The Hike

• Simon Agha, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2022

We were nearly halfway up the treacherous mountain, both of us sweating extensively, cuts from the branches and rocks on both our legs and arms, in 35 degree weather. I had never been more worried about the dangers of a hike before. Altough I had been warned about this mountain causing lots of trouble, I hadn't figured it would be to this extent.

Everybody was watching us on their TVs, all around the world. This mountain climb hadn't been attempted all the way by anybody successfully before. My wife Sophie and I, beeing the most well-known professional hikers decided to attempt the impossible. Every few hundred meters, the mountain became more and more steeper, difficult and painstaking to climb up. We'd reached a point where we were uncertain if we should continue.
"I think we should head back down," Sophie told me.
"We are about to make it half way up. It would be silly for us to go back now. Let's try and make it further," I replied.
"You can keep going but my gut instinct is telling me to go back. You shouldn't continue either."
"Alright, you make your way down, I'm continuing though.

The whole world was counting on me. There was no way I was just going to go back now. I was just full of adrenaline and determined to make it all the way to the top of the mountain. I was going to make history.

As I progressed further, it was evident that conditions were worsening. Rocks were loose and it was so steep, I could barely climb up. It wasn't only the environment but the weather became more dangerous too. Dark clouds were forming and trees were shaking violently in the wind.

I made it to a cliff edge and decided to take a quick break. After 10 minutes I got back up but something wasn't right. I was getting back up until I saw large bolders rolling down at expeditious speed. My heart began beating rapidly, my anxiety through the roof. I had one, clear thougt. I was going to die. That was the last I remembered.

"Joseph, your awake!" My wife was overjoyed but I didn't know why. Tears were rolling down her face, tears of joy. My mind couldn't grasp onto what was going on. I asked her what had happened.
"After your fall, you feel into a six month coma. We weren't sure if you'd make it."

I was still confused about what happened and why I was in a coma. After asking several questions, I gathered that a boulder knocked me out and I fell 10 metres, leaving me with a concussion. I laid unconscious for 30 minutes until help could reach me. Ut was a miracel that I was alive.

Since many people had witnessed the incident, I received many cards along the lines of: "Praying for you" and "Get well soon."

"Babe, I've got one last thing to tell you." Sophie said. I got up and couldn't help but notice a large bump on her stomach. "We're pregnant!"