Travelling

Life is too short to spend it on hesitation. Once when I was 18 I started my day with buying a ticket to Lviv. Simple story – a company of teenagers decided to have a trip to the Carpathians. Backpacks, tents, jars and, of course, a guitar - all the treasures we had.
A night in the train, several hours hitchhike. Our goal was achieved, we found ourselves among the wild wood. Our five-day trip was not very hard, we planned to climb the Goverla mountain and have a pedestrian hike along the Chornohora range.
The beginning of summer in this desolate place was like a dream after the landscapes of the industrial city where we spent long winter. We couldn`t believe it was true. We enjoyed the blue sky with small white clouds that looked like fantastic animals, looked at majestic mountain peaks with our eyes wide opened, swallowed fresh air and were filled with the idyll of Hutsul villages.
At first it was like a fairy-tale, then step-by-step our hike turned into the severe trial. The weather changed, the wind was blowing and it rained cats and dogs. We won the summit and needed to go back. The last morning began with an awful cold and a hail, our clothes was totally wet, we didn`t drink tea for 2 days cause couldn`t make fire (poor students, we had no gas-jet). That day we didn`t see each other because of the fog, the wind took away our voices, we were going like blind kitties in the first days of their lives. In one moment I stumbled over a stone and fell to the ground. I was dirty, tired like hell… It was a hopeless situation, my friends went far away, I had no strength to cry, just looked in that milked fog.
I closed my eyes but suddenly felt something warm near my hand. It was a Labrador, a big dog that looked at me and waited when I come to my senses. I didn`t remember how much time it took me to raise. I staggered on my feet and followed the dog. We were walking for a half of an hour before I saw my mate. He started looking for me after the group understood that I dropped behind. After warm embraces we looked back to see my saver, but the dog disappeared. What it was, I don`t know till now. Maybe, a fortuity.
Thinking about this story, I understand that we were very young and believed in magic. Our hearts were opened, we were pure in mind. Nowadays we sometimes take our old guitar and remember that crazy experiment. And I`m sure we are alive. Cause we are still ready to buy a new ticket as soon as some of us will say: “Hey, guys, let`s go!”