gone

a piercing cry broke the fragile sky, the scream of one who had frozen to death in their past life. I saw them circle overhead, four black birds, each following the one before. eventually, they descended, and the crows had gathered before me, perched on that crooked tree which had seen no signs of life since before I was born. six of them, lined up in a row, waited.

I was tied from trekking up the mountain path, but I kept my breathing controlled. I had been taught that panting for air was a sign of weakness, but my efforts conceal my breathlessness were in vain. Gam, trailing behind me, was audibly hacking and wheezing.

"Hey!" he panted. "Toss me the waterskin!" I turned my head to the side, just until I could make out his figure in my peripheral vision.

"Quiet," I hissed. "Don't want to scare them away." He looked up, and took notice of the crows.

"Oh. Right, right."

I removed the waterskin from my pack and held it out behind me, which Gam took after taking his last steps towards me. He took a couple gulps and passed it back.

"What happened to your water?" I asked.

"Drank all of it."

I nodded in response. I stepped forward towards the withering tree, where the birds awaited. The tree sat at the bank of the crater lake, which had frozen over. This winter was biting, so cold that even the exhalations through my nose turned into vapor. But the lake was beautiful, and pristine. It had frozen over perfectly, with no deformities on the surface. The ice, along with the depths it encased, were a brilliant turquoise, almost like some sort of uncut, milky gemstone. And the entire scene was framed by jagged edges of the mountain, which rose up around the water.

"It is quite pretty," Gam remarked as he stepped forward beside me.

"Yes, yes it is. It seems that somehow, every year, it gets more beautiful and more distant."

"I'll keep that in mind for next year."

It was his first time making the summit. And hopefully his last.