Two Paths

          The snow was coming down hard. Step by step I climbed the mountain, but the summit seemed to just get farther away with each one. Luckily I had the foresight to bring winter gear, but still, this amount of snow was way more than anyone could have predicted. Every time my boot stepped into the ground the snow would be up by my waist. My goggles had been covered in a thick layer of frost, but I couldn’t take them off to clean them, the cold was too much. I wasn't going to let this stop me however. I had already made it this far, no point in turning back, I would climb this mountain.

          After a few more minutes of climbing I was met with a solid wall of stone. There was no other way to get around, so I got out my pick and stabbed the stone. Little by little the top of this wall got closer. As I stabbed the wall one last time, the cracks in the rocks grew, way further than they should have. I already knew what was about to happen and quickly tried to squabble my way to the top, it was so close. Just before the wall collapsed I had made it to the top. 

          It was getting hard to breathe. The further up I went the more I was gasping for air. The snow had gotten worse, it was moving so fast that every time it hit my coat it was like a rock was being thrown at me. I reached for my water bottle to try and drink something, but when I opened it, the water was completely frozen. Just then I heard rumbling from above me. I looked around and saw a pit of mountain that poked over head and I quickly dashed to get underneath it. An avalanche was coming. Moments after I had dove beneath cover the snow began to stampede its way down. Thankfully I was safe under here, but I had to get moving again. Once the snow had stopped I began to climb once more.

          It was dark, the moon had risen over me and my surroundings had turned a dark purple. I had already been climbing for an entire day, I was exhausted. I needed some sleep, badly. That was going to be difficult however, with the sun now gone, the snow's icy touch ravaged me even more. Eventually, a few hours later, I found an overhang in the mountain, a place where the snow could not reach. I walked over to it and set down my stuff. I leaned my back and head against the wall and closed my eyes, sleep taking over me in an instant.

          When I awoke the next morning I realized that the snow had stopped. The sun was out and the day was as clear as ever. I grabbed my things and walked out of the overhang. The snow was reflecting the sun's light illuminating everything making them glow way brighter than they should. When I looked up to see where the summit was, I was shocked to see that it was extremely close. I hadn't even realized it in the snow and darkness last night. Another thing that was shocking, the summit of this mountain wasn't as pointy as I had expected, instead, it rounded off near the top, and even looked like it went inwards once you reached it.

          After only a few more minutes of climbing I had reached the top. I was correct about my assumption of the mountain going inwards once you made it. I stepped over and began to climb my way down to the center of the mountain. Once I reached the group I realized something. I wasn't standing on snow or rock, instead the thing I was stepping on was black. It even gave off a warm feeling. From the inside it felt like you were completely surrounded by a wall of stone, that’s when I realized why this mountain's summit looked so weird. This used to be a volcano, but by the looks of it the lava had frozen long ago. In the center of the volcano there was something that caught my attention, I saw green. Bushes and trees were growing, the grass was long, and I could even see some wildlife. But how, how is it that the top of this mountain is so beautiful. I walked into the wilderness and when I turned around the snow had completely disappeared. I continued my way through until I could hear a faint noise in the distance. It sounded like instruments, harps perhaps. After just a bit longer there was a staircase going straight up into what looked like the clouds. As I planted both my feet onto it, the forest and the ground all together had disappeared. There was only one way to go, up.