Against the tricks of nature

by Asel Torogulova (Kyrgyzstan)

A leap into the unknown Kyrgyzstan

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Cold. Small raindrops are being hauled back and forth by the howling relentless wind on its way to the ground. But rain seems to yield the wind neither so it transforms into a strong downpour by demonstrating its power. The wind does its utmost not to lose the game, speeds up, and prepares itself to smash everything on its way. For a moment, pouring rain seemed to come off second-best but it was just a moment of silence before the craziness. Out of the blue, the darkest clouds which no eyes have seen covered the sky and turned the world into the ominous place. Now a snowstorm took over the stage and its life-long companion, fog, hid almost exhausted green living creatures around it by making them quite invisible. The second round of the battle started on. And the pawns of the nature engulfed by thirst for victory never noticed a little teenage girl - with 1.55 inches height who is wet till the tip of her toe - is struggling with the consequences of their never-ending disputes. While crawling up to the top of the mountain she can't come up with any reasonable idea of being involved in this trip. She is cursing herself for it. Her mind is plagued with endless questions such as: "Why on earth I've agreed to go this trip?", " Couldn't I just stay at home and find another hobby?", "But I've wasted the whole year to get ready for this trip", "If I could predict it!". The foul weather a bit enfeebled already a famished girl. Thankfully, she is not alone in this mess but with other 10 sophomore students who are expected to be guide-translators if they endured this torture. A foul on top of the mountain caused by the downpour already distracted Kamal, a tall and slightly overweight student, from his track by letting him try the smack of the ground. So a little girl is extremely cautious of any subtle movement. The road is completely invisible, and snow reached the ankle. Seems a group of young adventurous people stuck on top of the 3400-meter mountain above sea level nestled in the north-eastern Tian Shan. Now the night shifted the day, and the world became murkier. Bone-tired prospective guide-translators sitting in a circle trying to hide their true feelings inside a wobbling tent caused by a strong wind. Sounds of the whirling wind are relaxing, on the other hand, the chill of the snow doesn't let enjoy the ambiance of the winter. Everybody is in the middle of their dream except for a little girl. Poor girl cocooned herself in a dry blanket but her tent is wet through. Finally, the slumber came over, and she fell asleep in hope that they would cease their adventure and return her cozy home right after the morning comes out. A single voice interferes with a perfectly, profound silence. Still cold. The tent is pretty curved. The girl wakes up and tries to get out of the tent before it dismantles notwithstanding heavy, wet snow. Outside, it is inexplicably beautiful. There is no track of yesterday's nightmare. The battle between the wind and snow is flattened out. Glimmering snow lit by rays of the sun blinds the eye. An innocent cloud poised over two feet away from the girl, appealing her as if she can touch the sky just by jumping. She can feel the relief of an azure blue sky and feels exultant. She stepped to the peak of the mountain and looked back. A long lying valley with incredible sight captured her eyes. Now she is standing so high. A little girl won the battle. She survived the worst nightmare. White-fanged mountains seem to be greeting the girl and appraising her for not giving up. A strange feeling of pride filled her. It ignited a dormant rebellious side of the girl. And now she is ready to defy the tricks of nature and continue her journey. After all, it is just the first peak of her which she conquered. She has to conquer many others, and not only peaks of the mountains.