She awoke the next morning to Bonpo’s hearty guffaw. It seemed to echo through the snow-covered world. The fire was still blazing merrily (or so she assumed; at least it looked as if had been tended throughout the night) and she could see wisps of steam emanating from the spout of the coffee pot. It took her perhaps of full minute to realize that it had stopped snowing. She craned her neck and could see an azure sky through the boughs of fir above and the sunlight reflected off every icicle and was mirrored by every particle of snow. It was chilly, yes, but it felt more invigorating than the previous day, which had been a miserable and mind-numbing cold.
“Good morning,” boomed Bonpo, happily.
“It certainly appears to be,” she replied with a radiant smile. Jabberwock and Bonpo couldn’t help beaming back.
“Yesterday, it seemed like the end of the world,” she reflected as she crawled from beneath the tarp, and then stood, releasing herself to one of her patented feline stretched. “Today, it feels like we have been given the hope of a new life.”
“Sounds like a Paschal sermon,” Jabberwock chuckled.
“Well, I guess death and resurrection are a constant in this world,” she mused, sipping the coffee Bonpo had handed her. “From death comes life.”
“Sounds like you were paying attention in Chapel,” the Bandersnatch teased her.
“Not enough apparently,” she frowned. “My mind seems to get stuck on the ‘dying to self’ bit.”
“Give yourself time,” Jabberwock advised, gently, “you’re only eighteen, after all. And isn’t that part of the point of this trip? To experience life? To grow?”
The Princess smiled a bit self-deprecatingly. He was, of course, always right.
In spite of the horror of yesterday’s hike and even the physical pain involved, not to mention the thought of each step taking her closer to the desert she so desperately desired, Eluned was reluctant to leave the hastily made (but sun painted) camp behind. And, of course, her feet were still aching terribly. If they already hurt this bad, she grimaced, how would they feel by the end of the day?
But, a mile or so down the trail (which was taking forever because they had to slog through a couple of feet of snow), the pain began to fade. Or maybe it was just because she had to be so vigilant over every step she took. Until she stepped, she couldn’t see or feel what her foot was landing on and she didn’t want to take another tumble. It helped that Bonpo was leading. His height and weight significantly reduced the trouble she had to go through. But, his stride was much bigger than hers. About the time Eluned’s pain began to recede (to be taken up by the dull ache of frozen digits), Jabberwock suggested to Bonpo that he try a sliding step so that he would clear more snow.
Yikes! Eluned glanced, guiltily at the Bandersnatch. She had been so caught up in keeping up with Bonpo and making sure she didn’t fall that she had entirely forgotten Jabberwock. The snow was nearly as deep as he was tall. Poor little guy!
Before they finished the next mile, they happened on the final Misrule Pass campsite.
“By Omni!” Eluned cried in awe. “I thought I walked my feet off yesterday. I can’t believe that we not only passed the second site but got this close to the last.”
“It does seem nearly miraculous,” Jabberwock observed. “That means we hiked . . .”
“Nealy tirty mire,” Bonpo interrupted.
“Not bad for a beginner!” Jabberwock grinned at Eluned.
“You know, I don’t know why this is just occurring to me, but is there any particular reason we aren’t riding horses? I mean with horses and a pack mule, I might still be able to feel my feet. I mean, just for example.”
“A horse couldn’t take Bonpo’s weight,” Jabberwock stated.
“Yeah, but we didn’t know he would be traveling with us. Or did we?” she looked, accusingly at the Bandersnatch.
“No, that was definitely kismet.”
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I vote that when we reach Draconia we invest in a horse and a pack mule. Bonpo walks twice as fast as we do, anyway.”
Bonpo grunted and shrugged his shoulders, “Fine by me.”
“You’re right,” Jabberwock agreed. “I’m afraid that I just don’t think along those lines, but it makes sense.”
“Well, we can’t stay here despite how tired we are,” Eluned glanced around the snow-covered campsite. “It’s just too early in the day, and there would be all that extra work maintaining a fire. I say it’s better to go on and see how close we can get to the first campsite down from the pass. The sooner we get to Mjijangwa, the better!”
Once again, the trio pushed on to near-dark and stumbled into their last campsite (before town!) nigh on exhaustion. Even Bonpo was moving slower than usual. A half-hearted fire, which mostly smoked because of the wet wood, did little to push back the darkness and it seemed an eternity before the water boiled for tea. Cold beans were reheated to lukewarm and eaten mechanically.
The wind that night seemed adept at ferreting out any chink in the armor of her blankets. The three of them tossed and turned; even in their troubled sleep they fought to keep warm. Eluned checked the night sky numerous times as the stars arced their way through the bowl of heaven. This was worse than the night she had waited for dawn to arrive so that she could begin this hellish journey. Her worry and discomfort made it harder for her to doze off and it was with great relief that she saw the lightening of the sky.
Apparently, Bonpo and Jabberwock had had just as bad a night. All awoke grouchy and instead of the beatific faces of the previous day, three faces scowled into the barely flickering flames of the fire as they once again awaited boiling water.
“Darn it! It is so true,” Eluned groused as she huffed off into the woods. “A watched pot NEVER boils.”
As they started out on their final descent toward the desert border town of Mjijangwa, no one ventured to break the thick silence. Even the birds opted not to sing until the glowering, and exhausted, trio was out of range.
Finally, about noon day, they had dropped enough in elevation that most of the snow had disappeared, laying mostly in the crevices of rocks or in shadows not yet touched by the sun. Despite their fatigue, they began to feel a glimmer of hope. Mjijangwa didn’t seem such an impossibility. Perhaps they would sleep in beds and eat at table that night!
“O come, thou Key of David, come,” Eluned began in her clear contralto. Bonpo and Jabberwock joined in, bass and tenor. “And open wide our heavenly home; Make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery.”
“Can I hear an ‘amen’?” Eluned asked when the last note faded.
“AMEN!” Jabberwock and Bonpo replied, heartily.
“Good morning,” boomed Bonpo, happily.
“It certainly appears to be,” she replied with a radiant smile. Jabberwock and Bonpo couldn’t help beaming back.
“Yesterday, it seemed like the end of the world,” she reflected as she crawled from beneath the tarp, and then stood, releasing herself to one of her patented feline stretched. “Today, it feels like we have been given the hope of a new life.”
“Sounds like a Paschal sermon,” Jabberwock chuckled.
“Well, I guess death and resurrection are a constant in this world,” she mused, sipping the coffee Bonpo had handed her. “From death comes life.”
“Sounds like you were paying attention in Chapel,” the Bandersnatch teased her.
“Not enough apparently,” she frowned. “My mind seems to get stuck on the ‘dying to self’ bit.”
“Give yourself time,” Jabberwock advised, gently, “you’re only eighteen, after all. And isn’t that part of the point of this trip? To experience life? To grow?”
The Princess smiled a bit self-deprecatingly. He was, of course, always right.
In spite of the horror of yesterday’s hike and even the physical pain involved, not to mention the thought of each step taking her closer to the desert she so desperately desired, Eluned was reluctant to leave the hastily made (but sun painted) camp behind. And, of course, her feet were still aching terribly. If they already hurt this bad, she grimaced, how would they feel by the end of the day?
But, a mile or so down the trail (which was taking forever because they had to slog through a couple of feet of snow), the pain began to fade. Or maybe it was just because she had to be so vigilant over every step she took. Until she stepped, she couldn’t see or feel what her foot was landing on and she didn’t want to take another tumble. It helped that Bonpo was leading. His height and weight significantly reduced the trouble she had to go through. But, his stride was much bigger than hers. About the time Eluned’s pain began to recede (to be taken up by the dull ache of frozen digits), Jabberwock suggested to Bonpo that he try a sliding step so that he would clear more snow.
Yikes! Eluned glanced, guiltily at the Bandersnatch. She had been so caught up in keeping up with Bonpo and making sure she didn’t fall that she had entirely forgotten Jabberwock. The snow was nearly as deep as he was tall. Poor little guy!
Before they finished the next mile, they happened on the final Misrule Pass campsite.
“By Omni!” Eluned cried in awe. “I thought I walked my feet off yesterday. I can’t believe that we not only passed the second site but got this close to the last.”
“It does seem nearly miraculous,” Jabberwock observed. “That means we hiked . . .”
“Nealy tirty mire,” Bonpo interrupted.
“Not bad for a beginner!” Jabberwock grinned at Eluned.
“You know, I don’t know why this is just occurring to me, but is there any particular reason we aren’t riding horses? I mean with horses and a pack mule, I might still be able to feel my feet. I mean, just for example.”
“A horse couldn’t take Bonpo’s weight,” Jabberwock stated.
“Yeah, but we didn’t know he would be traveling with us. Or did we?” she looked, accusingly at the Bandersnatch.
“No, that was definitely kismet.”
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I vote that when we reach Draconia we invest in a horse and a pack mule. Bonpo walks twice as fast as we do, anyway.”
Bonpo grunted and shrugged his shoulders, “Fine by me.”
“You’re right,” Jabberwock agreed. “I’m afraid that I just don’t think along those lines, but it makes sense.”
“Well, we can’t stay here despite how tired we are,” Eluned glanced around the snow-covered campsite. “It’s just too early in the day, and there would be all that extra work maintaining a fire. I say it’s better to go on and see how close we can get to the first campsite down from the pass. The sooner we get to Mjijangwa, the better!”
Once again, the trio pushed on to near-dark and stumbled into their last campsite (before town!) nigh on exhaustion. Even Bonpo was moving slower than usual. A half-hearted fire, which mostly smoked because of the wet wood, did little to push back the darkness and it seemed an eternity before the water boiled for tea. Cold beans were reheated to lukewarm and eaten mechanically.
The wind that night seemed adept at ferreting out any chink in the armor of her blankets. The three of them tossed and turned; even in their troubled sleep they fought to keep warm. Eluned checked the night sky numerous times as the stars arced their way through the bowl of heaven. This was worse than the night she had waited for dawn to arrive so that she could begin this hellish journey. Her worry and discomfort made it harder for her to doze off and it was with great relief that she saw the lightening of the sky.
Apparently, Bonpo and Jabberwock had had just as bad a night. All awoke grouchy and instead of the beatific faces of the previous day, three faces scowled into the barely flickering flames of the fire as they once again awaited boiling water.
“Darn it! It is so true,” Eluned groused as she huffed off into the woods. “A watched pot NEVER boils.”
As they started out on their final descent toward the desert border town of Mjijangwa, no one ventured to break the thick silence. Even the birds opted not to sing until the glowering, and exhausted, trio was out of range.
Finally, about noon day, they had dropped enough in elevation that most of the snow had disappeared, laying mostly in the crevices of rocks or in shadows not yet touched by the sun. Despite their fatigue, they began to feel a glimmer of hope. Mjijangwa didn’t seem such an impossibility. Perhaps they would sleep in beds and eat at table that night!
“O come, thou Key of David, come,” Eluned began in her clear contralto. Bonpo and Jabberwock joined in, bass and tenor. “And open wide our heavenly home; Make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery.”
“Can I hear an ‘amen’?” Eluned asked when the last note faded.
“AMEN!” Jabberwock and Bonpo replied, heartily.
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