The Frog at the Top of Frosty Mountain

The Climb

The snow had gotten waist deep. Allan pushed his way through, shielding his face from the razor sharp cold with his hand. He was shaking and shivering so much he thought he might drop dead from a seizure, but somewhow he kept going. Even though he couldn't feel anything, he kept going. And even though everything was against him reaching the top, he kept going. He wasn't going up the mountain for just himself anymore, he was going for everyone that loved him. Sharon, Robert and all the other people he still had to remember. And even though he knew that nobody could help him if he fell, he kept going.

"Almost there." Said the voice of the nice pigeon behind him.

Allan imagined the little bird using him as a shield against the wind, but he wouldn't be surprised if he turned around and found that the pigeon wasn't there. The pigeon was, after all, just a figment of his imagination.

"Just keep going." The Pigeon/Allan said. "Don't stop..."

Allan kept on going, but the further he went, the colder it got and the deeper he dug himself into the snow. After pushing for a few more feet, he found himself with snow up to his chest. He kept his arms above the snow and tried digging himself free, but the more he dug, the more he found himself trapped. A part of himself told him to give up, to just stand there and freeze to death.

"Demons." The Pigeon/Allan said.

Allan looked forward and saw multiple pairs of yellow eyes piercing through the blizard. There were dozens of them, and they were closing in all sides.

"Fight them!" The Pigeon said.

"How?" Allan asked.

"Push back against them. Against everything! You have to fight that feeling that's dragging you down, that feeling that makes you want to stop moving. That feeling you get when you don't want to get out of bed, or when you need to do something important and you can't even get started. I know that feeling, because I'm you. I know that sometimes it gets so hard that you have to breath in deep just to get through one more minute of the pain. Now, I need you to be stronger than ever before. You need to push through this, because I gurantee you, you'll come out on the other side stronger."

One of the demons lashed out at Allan's face. Blood splattered across the snow, and Allan was met with extreme pain. Not physical pain, but the kind of pain that the pigeon had described. He took a deep breath and readied himself for the next blow.

Another demon slashed at Allan. They were laughing now, delighting themselves in seeing Allan get deeper into the snow. 

Allan closed his eyes. He focused on the few memories he had, and of these little scraps, he focused on the good ones. He heard joyful laughter, saw warm smiles, smelled the pleasant scent of flowers, felt the comforting embrace of  a hug, and heard someone whisper 'I love you' in his ear. He gathered all the good feelings he got from these memories and made a suit of armor with them, an armor that made him stronger and allowed him to rise up throught the snow.

The demons, laughing just a moment before, looked upon Allan in horror. Allan stomped towards him with wide boots that allowed him to walk upon the snow. The clanking sound of his metal armor sounded like a death sentance, and before they could flee, Allan slashed at them with a sword made of fire.

"That's it!" The pigeon cried in triumph. "Cut them down! Cut them all down!"

Allan did as the pigeon said. The heat of his sword burnt all the demons to a crips, and the thick snow he had been wading through quickly melted away. The flame sword extinguished, and Allan found himself without armor. All he had were his clothes, but he felt stronger than ever.

"We're so very near the end now." The nice pigeon said. "This is where we part ways."

"Thank you." Allan said, feeling a slight tinge of sadness. "I'm sorry I mistreated you and doubted you before. I thought you were just tricking me."

"Let it be a lesson then. Help can come from the most unexpected of places."

With those words, the pigeon went away. He didn't take flight, instead, he just faded away and back into Allan's mind.