There was still no sign of the others and Beth was beginning to worry. She had no idea what route the others were taking. She hoped they were at least still together. She didn’t want them to feel as alone as she did currently. She was missing their company this was their last climb together and they weren’t even there for it. She was especially worried about Pauline. She hadn’t handled the last mountain all that well and this mountain for all it’s ease of walking had an uneasiness of it’s own. Plus Pauline wasn’t the most independent and if alone Beth could easily picture her wandering the caves for hours as her supplies slowly dwindled. That imagine disturbed her a not insignificant amount and she added a little spring in her step, the sooner she got to the peak where she was confident the others would meet her the sooner she could stop worrying about them. It didn’t help that for the life of her Beth couldn’t put her finger on exactly how that situation had resolved. Either way she was just glad it had been. Maybe if Pauline was alone this would give her the chance to really prove herself. Yes Beth decided, regardless of if they were bunched or alone they would be fine after all it had been fairly safe so far.

She just wished she had a map but she assumed they would be with her friend. In the moment she couldn’t remember her name, she knew she was the shorter of the pair. She could picture her fully, notebook in hand. It was on the tip of her tongue but she couldn’t quite get there. In the end she shrugged, it would come back to her in time, in the mean time she continued to climb.

There were so many routes and everything seemed connected. She decided the mountain was more or less hollow given the size of some of the caves she came across. It was beautiful, multiple times she came across stunning ecosystems that she couldn’t help but pause to gaze at. Lost in the beauty of even the mundane like the way that moss grew the glow from the rock below causing it to cast enchanting shadows. One such beauty was a waterfall that she had already spent over an hour gazing into. It not only looked incredible but drowned out all thoughts with it’s volume. It boomed as it fell the water seemingly coming from a point Beth couldn’t see no matter how much she strained her neck. The plunge pool was crystal clear too like glass showing some incredible carvings below, that couldn’t have been natural yet there was no other earthly explanation for it. She was so enamoured she felt she just had to stop to take a swim, stripping off her bag and clothes and feeling the weight of her journey sliding off too. Feeling lighter than she had in weeks if not months she slide into the water, greeting it’s coolness with enthusiasm. She was a competent enough swimmer to be able to feel comfortable so close to the waterfall though she kept a respectable distance from the landing water anyway to be safe.

Beth found bliss in her little cave paradise, she floated gently around feeling joy at how well she had rested the night before, and the night before that. In fact she couldn’t remember the last time she’d struggled to sleep or had slept poorly. As always she had found herself a soft area of the moss that acted as both a cushion and though a little bland doubled as a source of nutrition,. The waters she floated in remained clear and clean and she consumed it without fear of disease. It helped her remain clean, the only marking that remained on her skin was the black smudge on her arm that she hadn’t quite yet been able to wash off no matter how hard she tried. But she didn’t have the energy to worry about such a thing. She was sure it would vanish and if not it wasn’t exactly hurting her. As she floated her eyes landed on a bag that she couldn’t remember seeing before. Had it been there the whole time? It did seem familiar though she couldn’t quite put her finger on why.

She paddled her way leisurely over to the bag. There was no urgency in her movement, after all she had nowhere to be. Investigate this mysterious bag was a mere distraction from her peaceful life. She brushed off the very thin layer of dust that had settled on the bag. Inside she found a series of treasures unlike anything she had within her cave home. There was even some food, clearly preserved and suitable for her to eat. She was delighted to see it. After all she’d been eating just moss and occasional mushrooms her whole life so something to mix up her diet was more than welcome. In fact Beth found the whole bag fascinating in a way she hadn’t felt in a while. The waterfall in her little home oasis wasn’t causing many emotions beyond awe and peace. Meanwhile this bag caused her such conflicting emotions she had to investigate further.

The thing that captured her attention the most was the map she found in the bag, while not familiar to her Beth could clearly see what must have been her small home on the map and through it a line leading onwards and upwards. Beth couldn’t believe she’d lived in a mountain her whole life and never considered reaching the top. Then and there she made a decision. She was going to reach the top of the mountain!

Having made the bold decision to leave her home for the first time Beth had to admit she was nervous, what would the world be like out there. She put on the clothes she found in the bag, delighted to find they fit her well. Given she had never seen anybody enter her home she was confident they wouldn’t be missed by whoever left them there. Feeling ready she waved goodbye to her home. She would return soon she was sure her quest wouldn’t take that long and she would be home again soon, feeling more experienced and having a firm sense of accomplishment. As she left she started to sing a tune,

“I’m climbing a mountain, I’m climbing a mountain, I’m climbing a mountain today!”

It wasn’t all that catchy and she changed the tune with every repetition but it made her happy and it wasn’t like she was performing to an audience. As she skipped upwards towards the top of the mountain a box flashed in her vision. She swatted it aside like the pesky fly it was. It had been appearing intermittently while she was at home but she didn’t want to worry about it. She was climbing a mountain, she didn’t have time to worry about distracting floating box.

Forcing one foot in front of the other Beth continued her ascension. She was feeling tired, it felt like she’d been climbing the mountain for an age, and she missed home. She couldn’t describe exactly what it was about home she missed or even what home was but she missed it. But she had a mountain to climb.

“Mountain mountain, climb climb” She sang to herself under her breath. She didn’t know what would be waiting for her atop the mountain but she knew she wanted to reach the top. After that, well future concerns were for the future, for now there was climbing.

Beth was still singing a variation of her ‘I must climb the mountain’ song as she reached the peak. Reaching the top she looked around, and immediately knew what had driven her up the mountain. The view! It had to be the view, she could see for miles and miles across the mountain and the forest surrounding it. Clearly this was the reason she had strove so high. She shifted her little song

“I climbed the mountain, I climbed the mountain.” She sang as she surveyed the ground far below, admiring the other mountains on the horizon. They looked very exciting too, maybe they had incredible views too. She walked across the peak to get a better gaze. She stepped around the large rift that took up the centre of the mountain to get a better view. Yeah she was sure now, she wanted to climb these other two mountains too.

“Going to climb the other mountains, going to climb, going to climb, going to climb the other two mountains.” She sang, excited to know what to do next. The future was here and it promised more mountains to climb, yay.

First though she wanted to see what the weird rift was about, it cut right across the air and seemed to be floating unsupported. It hadn’t been there when she reached the top of the mountain, she was sure of that fact. It had opened up while she was there though she hadn’t noticed the specific moment it appeared. The air next to it was distorted as though it was sucking in the air around it. The edges danced too, it was beautiful in a wholly different way to the beauty of the view but no less drastic, And inside it was enchanting, a darkness that speckled with stars that remained still in start contrast to the edges of the rift. They were so beautiful Beth couldn’t help but reach out towards them. In attempting to touch the stars she made contact with the rift itself and suddenly found herself somewhere completely different