WARIDI ✔️

Chapter Twenty One

RIVER'S POV

"Dean."

"No."

"Deanie."

"No."

"Please baby."

"You can call me all the pet names you want waridi but I'm not carrying you up this crater when it was your idea to hike up here in the first place."Dean retorted.

I huffed and stopped in the middle of the hiking trail feeling tired. We had been walking for hours and I was exhausted. Dean refused to carry me the rest of the way which did not please me at all. I thought it would be fun to hike up to see the Menengai crater but oh how wrong I had been.

"Okay fine, you go on up without me. I'll be here when you get back."I replied taking a seat on a rock.

My feet were killing me and I could barely catch my breath.

Dean stopped walking and turned to me looking unamused. He backtracked to where I was looking down at me shielding me from the sun. "I am not leaving you, so take a break, drink some water and let's finish this hike. It's only three kilometers more then we get to the top."

Those three kilometers sounded like a death sentence to me but I also knew the view waiting for us up there would be worth it. The Menangai crater was one of Kenya's extinct volcanos with a promise of wonderous photogenic scenery. There were also caves up there but I refused to go exploring in dark hollowed rock formations. I happened to like living thank you very much.

"So I guess us hiking up Mt Kilimanjaro is out of question?"Dean asked me with a teasing glint in his eyes.

Mt Kilimanjaro being the highest mountain in Africa was nestled in northeastern Tanzania close to the Kenyan border was a challenge even for an experienced fit hiker so who was I to think I could? So many movies featured the majestic mountain with multiple documentaries made about it, even one of my favorite childhood films growing up, George of the Jungle was filmed up there. I would have loved to go but unless a helicopter dropped me off at the top, it was not going to happen.

"Yeah no, I think we've both gathered that I'm not big on hiking so that's not going to happen."I replied taking a sip of my water.

"I gathered as much."Dean replied taking my water bottle from me and taking a drink from it.

He had his own water, in his backpack but he still chose to drink mine. I growled at him earning me a smirk in response as he handed me back my water bottle.

"Ready to continue?"Dean asked me five minutes later.

"No but let's get this over and done with."I groaned.

Dean took my hand and helped me to my feet steadying me. He linked our elbows together being the support system I needed to make it the remaining three kilometers.

The wild flowers and plants, bushy grasslands and lush forests made the rest of the hike up much more worth it. I loved being out in nature with wild animals, fresh air with nothing but vast vegetation around it. Having Dean by my side as I enjoyed the most adventurous moments of my life was an added bonus.

The unique vegetation around the Menangai crater was home to some wild animals like mountain reedbuck, mongoose and vervet monkeys. I made Dean stop a couple of times to take photos but he was already used to it so he didn't question me anymore.

"Is it okay if we never go down because I want to live here forever?"I asked Dean once we got to the top.

It was magnificent.

"You just don't want to have to walk back down."Dean retorted.

"True but I mean look at this view."I gushed retrieving my phone to take as many photos as possible.