5:21 PM

adventuring with you

               And a lust for life
                  Keeps us alive
                            Lana

The next morning the sun shone through the minuscule tent. The temperature had dropped throughout the night, the stars were out, and it felt like we had been placed slap bang in the middle of an industrial freezer. So the warm rays were welcomed with open arms and a cuppa.

There was a slight crisp chill in the air, it was fresh and clean and it smelt like grass. Everything you would expect the countryside to smell like.

I went to take a swig of my tea but then realised that I had made the stupid mistake of brushing my teeth before having a drink. Of course it made my English Breakfast taste like English minty shit and I had to force myself to swallow the grim beverage.

I watched as you smiled at the rising sun, the pale light encasing your presence, illuminating all your features, highlighting them.

In that moment I felt euphoric, as if nothing could drag me down from the heights I was at. There was something truly magical about the countryside; how it melted each and every tribulation into tiny fragments of delight.

'Hey Noah,' you started. 'Are you up for a trek in a forest?'

All I wanted to do was act like an eleven year old and play Hobbits with sticks and capes, but I wasn't sure if you would be up for that so I just said yes to your hike. And I could definitely do with a stretch after being cramped on a half deflated air bed all night.

We decided to do an afternoon hike, after brunch and multiple cups of tea. I thought it would be best to do this adventure on a full stomach and you agreed. No one likes 'hangry' people and no one likes to be that 'hangry' person.

The sun had thawed the rolling fields, the once chilled blades of grass were now glistening with droplets of water. It was as if some supreme being above had messily strewn hundreds and thousands of crystals all over. The sight of the grass reflecting the light was so beautiful.

Turning my back to the wonderful scenery, I reached inside the tent for the camping stove and gas. Then I realised we had put all the food in a plastic box at the back of the tent, so I kicked of my black wellies and crawled into the tent.

Once I had found the Heinz Beans, a box of free-range eggs and a pan, I climbed back out of the tent and started on our brunch.

You didn't like eggs and you couldn't just have beans for brunch as that would be a crime, so I shouted for you to get the bread. We were lucky with our camping stove as it had a grill to make toast, so you wouldn't go hungry.

You finished your food before I did, though in all fairness I did heap my cold and sharp metallic tray with copious amounts of beans, and started to put on thick woolly socks.

Once I had cleaned and cleared away the pots and dishes, I changed into hike appropriate clothing. As I was tying the laces of my walking boots, you shouted my name.

'Noah how much water will need, do you think we will need a compass incase we get lost? Oh my days what happens if one of us gets a nasty deep cut, we will definitely need a first aid kit.' you rambled on.

'You will be carrying all this.' I shouted back.

You had soon got a backpack sorted and kitted out, we were prepared for anything that would cross our path. Not only did we have more or less the entire contents of a pharmacy in there, but we also had emergency protein bars and sugar drinks just in case one of us fainted from low blood sugar, which looking back was quite honestly pointless.

We then set off, down a pebbled path encased by a decrepit dry stone wall that was crumbling to dust. It mirrored the countryside of North Yorkshire and the sense of familiarity in an unknown place confused me.

We walked down a gently sloping hill, through fields of wheat and barley until we came to a soft flowing stream.

You bent down and dipped your finger into the clear water, I copied and submerged my whole hand under. It was cold and my hand numbed almost instantly.

The afternoon sun shone down onto the water, making it sparkle like thousands of diamonds. Right there in that moment I felt totally at peace and nothing could bring me down.

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