This white stuff from the sky

The snow came by surprise.

They had left the camp early to get a head start on the others, knowing most of their group walked faster then them and being left behind, again, was definitely not advisable in that terrain. Although one could argue, that this was exactly what they were doing right now.

The sun was still asleep, like the rest of the camp and they enjoyed the solitude of these early hours. By getting as much ahead as possible, they were even a little hopeful, that, come noon, they were the one, who waited for the others. They had been really surprised to be the person with the least hiking experience, among all of them. How was this possible? Considering this, they slowed down until their steps eventually came to a halt. Maybe they should just return and wait for the others now? But the cracking of stone under their feet and the sound of the leaves in the morning breeze felt enchanted. But what they enjoyed most, was the absence of chattering, the silence.

“Jesse, wait!” Everything looked like this decision was not theirs alone anymore. The cry had come from somewhere in the distant, behind them. Jesse. A name, they never really identified with, but they didn’t have any better idea, so that’s what they stuck to.

Looking back, starting to walk again and picking up the pace had not been a good idea, but at the time, they had wanted to get ahead, before any of the others woke up.

But they weren’t fast enough. Not for the first time on this trip, the footsteps came closer, until a hand grabbed them on the shoulder. “Jesse, finally! Are you alright?”

Jesse turned around, suddenly confused. “Me? Yes, of course, why wouldn’t I be?”

“You’re walking all by yourself, the sun hasn’t even come up yet and I got worried, when I woke up and you weren’t there.”

“Oh, that.” All was already said, no need to continue talking. They enjoyed the silence too much for that. If only she would get that.

“Alright, if you don’t want to talk about it, I’ll go with you. Then you are at least not alone.”

She seemed so determined, that resistance seemed useless. And she was right, it was nice to walk alongside someone. They continued in silence.

That’s when they noticed. They weren’t sure about much anymore, but August was no time for snow; that was a fact, they were certain about. But still, the little white spherical objects falling from the sky had a mesmerising effect on them. Mesmerising and daunting. Because what else could these cold things be, if not snow?

Startled, they stopped to look up at the sky. Could it really be? Looking at the woman next to them wasn’t reassuring either. She didn’t look surprised at all. Instead, she stopped walking, took a warm jacket from her backpack and looked at them. “Why are you looking at me like this? Did you not expect the snow?”

“Expect? How would I expect that? It’s August, not December.” Why did no one tell them about the possibility of snow?

“Holy crap! I can’t believe, you are this surprised. We are in the mountains, it is cold up here, you should have known that!” The woman seemed to be loosing her mind, throwing up her hands in desperation and glaring at them with an expression, that was deadly at the very least.

But they didn’t know. How would they? But the cold gave them a reason to walk on. The two of them decided on a new direction, down, because the snow fell and the temperatures dropped. And the snow kept falling

Half an hour later, the path disappeared under their feet. By sheer luck, the rock formations, now covered in white, had a small gap and the two of them just assumed, that this was the remains of the well beaten track. They only had to get down the mountain, right? The weather would be much fairer down there and the visibility was supposed to be much better too. But they were already so cold. And the snowflakes, covering every inch of green and grey kept falling.

For hours, they wandered on, without getting anywhere. They lost their way and both of them deemed the idea to carry on better, than to look for the rest of their group.

 The temperature dropped further and further and the two of them just kept on walking.

It will get warmer, once we are in lower altitudes. That’s what she insisted on. They only thought about moving. Setting one foot in front of the other. Their drinking breaks were scarce, both of them were freezing and getting on seemed more important.

The rare moments, when the snow storm subsided a little and they were able to see a little more, of their surroundings, were not encouraging. They had to walk on for a long time until the snow would no longer bother them. Occasionally, they threw a glance at the woman next to them, but that wasn’t helping with their mood. They hoped to see confidence on her face, certainty, that this horror would end soon. But the mixed emotions, on her face did not include any of these. Instead, her furrowed eyebrows gave away the same feeling, they were feeling themselves.

They hadn’t noticed the change, but now the spirits of both of them were low and they hadn’t talked for what felt like an eternity. Their feet made scrunching noises in the snow and the muffed sounds of their surroundings were no longer comforting, but much to silent now. But the snow kept falling.

 After a while, the rocks gave way to bushes and then started to disappear entirely, while the bushed grew and the first trees started to emerge. All this time, they felt an agonising pain in their lungs and every step was harder for their tired legs, then the last one. They had agreed on one goal: Make it down the mountain and be at a warmer place. But for now, the snow kept falling.

And then they reached the foot of the mountain. But what should have felt like a relief, suddenly turned into despair. Because the green valley with the warming sunshine from their imagination was covered in snow as well. That’s when they got really worried.