GoldenPants

Downhill

I look out from the fourth floor window and observe the weather. The brightness of the snow instantly blinds my eyes, when I can finally see, I am shocked to my very core.

I can see only mountains and snow, nothing wrong with the snow itself, there is just too much of it. There used to be a parking lot and a road here, but not even their traces can be seen. They have almost like wanished into the snow and it is impossible to tell where they used to be.

We have to climb out of the third floor window, because all of the other exits have been bloked by snow. The weather is extremely nice, there is no wind and the sun casts bright, almost warm light upon us. As we look more and more around, it becomes obvious that, if we do not want to get stuck under the snow again, we can not stay here. This is probably our best and only chance to make a run for it and try to get off this mountain, for there is no telling when the next blizzard might hit.

I look back at the mountain top Hotel, only the upper floor and roof are visible under the snow.

Then I see Nick and Harry trying to dragg out the old hot air balloon, that we had found in the basement a while back. I quickly go to help them, when the balloon is outside I ask Nick. " Are you really going to use it?"

"Yeah, probably." said Nick almost like he was unsure himself.

Nick knew how to fly with a hot air balloon, but in the mountains it was a very dangerous thing to do. At the same time, we had no idea where we should go, we could not just follow the road, because we can not find it and if we just climbed down from the mountain, we might get lost in the wilderness, so having a way to fly would be almost essential to our survival.

Then I hear Alice yelling from inside. " We are all ready to go!"

And with that it was decided, it was worth the risks. Harry and Nick would fly with the hot air balloon and land somewhere near the base of the mountain, while I, Alice, Violet, Oliver and Tom would walk on foot downhill and then try to meet up.

Barely an hour had passed since I woke up today and everything was already planned and prepared.

We set out immidiately. I looked back and saw the ht air balloon lift off. Everything was going well. We who were on the ground decided to take the shortest and most straightforward route downhill.

Luckily for us the snow was actually helping us by smoothing out the landscape and making it easy for us to walk across the mountainhill. We continued to walk like that for two hours.

I looked up to the sky and for a split second I thought I saw the hot air balloon directly above us, but then it suddenly dissapeared. As soon as I started to get confused I spotted it again in a slightly different position.

My pody was overwhelmed with fear, that I could not explain. There was something very wrong here.

"Don`t worry, I`ll go ahead!" And without looking back I started running downhill, all while looking intently at the hot air balloon. It was now moving a lot quicker than before.

I was running and sliding down the mountain at full speed, almost falling and tripping many times, but somehow I maneged to not fall. All while holding on to my equipment and keeping an eye on the balloon

As I was making my way downhill I failed to notice when exactly the snow had ended, but somewhere it had. When finally the mountainside started to flatten, I was exhausted. I had to stop.

And so I did, only to see moments later that I was too late. The hot air balloon landed into a lake.

I mustered all of my remaining strenght an ran to the lake. Luckily there was a old stone pier leading almost straight to the crash site.

I ran up the pier as small waves crashed into it. Then I saw a dog climbing out of the water and onto the pier only to run past me.

Thank god, atleast the dog is safe.

I made it to the tip of the piere and from there it was only about 100 meters to the balloon.

"HARRY! NICK!" I screamed with all my might, but only waves and wind were there to answer me.

I wanted to jump into the water and start swimming, I had swam much longer distances before, but then I stopped.

I heard whispering. Children, whispering. I was afraid to look towards the sounds, but I did so anyways.

Then the whispering stopped and I was suddenly in a city looking at an old apartement building. I was looking at a window, where a woman was casualy smoking a cigarette.

Then the whispering started again.

"TrutH?! What is iT to kNow? How doEs it Feel? How Does it feel to know Truth?"

I was petrified, but it seemed like these questions were not for me, but to the women in the window.

She casually turned to face back inside, pondered for a moment and then said. "Nothing special really, just having a lot more regrets, I guess. Truth is… Truth is just knowing that there was a better and easier solution to every problem you have ever had."

Then she turned and looked right at me and said. "But in the end truth is only a distraction to your real problems."

And then I was back on the pier, or did I ever really leave at all. Then I looked back at the lake, but the balloon had sunk a long time ago. There was only water, water as far as the eye could see…

As far as the eye could see… in a lake in the mountains. On a stone pier… I turned around and saw the mountain. It was different. I could not see others enywhere. I was left with only one question.

Where am I?