Make a Decision

Ben watched the clouds ensnare the mountain and squeeze her of all site and sound.

The storm was here.

Leaning in to the incline, he thumbed the rope, self-consciously checking his harness, preparing his mind for the cold and the unforeseen.

Turning his head, he looked down the mountain toward the half-way point; three hours past.

He smirked. Too late for that.

The winds would be on him within the next few minutes, and he could only guess at it’s whims—rain, hail, snow, wind, or lightning.

To turn back meant risking the open slope. Better to continue and hope for shelter, at the very least, a groove or a rise to lie against.

He looked at the clouds rolling in from east.

The faint sound of a child’s laughter drifted down the slope. He recognized the sound of his daughter’s smile, how she was while watching silly cartoons on Saturday morning. A pair of her mom’s slippers hanging from her feet. Captain Crunch in the cushions. Crunch, crunch, crunch with each laugh.

Lightning struck in the distance and a few pieces of hail began to dot the slope above him.

Ben smiled one last time at his daughter, waving as she faded into the warm place in his heart.

He would live today. And be home tomorrow.

He had decided.