The Green Mountains’ Experience
You have to be vulnerable to the mountains before it can speak to you.
Written last 2019
She has grown.
Jade goes up to the steep mountainside, determined to see what everyone has been talking about. Her curiosity has pushed her to book a trip to the United States to experience what the fuss has been about.
Looking back, Jade has lived through both extremes in her life. She has been born with money and luck on her side, but she grew up with survival as her best friend. In her career, she has seen how her intelligence will make people envious of her, and she has seen how her greed would become the end of her.
She huffs as the air goes thin around her. Wearing her black jacket and attire fit for hiking, she continues to tread and makes small talk with the local guide assisting her.
“So sir, what is so special about this mountain?”
The man looks at her and smiles. The man appears to have dark skin, perhaps because of being burnt in the sun for too long. “The name’s Bryan ma’am.” The man also seems to have an accent fit for the countryside. “And to be honest, there’s nothing special about this place.” The man continues walking as she talks to Jade.
Jade, however, stopped and looked baffled. If nothing is special about this place, then why does everyone seem to talk about it?
“I know ma’am, but let me explain.” He motioned to Jade to continue climbing as he explained what he meant.
“This mountain is deemed ordinary, yet so extraordinary for people who have never been here before. This place serves as a resting place for those who are tired, and the healing atmosphere is said to be experienced for those who have been wounded.”
A steady silence seems to arise and the man finishes his conversation with her. The silence was only broken when Jade asked Bryan another question.
“Have you?” She asked.
“Have I what, ma’am?”
“Have you experienced such a thing here?”
Bryan smirked as he continued going upward. “Ma’am, I have lived here all my life. What people from town experience is probably different from what I have.”
“So you have experienced something here?”
“Well ma’am, if you really like to know,”
Jade only looked at him to continue his sentence.
Bryan sighed as he helped her trudge forward. “There was this one time when nature here felt completely balanced. There was harmony between nature and myself. I wanted to live in the city once. And the night before I was to leave, I went here once again.
“I was breathing in the fresh air, thinking it would be my last time here, when it was as if the mountains moved, speaking to me, and convincing me to stay.”
Bryan stopped and looked at Jade, also forcing her to stop in her tracks. “Darling, the mountains will be as ordinary and as magical a place as your heart can bear, and each experience here is unique. You have to be vulnerable to the mountains before it can speak to you.”
Bryan gestured for Jade to come near as they reach the mountaintop. A gasp escaped from Jade’s lips. A sea of green mountains surrounded them as they gaze at the scenery in front of them. The clouds seem to gallop, running as if these are horses enjoying the green gracious grass. Jade felt a tear rolling on the side of her cheeks. Her mind continues to reminisce about the long winters she cried out for food, and for the summer nights she enjoyed in the pool. She remembers surviving both in the streets and in the business world for so long.
And for the first time in a long time, she finally felt free. A burden was lifted from her chest, and she is not the girl begging for food in the street. She is not the woman power-hungry in the marketplace. She is just free.
Jade has grown. And she is free.
