants. She pulled the canteen from her backpack and drained what remained in the bottle. She had actually made it! The climb had taken her hours and there were many times when her legs and lungs begged for rest but she pushed through and was at the highest point of the mountain. She opened up a granola bar and savored the immaculate view. The sun was just beginning to nestle on the horizon and a brilliant glow of pink and orange spread out from it. It looked like a giant blood orange soaking in its own juices. Across the valley that stretched beneath her, shadowed stretched and danced in the setting sun.

Brooklyn felt elated. She regretted not bringing a camera. Not only to capture the beautiful scenery but to record all of the specimens that she’d seen along the trail: gorgeous flowers, noble pines and oaks, and stunning songbirds that charmed her with their music. There was no way that an evening at a bar or movie could compare to the day she was having. Never had she felt so validated, so proud to be herself. And her climb still wasn’t over yet! She stuffed the granola bar wrapper back into her pack along with her water bottle. She stood on wobbling legs while she slung her backpack. She looked up ahead and saw that the trail twisted around a formation of rocks before plateauing at the summit. She took another deep breath to steady her tense legs and started off.

Coming to the group of rocks, she put up a hand to keep her balance. Although she would be feeling the hike for days, Brooklyn regretted that it and the day had to come to an end. She promised herself to enjoy the view from the top of the cliff for as long as time would allow. Brooklyn looked at her watch. She had just two hours of daylight left. Nowhere near enough time to sit and relax for a moment. No matter. Should could always come back. Maybe next time bring something read and really enjoy herself. Yeah, this was definitely turning out to be one of the best days of her life. She held her head up high with pride as she rounded the curved and came to the summit. She stopped immediately and held her breath, frozen with surprise.