(a)

A story is nothing but a container. The pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info can be filled with memories, love, and other things.

Over the years, I stumbled over these stories, like stumbling down a steep staircase, or struggling to climb up a steep staircase.

(b)

When I walked up the stairs, it didn't exist for me.

Or, as I walked on it, it just didn't exist.

(c)

Remember this rope ladder hanging from a steep wall halfway up the mountainside?

This photo was taken in August 2014 when I revisited the old place, because of the increasing number of Korean tourists, the mountain has been added with ropeways, and all the mountain steps have been newly installed with railings on both sides, and this rope ladder for mountain people and medicine pickers to climb is no longer in use.

After seeing the secret cure for acrophobia from the cliff, you took me to climb the mountain a few times.

In the summer of the second year after the Xiyuan training camp, we went out to train again. This time, it was a training base in a famous mountain in a neighboring province.

During the training camp there, the schedule was not as tight as last time. Teachers and students have more free time.

During that training camp, you took me to the top of the mountain to see the sunrise once.

That day, in the darkness before sunrise, we set off from the training quarters and climbed the steep stairs of almost 75 degrees to the bottom of the rope ladder. Climb this very thrilling staircase and we will reach the highest peak of the mountain. We will stand side by side there, watching a round of the morning sun erupt through the sea of clouds.

We sat at the bottom of this rope ladder to rest.

We sat back to back, and we heard each other's rapid breathing and pounding heartbeats.

You unscrew the lid of the insulated kettle, you gently bump my arm in the back, you hand the kettle to me, you gasp and say, "Hey, okay?" ”

I pushed the kettle, and I couldn't speak. I gestured, "You drink first." ”

(iv)

The kettle passed between us, and we took turns drinking warm boiled water.

I was drenched in sweat.

In the dim light, I could faintly see that there were also large sweat stains oozing from your sweatshirt vest.

You say, "Shall we climb this rope ladder?" ”

I remembered the hug on the edge of the cliff, and I nodded.

You say, "Okay?" ”

I'm looking at you.

I hear the yearning and impulse to reach the top in every drop of your blood.

You can't resist the attraction of the summit.

You long to share that moment with me, and you long to have someone who can be with you from the top of the clouds.

So, I nodded vigorously again and said, "Okay." ”

For your sake, I will not fear anything.

You look at me, and you know it in your heart.

You shook my hand.

You say, "I'll help you, and we'll do it together." ”

(5)

We sat down the rope ladder and looked back at the steps we had climbed.

I said, "I can't believe we've just climbed so many steps, and it's so steep." ”

You smiled, and you gently put your arm around my shoulder. Your hand rests on my shoulder.

We were silent for a while.

Our breathing was quiet. We continued to look down in the dim light at the myriad staircases that twisted beneath our feet.

You say, "What are you thinking?" ”

I said, "Thinking about what you told us before you led the group up the mountain last time." ”

You say, "What did I say?" ”

I said, "You say, mountaineering is a process of giving up. I didn't really understand it before. But, just now, when you took my hand and climbed the steps step by step, I suddenly understood what you meant. ”

I said, "Every step is both a process of acceptance and a process of renunciation. If we are satisfied with the height of each step, the progress we have made with each step, if we are reluctant to throw away everything, leave everything and let it become a thing of the past, we will not be able to climb to a higher level. ”

I said, "Every step of the climb is actually a process of constantly meeting and accepting new difficulties and pains, constantly giving up and leaving existing comforts and achievements. ”

"It is precisely because we are not nostalgic for what we have achieved and what we have, and we do not resist accepting what we have never experienced and changed the status quo, that we can continue to reach new heights and new realms step by step, and only then can we see the world from this perspective and the scenery from this angle."

I said, "If we hold on to the happiness and comfort that we already have, if we resist the pain and hardships that are constantly coming, we must still be at the foot of the mountain far away." ”

I looked at you and I said, "That's what you mean, right?" ”

I said, "I now know why you love mountaineering." ”

You listen, you are silent for a moment.

Then you say, "You know, Heart." ”

You say, "Even if I haven't accomplished anything in this life, I'm satisfied." ”

You say, "Because I met you once." ”

You say, "I know that there are countless people who, after hundreds of millions of years of wandering, would not meet such a confidant." ”

(f)

We climbed together on that 90-degree straight rope ladder.

The ladder swayed slightly under the strong wind.

There were times when I was so frightened that I clung to the ladder so tightly that I was so weak that I didn't dare to look down or move.

I cried and said, "I'm going down!" I don't want to climb anymore. Let me go down! ”

You say to me aloud from below, "Believe in yourself, heart! You can climb up! ”

I said, "I'm going to fall!" I can't catch it! ”

You say, "Believe me, then, Heart." I'm not going to let you fall. ”

You say, "I'd rather fall myself than let you fall." ”

As you spoke, you climbed up a few squares, you approached me, and you added a protective cord to my waist.

You say, "Our lives are connected." I will follow you closely. ”

You say, "Don't look down, don't care about the wind, and don't think about how many squares there are up there." There is only one thing in mind: on the ladder below you, it is me. ”

You say, "I am your ground." ”

You say, "You're not in mid-air, you're always on the ground." ”

(g)

We finally climbed the "ladder", and when our feet stepped on the rocks at the summit, a red sun was erupting from the vast sea of clouds. Indescribable magnificence.

That day, we saw it all together. Our hands were tightly clasped to each other's hands.

You say, "Isn't it beautiful?" ”

I said, "It's magnificent." ”

You say, "It's a pity that we live halfway up the mountain, and we can't see such a beautiful sun every day." ”

I said, "I can see it every day." ”

You look at me puzzled.

The morning sun reflects your eyes red, and it also reflects mine.

I turned my face away, I looked at the sea of clouds, and said softly, "Because, in my world, there is one more sun." ”

I said, "One is shining over there, and the other is watching me here." (To be continued.) )