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The Mountain

Jonathan Renaut

"Certainly, then, you would say that this prepared to retire. He seemed restless, but she
mountain is indeed unclimbable?"
withdrew to her tent first. He and I sat together in
"I would say no such thing." silence for some time. I vividly remember his
words when he finally spoke.
"But, ah, then you believe that someone
could reach the top?" "Is it important to you, this mountain?" He
asked.
"Perhaps you misunderstood. I did not say
that, either."

"Well, of course a mountain must either be "I don't know," I replied, "Somehow I think
climbable, or not." it is not the mountain which is important."

"Have you ever climbed any mountain?" "I suspected as much. You are not here for
"Well, ah, no, I haven't." the mountain."

"As I suspected. However, I would make I nodded. He and I were always different.
the claim that you have, and, actually, are climb- Different motivations, different quests. Always the
ing as we speak." same road but to different destinations. I never
knew whether I followed him, or he followed me.
"I don't see ... " lt didn't matter.

"Of course you don't. Let me tell you a "If I go to bed, will I find you here in the
story. Perhaps then you will understand." morning?" I asked him. I will never forget his face,
the weight in his eyes, as he looked at me. No
"BuL." words came to him. I turned and crawled into my
tent, leaving him with that look on his face, gazing
"Please do not interrupt. I climbed with a into the night.
man who reached the top ... "

"Aha! So it is climable!"
"No."

I slept briefly, but long enough. When I
"But ifhe reached the top, then certainly ... " awoke, still in darkness, my tent was alone. A chill

"As I said, after my story you may under- crept through me as I hurried to pack up my tent

stand. Until then, only listen. I climbed with this and renew my climb. Millions of thoughts and

man, my best friend, and a woman, with whom fears raced through my mind. I knew she would

both of us were in love. I see you want to speak, not have continued on her own, but only because

but I am afraid that you will have to wait. We he had, and I wondered whether she followed for
traveled for six days to reach the foot of the moun- his sake, or for herself.

tain, which is less steep only than the last hundred I climbed for a few hours, now totally ex-

yards or so at the top. He climbed ahead, with the . hausted, energized only by fear. I was nearing the

woman in back. I felt as if I should be behind, to top. They could not be too far ahead, since there

watch them both, but she wouldn't hear of it. We was little farther to go. The mountain had become

climbed all day, and when night began to fall, I almost vertical, nearly impossible to climb. I knew

suggested that we rest for a while. He told me that that climbing here alone was near suicide, but
he could not stop yet, that he had to continue. She pressed on.

insisted on accompanying himifhe proceeded, and I finally saw them ahead. He was only

I was helpless to dissuade them. We pressed on, twenty feet from the top she was ten feet behind.
and it soon grew much colder. We climbed higher, He seemed to by flying up the side while she

and soon the mountain leveled out. There is a large struggled to keep up. I could only imagine the feel-
plateau about two-thirds of the way up the moun- ings that must have been driving him, so near his
tain. It was there that I could finally convince them goal.

to stop for the night. We each pitched a tent and I stopped climbing to watch them, trans-