It was getting dark. It was about time to settle down and eat a decent meal. We found a nice campsite beside the stream at the foot of the mountains. And to my surprise, Pag-o was able to catch a wild chicken, and I was as happy as a kid unwrapping a Christmas present. I was going to eat a chicken for the first time in 7 months, caught in the wild, fresh and organic. I couldn't wait to devour it like a hungry wolf. Then I realized why they had asked me to bring only a half kilo of rice. We would all depend on nature for food.
My hunter-gatherer friends brought some wild orchids to our campground. They will sell this when we get back. I went around the rocky mountain and gathered some for myself as well, though I know that I should take nothing but pictures. I just thought that it would be nice to have the plant as a nice memento of my quest, feeling like an ancient warrior bringing home some loot after a victorious war.
After a well-deserved meal, we sat down on the cold ground as our campfire flickered like dancers in yellow dresses, exchanging stories between two different worlds, living in one same home.
As the night grew colder, we lay down on our own comfortable bed behind stones of various sizes, like soldiers hiding behind army tanks. A cold November night in a desolate corner of the mountains, a thousand glimmering stars lit up the darkness, there I was again, lying and gazing up above the sky in pleasure.
As the night grew colder, we lay down on our own comfortable bed behind stones of various sizes, like soldiers hiding behind army tanks. A cold November night in a desolate corner of the mountains, a thousand glimmering stars lit up the darkness, there I was again, lying and gazing up above the sky in pleasure.
My friends were in deep slumber, cramped around the fire, while I lay there across them, witnessing the whole fantasy unfolded. It was too good to let it pass. I felt the cool breeze of the wind whispering to my ear like a lover. The dark foggy mountains became visible beneath the pale moon as the relaxing sound of the rushing water from the stream broke the deep silence of the night, and a few fireflies lit the face of the mountains from time to time. This was a very spectacular moment. I had watched this somewhere else before, a familiar epic scene . . . or maybe this was in my dream.
And again, this is what it is to be happy . . . .
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