You Raise Me Up (Artemi Panarin)

39| View From the Top

Valerie

The world is a beautiful place. Now I've only been free for about a week and a half now, and I've spent that time here and there, so I haven't seen much of the world. But I've seen more of the world in this week and a half than I had my whole life. I've met so many incredible people, and even though I have no clue as to what they're saying here, they have the biggest smile on their faces. And that's what matters.

As for today, Artemi was insistent that we hiked up one of the mountains here in Russia. We would be horse back for part of it which made me happy, but I was still a little nervous considering I went from no physically activity to climbing a mountain. I mean a little over a month ago I couldn't look outside without getting sick and now I'm supposed to hike up here? That's a pretty big jump if you ask me.

But I was ready for a challenge. And if I can't do it I'll just jump on my horse and hope for the best.

We get to the bottom of the mountain pretty early in the morning. We left Rafiki with Nina and Vladimir but picked up Artemi's friend Vladimir Tarasenko and his wife Yana for the trip. I had heard so many great things about them, but this is the first time we were able to meet.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you" Yana smiles. "I honestly thought Artemi was lying when he said that you two were together" she claims and I giggle.

"Believe it or not, but not only am I with Artemi, but he is the only guy I've ever been with" I admit.

"Really" she gasps.

"It's true" I nod.

"It would be great if we could all find the one we're supposed to be with first and never have to go through all that other crap" she sighs.

"How do you know he's the one for me" I smirk.

"I know who you are. I follow you on social media and I watch your videos. I know things" she smiles.

"Well you're not wrong" I agree. "I think I got lucky and my first guy is also my last guy."

"Must be nice" she groans.

"Hey, everything happens for a reason" I say. I place my hand on her shoulder as she smiles down at me. She was pretty tall, being a model and all.

"You really are the cutest thing in the world" she claims and I laugh.

"I have a lot to look forward to" I admit.

"Is this your first time hiking" she wonders.

"It's my first time doing most anything" I chuckle.

"Well you're in good hands" she insists.

Eventually we get started on our day long trek up the mountain. More of it ended up being horse back but there was parts that we had to walk with the horses so they didn't get hurt. We stop for a few breaks but for the most part we kept on moving. And after about six hours of hiking we make it to the top of the mountain.

I stand at the peak with the biggest smile on my face. I feel Artemi's arms wrap around me and I lean into him. He lightly kisses my shoulder blade and I smile to myself.

"It's beautiful, isn't it" he asks.

"How did you ever leave this place" I ask.

"Because I still got the most beautiful sight I've ever seen with me wherever I go now" he claims and I start to blush.

"Real cheeky" I giggle as he holds me tight.

"Do you want me to grab your bag" he offers.

"That would be great" I admit.

I said that if I made it to the top of this thing without dying then I would make a video. I was trying to get back into making videos and maybe even vlogging now that I have something to vlog. So Artemi grabs my bag and hands me the camera. It was one of the fancy ones that I could record myself and still see what I looked like. I start the camera up and didn't even have to force a smile.

"Hey guys! It's Val and Artemi here, and we're on top of the Altai Mountain" I say showing it off. I mean this place was so incredibly beautiful so I spin around so they could see where I was. Maybe I could get them here with me.

"I'm here too" Yana says and I happily skip over to her so she's in the shot.

"Everyone this is my new friend Yana. I have friends now" I laugh and she rolls her eyes. "She's actually really cool and hockey wife royalty so I'm kinda really lucky to have met her" I claim and she playfully shoves me.

"Anyway, I wanted to make this video to show that I didn't die trying to climb up this mountain, but I also wanted to see what life looked like from the top of the peak for once, and not from the ground. From up here you can see everything. You can see it all from here, I don't have to look up anymore. I can look out on the rest of my life and my neck won't hurt anymore" I laugh.

"You've always been at the top" Artemi insists.

"I've always been in my room" I correct and he laughs. "To me, being on top doesn't mean that I have a lot of money or followers or my net worth is in the billions. I couldn't tell you what any of those numbers are. But I can tell you what real worth is, what it means to be at the top.

It's happiness. Something that you can't give a number to. And I was happy before, don't get me wrong, but that feeling is like nothing I've ever felt before. To be up here, to be able to see the horizon and know that there's still life on the other side of it. This is what it's like to be on top" I smile.

I end the video and close the camera up. I start to put it into my back before I feel Artemi pick me up and throw me over his shoulder. I laugh as he starts to walk around.

"Put me down" I squeal as he laughs at me.

"I wanted to show you something" he claims.

"I can walk just fine" I assure him.

"I know. But it's not often I'm the tallest guy" he admits.

"So that's why you like me" I tease. He finally sets me down and I adjust myself.

I turn around and see the sun setting over the water in the distance. The sun reflected into the water turning it into a bunch of different colors and I smile.

"Wow" I gasp.

"Do you want me to get your camera" he asks and I shake my head.

"No" I insist. "I just want you."