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And I ascend

20

BANKS MORETTI

Covertly, I pop three Advil inThe pain meds aren’t forSulli do death-defying shit It’s just for the thunder-fucking headache

Though, watching her cliility are on full display as she scales the rock over and over Nothing I could accomplish

Right now, the harder pill to s is knowing I can’t do anything for her It’s all Sulli up there, and I can only protect her once she’s back on solid ground

The upside: she’s still cli with rope

She’ll be practicing for a while, until she’s positive she can cliear

Akara is besidee kissed her With Sulli in the air and us on the ground, we only have each other’s company Cell service went to hell once we left our campsite, and our comms connection was lost too

Akara has been sitting Leaning against a flat rock that juts up like an arrowhead

I can’t sit down

My ar her atteain

She leaps between one protruding rock to another, a cavernous hole separating them Each time she tries, she misses the second handhold, and her rope catches her before she falls

“She’s gotta do that without a harness,” I whisper more to myself

Akara ap She’s done larger I think she’s just unfocused”

I uncrossher?”

“Probably,” he says, but he doesn’t seem worried “She’s careful She won’t free-solo until she’s ready” His confidence in her—and lack of blatant outright fear—reminds me how much he’s seen her climb over the years How much he’s probably watched Sulli’s dad and sister also scale mountains

I’ve only just recently tagged along in the past year—when Akara created his security fir me on her detail

“Sit down,” Akara suggests “It’s alorse if you don’t relax”

Taking his recoainst the same rock beside him We’re alain Rope catches her and she gingerly swings back to the same handhold

“The Rooster has a girlfriend,” Akara suddenly says

“You’re still keeping tabs on him?”