The Silent Meeting

I've always loved mountains. Climbing them, attempting to reach their peaks, camping on them, and getting to the summit before sunrise have always filled me with peace and relaxation. Today was the second day of my ascent to the mountain peak. It had rained outside, but I had managed to weather it without trouble thanks to my waterproof tent.

Last night had been quite different. I had a dream, though I couldn't quite recall what I had seen. I only remembered some sounds calling out to me. Soft harp notes, a sunset, crying voices, and a mix of other sounds—all amidst my own confinement within a small, needle-like cage. While the harp made me feel like I glimpsed heaven, the needle cage suggested the opposite. Alongside feeling like I had forgotten something inside my head, I also oddly felt at ease about something.

Outside, fog had formed. The ground was muddy from the rain, and the air carried the scent of earth. It created a beautiful ambiance to watch, but it made climbing the mountain rather daunting.

After gathering myself, I continued upwards. I needed to be up there by sunrise if I could manage. I pressed on swiftly.

Yet something felt different. There was a shiver inside me, yet also a sense of relief. The relief was like stepping into a warm bath, a drowsiness, while the shiver had turned into a fear mingled with the stress of walking and the possibility of slipping.

Occasionally, water droplets from the trees dripped onto my head, distracting me from these thoughts.

Then, I heard a voice from afar.

"Hey." It was a whisper, but surprisingly loud. Suddenly, every hair on my body stood on end, and fear gripped me. As I questioned what I had heard, I stood still, looking around. Perhaps the sound had come from the wind. It could carry different types of sounds through the gaps in the trees.

Yes, it must have been the wind...

I pushed on a bit further. Suddenly, it was quiet outside. Apart from my own breathing and the squelching of mud underfoot, there was no other sound—not even the faintest echo of these noises that were practically bouncing off the surroundings.

Then, a second voice came that I couldn't attribute to anything else.

"Come, don't be afraid." It was identical to the first voice. I thought about looking back and fleeing, but behind me was just thick fog. What was really happening?

I looked around in horror. I couldn't see anything. There was only the mountain path ahead, leading upwards towards the summit. My hands were trembling, unsure of what to do amidst these voices.

Despite my fear, something inside me urged me to continue. I didn't know why, but it felt like there was a burning fire urging me forward, heating my body from within.

I swallowed hard and continued walking upwards. As I did, the path behind me also disappeared into the fog. Was I going mad? I couldn't understand what was happening.

After some more time passed, I had nearly reached the top. The biology around me had suddenly changed. There were flowers blooming everywhere. I looked around in astonishment. As I raised my head, I was even more shocked. The leaves of the trees had started to dry up; some were orange, some red, and some yellow. I couldn't believe my eyes. In the middle of summer, there were both spring-like flowers and autumn-like trees. I held my head and started laughing; maybe I really was going mad.

My feet were trembling, but I wanted to continue. So, I did.

When I finally reached the summit, all those flowers and trees were left behind. Ahead of me was a flat peak with some rocky outcrops. The fog was behind me, and the sky was filled with shades of purple, orange, and red. Reality seemed completely disconnected with clouds drifting around.

"Hello?" I said hesitantly.

As the mist around me began to dissipate, I realized that part of the summit was also shrouded in mist.

I quietly watched as the mist vanished. The shiver inside me had gone, replaced by an unsettling feeling. As the mist slowly dissipated, I saw the silhouette of a person sitting on a rock. Reflexively, I took a step back. When the mist cleared, what I saw made it difficult for me to stay standing. A silhouette, an elderly silhouette, was becoming clearer. Its head was turned towards me, smiling.

I must be completely insane... There's no way this could be real!

Without saying a word, it just looked at me. The sun was covered by clouds, and suddenly, the surroundings became gloomy and dark. I wanted to run, but I didn't. I was scared, yet curious. I felt like I was going mad, yet I was composed.

Who was I?

The silhouette's face began to clarify. As it continued to smile at me, its elderly, bald head became distinct.

It resembled me so much... My elderly self.

"What?" I said aloud.

The silhouette was my elderly self. It wore a red jacket, green pants, and mountaineering boots!

"Who are you? Why are you here?" I asked. But the elderly me didn't respond.

"What's happening? Why are you smiling?" I asked, filled with curiosity and fear. It continued to look at me, saying nothing.

I started to get angry.

"Answer me!" I said, taking two steps forward. Unexpectedly, something happened.

It started crying. But... it was also laughing.

"What's happening?" I asked with curiosity. Maybe because I sensed it wouldn't harm me, a sense of trust had formed within me. Even though I couldn't digest what was happening, I continued to watch it.

It didn't speak. It just looked at me.

I began to wonder why it was here and why it had started doing these things. An elderly version of me, a mountaineer. Its face looked at me with happiness. What could it be?

Meanwhile, the flowers behind me had begun to wither, and the trees were returning to normal. When I turned my gaze back to my elderly self, I saw that it was starting to disappear from its feet.

"H-Hey! Where are you going?!" I asked in astonishment, not understanding anything.

Yet it continued to smile at me through tears.

I tried to reach out to it, but by the time I got close, it had vanished. The mists had cleared, everything had returned to normal, and the orange beam of the setting sun was reaching towards my face as the sun once again emerged from behind the clouds.

I walked towards the mountainside and sat at its edge. Quietly watching the scenery, I reflected on what had just happened. Perhaps I had been hallucinating.

But what if it wasn't a hallucination?

What if... it wanted to convey a message to me, or maybe it just wanted to see its younger self. But how could it achieve that?

I covered my face with my hands and rubbed my eyes. Nothing made sense. Lost in thought, all my thoughts suddenly quieted in front of the scenery before me. Of course, I had come here to find peace and calm down.

At that moment, I understood. I understood that I had actually accomplished something.

My heart raced. Everything seemed to make sense. Maybe I had succeeded in reaching a peaceful and beautiful future as I wanted. Maybe that's why my elderly self was smiling.

But why didn't it speak at all? Why did it even resist speaking?

Because... because maybe it didn't want the future to change. Of course!

In fact, I had managed to reach the most beautiful future.

Then why did it still come to me and cry?

Because it wanted to see my current state. It wanted to remember how hard I had tried and the efforts I had made to soothe myself.

As I watched the scenery, I couldn't help but smile. Because I understood the message it wanted to convey to me.

Life is small for our internal struggles, yet it is immense for our spirits. Nevertheless, our efforts and pursuit of future happiness are only to make our future peace and every breath we take valuable and honorable.

Maybe inadvertently, this is what I did by coming up here.

Maybe problems are not about overcoming or solving them, but about living with them as part of life.

I stood up. I looked at the scenery again. I felt like I had finally lost the void I had been searching for years and felt an incredible sunrise within me.

Maybe, the most beautiful future had chosen me.

And I had chosen it myself.