Happy Adult Life.
Why is the echo more important than the climb itself? So much prep, gear, practice, climbing and more climbing—what for? Just to reach the top, stand there for a couple of minutes like a stunned fool who finally made it, and look around to the left and right. Then scream your lungs out, trying to outshout the raging wind.
All that just to hear your own voice bounce back at you—some ridiculously trivial phrase like: – I'm never letting you go! You hear me?!
Oh, we get it, buddy. Everyone does: your target audiences, the blizzard, the snow, even the mountain. Especially the mountain. That ancient diva had heard every cheesy scream over the millennia from short-lived little sand-fleas who thought they'd conquered her. They didn't get it: in a few years, they'd be dust, and she'd still be here, tearing clouds with her back.
She didn't give a damn about them. Harsh truth is still truth.
But really—why should you care what a mountain thinks? Did you get what I was trying to say?
Yeah, I'd appreciate it even more if you stopped yelling right in my ear. – grumbled the girl, who was now full-on cosplaying the lady from Titanic. And her definitely-not-an-artist boyfriend was hugging her from behind, his frostbitten face grinning so hard it could melt the nearest glacier.
She couldn't see his eyes behind his ski goggles, but she knew they were still burning that same warm blue as years ago. The only thing ruining the majestic view of Mount Ushba was the pompom dangling from Erich's hat—a ridiculous, cartoonishly childish touch. But wasn't that the essence of the cutest mountaineer in the universe?
You're everything to me! – he shouted again, probably at a nearby Cupid, who promptly shot an arrow right into her throat, because she started coughing from the thin air and couldn't say anything
But in her mind, a giant LED screen lit up with glowing letters:
- I love you too, you fool!
And honestly, he didn't need to hear it. He felt things better than she ever could. He could dream, imagine, see better.
He pointed toward the snowflakes dancing in the wind like tiny couples doing the bachata.
Look, that one totally looks like your
And yeah—it did. That crystal had the same pale, angular geometry as her mother's resting witch face.
And this one? Totally Look at the chin—it's square as a brick.
Okay, that one was disturbingly accurate too.
Too bad none of them have Then I'd say M.K. followed us all the way up here. – Erich sighed.
She squeezed his hand, comforting that little burst of soft-hearted sadness:
Don't worry. He's with Guram down below, probably living his best life while we're up here I know, I know! And I also know you haven't been hit with a proper snowball to the head in a long
time!
With that, he scooped up a fat handful of icy dust and pelted her. It was cold.
Like, seriously, could it get colder?
You're dead, Erich Rosario! – Nibi stomped down with her boots, launching radiant snowbombs that exploded against his coat. They chased each other around like kids on a sugar high, echoing their laughter and shrieks across the peak.
Eventually, they calmed down. Erich wandered to the edge and took in the view: raw wilderness, more stunning than even the climb itself.
Nibi was deep in thought.
She liked that Georgia had been their first destination. The locals were unbelievably warm and
welcoming, and they'd spent the past few days basically living at Guram's dinner table. He was their guide, their fixer, their guardian angel—and even now, he waited below, ready to help if anything went wrong.
Erich wasn't thinking about practicalities. He was wondering why he couldn't smell that sweet mix of fuchsia and ginseng that usually radiated from Nibi's hair. The stupid helmet hid it. Her signature scent—her treasure—was sealed away. He'd give anything to breathe that in again: that blend of freshness, purity, and… hope.
Yeah. Hope. That's what she was to him. If someone asked—even during a police interrogation with zero tolerance for romance—that's what he'd say.
Climbing mountains was great and all, but what he really loved was exploring the world with her. Doing things together made everything better. And when M.K. was with them? That made the world feel big enough to hold anything—even space itself.
So… are we heading back down, or staying a little longer? – Erich shouted through the wind, already knowing the answer as he saw her shaking her head like a frosty
The best gear you could possibly imagine — that's what Nibi called it, and he was inclined to trust her. She'd personally tested every buckle, every carabiner, every anchor line with her meticulous little hands.
All the equipment worked like a dream: and now, dangling on the ropes and harnesses, the two of them were heading back to the place they once ran from — the regular ol' human world. The one they'd fled to come up here, into the sky. The ice axe clanged against the mountain's flesh, carving into that helpless stone — and Erich was already getting bored of the whole ritual of hurting rock for no reason.
He glanced down real quick and realized they still had a loooong way to descend. So he started coming up with the grandiose line he'd use when greeting his furry friend at the bottom. The best one so far?
- We come in peace. — Yep, M.K.'s gonna love that one!
He locked that line in and kept descending in endless repetition. If the summit had filled him with joy, this part... well, not so much. But then he saw Nibi, gliding through the air, playing with her gear like it was part of her — and suddenly his spirits lifted. For a second, he even thought about speeding up. But nah — not the time to play daredevil.
I mean, nobody wants to throw in a cliché like -nothing lasts forever-, but... damn if it isn't true. The ground was already coming into view. He could see tiny people scurrying below. Their guide was getting ready to welcome them back and ask how it all went.
-Insane experience! You should totally try it.- That line works too. Nice!
Hey, Nibi, I'm going to beat you to the If not today, then next time for sure! — he yelled. Give it a Not that you're gonna succeed. We'll see about that!
Kicking off the wall with his feet, he suddenly heard some shifting rock above. Glancing up — whoa. Something was falling — and falling straight for his head!
What the hell?! No! They were supposed to go back to France! What about Mont Blanc — that picture-perfect peak from all the Google Images? It had to be even more stunning in real life!
A huge chunk of rock split off and hit his helmet dead-on — not just denting it, but cracking clean through. Blood started trickling through the padded lining, mixing into the fabric and dripping steadily out.
No one wants to get caught in that kind of storm. When Nibi saw the red cascade, she opened her mouth to scream — but horror gripped her throat and snatched the sound away.
Guram was freaking out, clutching his head and fumbling for his phone to call rescue services, while a dog nearby was barking like crazy, high-pitched and panicked.
Now Erich's body dangled motionless from the ropes, like some kind of piñata with all the life beaten out of it. And then — the same awful thing happened to the second climber. Someone cut the rope. Maybe with scissors. If not from the harness, then definitely from love.
Erich… why?! Don't do this! We must not part again!