Henry's Mountain

Little Henry's foot nearly slipped as he scaled the jagged ledge of the mountainside. The young boy's worn-out light-up shoes weren't the best choice for the task at hand, but thankfully his friend was there to catch him.

"I gotcha!" Oscar, the bear, quickly grabbed his hand to stable him. The animal's soft brown paw stretched out like a sturdy branch upon which Henry could rest his weight.

"Thanks, Oscar," Henry replied with a smile on his face. But from the corner of his eye, he could see the long drop which stretched endlessly down toward the vast green landscape of the forest below.

"Easy does it," Oscar cautioned. "Just a little bit further..."

The two friends carefully shimmied across the narrow ledge, and Henry was careful not to look down again.

The young boy was small for his age. His soft blonde hair easily reflected the sun's light against its sheen, and his tender blue eyes peeked beneath the curtain of his disheveled bangs. His knees had been scraped, and both his arms and legs carried his battle worn bruises as his trophies.

"I-I don't know if I can do this, Oscar." Henry tried to conceal the nervousness in his voice but to no avail.

"Sure you can, kiddo! We've scaled dozens of mountains before. And just last week we both battled the seas together before you conquered that sea monster! You remember that?"

"Yeah, I guess..." he replied, still unsure of himself.

"It was awesome." Oscar continued. "And I'll tell you one thing buddy, there's no one else I'd rather have by my side right now than you."

Henry bashfully chuckled as a smile began to emerge on his face.

"Me too." He glanced up at the bear who grinned with pleasure and cast a reassuring wink in his direction.

But as they took another step, the ground beneath them began to shake. Henry nearly slipped again, and he pressed his back as tightly as he could against the wall of stone behind him. Rocks began to slip from their places and the world suddenly shuttered all around them.

"Earthquake!" Henry was overcome with such fear, and he forcefully shut his eyes, hoping to escape the terror.

"Henry! Don't look down, buddy just look at me okay! It's gonna be alright!"

But the young boy couldn't help himself. He knew what awaited down below, and it was only a matter of time before he'd finally lose his footing.

He knew he'd regret his decision, but it was too late. He opened his eyes once more and found himself sitting alone in the corner of his bedroom as another loud crash hit the wall outside of it.

His parents had been shouting at each other for some time. But now they had resorted to throwing things. It never ended well when they started throwing things.

Henry cowered further into the corner and wrapped his arms tighter around the teddy bear that he held against his chest. He tried desperately to drown out the sound of his parents’ boiling rage, but it rarely ever worked.

Tears began to stream from his eyes, and he shut them tightly in a futile attempt to hold them back. But as he buried his head against the teddy bear in his arms, he heard the sound of Oscar's voice gently call to him.

"Henry?" The young boy was too scared to answer.

"It's gonna be alright, kiddo. Just a couple more steps, I promise..."

After another moment longer, he finally relented to Oscar's reassuring voice and lifted his eyes to see the bear standing on the ledge of the mountainside once more.

Henry looked up at his friend and took ahold of his outstretched paw.

He followed the old bear’s lead, and together they made their way to the top of the mountain.

As they reached the peak, Henry gasped as he stood in awe at the sight before him. The vibrant landscape stretched on for miles in every direction, and the skies above burst open with colors of gold and pink.

Flocks of birds migrated to the west and the sun began to settle beneath the distant horizon.

"Pretty cool, ain't it?" Oscar casually lowered himself down to rest as Henry pulled himself close to the warm embrace of his best friend's fur.

"Yeah..." the little boy replied. "Thanks, Oscar."

"Any time, kiddo." The bear replied. And the two sat together as a gentle breeze carried the last of the day away.