Chapter 18: the Peak

The next morning at breakfast, Mr Keaton asked me quietly, "Lynda, how do you feel about having another go at the Peak this morning?"

That previous feeling of dread immediately rose up in me and I just stared at the table top without responding.

"I'm not trying to pressure you, Lynda, but I think it would help you overcome your fears. You can stay close to me and I'll make sure you're safe."

I guess he was right, I had to face up to it, didn't I? I took a breath and replied glumly, "Okay."

I stayed close to Mr Keaton all right, I held his hand nearly the whole way. He tried to teach me about the bush as we went along.

"Take note of that tree, Lynda. It's quite distinctive. We go to the right of it on the way up and it will be on our left when we come back. Understand?"

"Yeah."

"Now, we go around this big clumpy shrub, but make sure we continue in the same direction."

"Okay."

"This curve is where you went off the track."

I gripped his hand tighter.

The ground was gently sloping upwards, and then, quite suddenly it seemed, we emerged from the trees and were confronted by a small rocky hill.

"It's not very big, Mr Keaton."

"No, it's not, but you can see that the top sits well above the tree canopy and allows good views all around."

I was uplifted by an enormous sense of relief. I'd gotten through that frightening green/brown world and now it was but a short climb to conquer the Peak.

Randolph sat down on a rock and announced, "I'll wait here for you guys."

Uh-uh, no way, Randolph. I was excited and grabbed his hand, dragging him up. "Come on, Randy. It's only a little way now."

"Aw, Lynda."

We scrambled up through the rocks with Mr Keaton behind us providing occasional directions. We reached the top; I'd done it and the view was great.

Mr Keaton loaned me the pair of binoculars he had brought in his backpack. I could see the camp ground and village across the wide expanse of water on the other side of the lake.

Mr Keaton was pointing out things and said, "The lake is actually a dam, Lynda. You can't see the dam wall from here because it's down that way to the right behind those ridges."

"It's really high, Lynda," Randolph enthused. "We should take her down and show her, Dad."

"Yeah, maybe," he replied, non-committal.

I felt a lot better on the way back but I still stayed close to the others.