Chapter 4: 3rd Place

That was when I was climbing a mountain—
a rather tall one, you know.
I’d safely spent a night at the summit and was making my way down in high spirits,
but halfway through, I got caught in the rain.
Well, they say the weather in the mountains changes quickly. Nothing you can do about it.

Of course, I had rain gear and all that.
But still, you kind of feel like taking shelter from the rain, don’t you?

At that moment, I spotted a tree standing all by itself.
When I saw it, I couldn’t help but run toward it—just a reflex.

It was a rather large tree, but even so, it couldn’t block the rain completely.
In the end, I ended up putting on my rain gear after all.

Still—being wrapped in nature and just staring absent-mindedly at the falling rain wasn’t bad at all.
The sound of thunder was a bit loud, but I guess that, too, was part of the experience.

Huh? You’re asking if that was dangerous?

…You sure worry too much. I mean, yeah, it might’ve been risky, but it’s not like you’d just fall that easily, right?
Besides, if I really had fallen—then what would that make me, standing here right now?

Anyway, getting back to the story—while I was watching the scenery, I must’ve fallen asleep before I knew it.
When I woke up, the sky was perfectly clear.

But—
that tree was dead, you know. And my stuff was gone, too.

…There really are some awful people out there. Seriously.

Well, all things considered, I’d say it was a good experience overall.
So, in third place—“Taking shelter from the rain under a tree while mountain climbing.”

Huh? You’re asking why it was dead?
Come on, even I don’t know that.

…Guess you could call it one of those “forces of nature,” or something.

Oh, right—now that I think about it, the tree had split clean in two, straight down the middle.
It was incredible!

If I’d had a camera, I definitely would’ve taken a picture.
That’s the one thing I kind of regret.