Work Text
ㅤAnother day over. Another 8 hours spent doing barely anything.
ㅤ"See you tomorrow, Maddy!" a coworker shouted before closing the door behind her.
ㅤWork wasn't really draining. If anything, it helped her keep a schedule and give her an actual reason to practice self care. But still, spending that much time in a crowded office doing endless paperwork and organising articles cannot be good for the psyche. Arrived back home, Madeline takes time to unwind before getting started on some actually enjoyable work.
ㅤAfter the events of the Mountain and Granny's passing, Madeline promised herself that she'd try to make the most out of every living moment. She even took up a new hobby! One that was less dangerous that shooting an arrow at high speeds anyway. She decided to write a book!
ㅤA book about what exactly? That's something Madeline is still figuring out. Is it a fictional story? Is it an autobiography? Is it a metaphorical book with metaphorical characters getting over metaphorical problems through a self-insert? Questions left unanswered.
ㅤSitting at her desk, typing away with music blasting through her headset, Madeline was truly in the writing vibe. She managed to get a few points and ideas fleshed out in a couple of hours. Saving the document and launching herself backwards in her chair, Madeline straightened her spine with a loud crack. That should be enough for today. She checked her phone, which Theo bought her since she was too stubborn or forgetful to actually go through the process of getting one herself, and saw a notification from Theo.
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[hey how r u]"
ㅤMadeline shut down her computer and grasped her phone with both of her hands.
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[A little better since last time]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[r u still having dreams about that bird?]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[Not really]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[Actually yes, recently]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[It was pecking at your nose haha]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[LMAO yea i can see that happening]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[i ask bc i actually had a dream myself about it]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[well mostly to check up on u but also bc of the dream]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[which is weird bc i dont ever have dreams]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[Oh?]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[we were all there. me u the bird granny even mr creepy ghost]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[and a couple other acquaintances of mine u dont know]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[and that got me thinking]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[why dont we revisit the mountain?]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[I'm not very sure, Theo]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[we dont have to go to grannys grave if u think ur not ready]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[but i think a second climb would be pretty nice. yk like a sendoff or last adventure for granny or sth]"
ㅤMadeline looked at the texts, then at the ceiling, thinking. She wasn't sure if she felt stable enough emotionally to revisit that place, considering the breakdown she had when Granny died. Truth be told, it would offer some closure. The only times that she was at the Mountain would've been in her dreams, and with each night her memory of the place grew more and more abstract and unfamiliar. It would be nice to refreshen her memory of the place. After a bit of consideration, Madeline looked back at her phone.
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[Alright. Let's do it]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[We'll climb it together like old times]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[sweet! ill pack a few essentials and plan our route]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[I'll have to take off some weeks off work so it might take a while on my end]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[have i ever told u i hate ur manager btw]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[Yes, Theo, you have]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[then ill tell u again. fuck ur manager]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[Do we meet up somewhere? Do you think you can get there on your own?]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[no buses go that far and idk if the guys that drove me there r still around]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[You could take the bus from Seattle to Vancouver, and then the ferry to the Island. I'll pick you up with my car for the rest of the way]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[thatll do. thanks!]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[ill pack some extra snacks incase u wanna bring anyone with u]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[Oh no I'm not. I don't have that many friends anyway]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[girl we gotta get u out more]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[Hehe]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[..u know actually i got an idea]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[make sure ur backseat is cleared out]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[im bring alex with me]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[Your sister? Nice!]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[How come though?]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[well she finished law school recently and was talking about how she wanted to celebrate it with sth big]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[an adventure of some kind in her words]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[id say this is the perfect opportunity]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[and im also killing two birds with one stone by giving u a potential friend]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[Yeah sounds good!]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[nice then we got a plan!]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[ill talk to u tomorrow i gotta get some shut eye]"
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ"[Okay sleep well Theo]"
ㅤMadeline looked at her own clock to see that it was indeed getting pretty late. She put her phone on her nightstand, plugged in the charger and hopped under the covers. She was kind of excited to meet this famous "Alex" that Theo won't stop talking about. At the same time, she recalls him saying at the Mountain that they probably will not get along at first and starts to grow a bit uneasy. Either way, a second climb might just be the thing that Madeline needs right now. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ--------------------------------------------------------ㅤStanding at the bus station, two eager Brazilians are waiting for their ride.
ㅤ"Should be here any minute now..." Theo said, pacing back and forth.ㅤ"This gal better not have stood us up or else I'm going to be really upset." his little sister responded in a slightly sarcastic tone.
ㅤHidden behind the fluff of a parka jacket and a yellow scarf to match her brother stood the mighty Alex, in the flesh. The true rockstar. She was sitting on the pathetic excuse of a bench that were the two wooden planks under the bus station, fidgeting around with her backpack's straps. She didn't want to admit it, but she was very excited for this entire thing. She couldn't wait to see what this Mountain that changed her grandpa's and brother's life is all about. What power awaits beyond some advertisements and cryptic warnings from strangers. It was quite chilly out, but not cold enough to freeze you. It's good they didn't decide to climb the Mountain during winter. It would've been an absolute death sentence.
ㅤA grey vehicle could be seen approaching on the horizon and slowly make it's way towards the siblings. As it got closer, it slowed down and stopped right in front of them. The car window rolled down and "Call me maybe" by Carly Rae was suddenly blasting before the two of them. The redhead driver rested her arm on the car door.
ㅤ"Get in, losers. We're going climbing." An amazing opening, Madeline...