The twelfth mountain waited like a shadow of sorrow itself. Its slopes were not steep, nor were its ridges sharp, but something in the air of that came from exhaustion of the body. No, this was the kind that settled inside the ribs, a weight that belonged to memory more than to the climbing of the mountains.Jasmine whined softly as her paws padded against the rocky path. Even she could feel it. Her usual steady tug on the harness slowed, her ears twitching, as though she knew that what lay ahead was not stone or storm, but something deeper, something old.I tightened my fingers on the strap of her harness. “It’s alright, girl,” I whispered, though my voice betrayed me with a tremor. It wasn’t really her I was trying to comfort. It was me.As I climbed, I noticed an unexpected silence. The silence was so thick that it pressed against my ears, as though the world had been muffled. My cane touched rock, dirt, and loose gravel, but the sounds seemed swallowed before they could echo.I ha
Last Updated : 2025-08-22 Read more