Shangri-La

Chapter Four

As I finish penning the last words of the morning's entry, I close my journal and sigh. I carefully tuck it down into my pack and stand, dusting my hands off.

I had developed a habit of looking into the past for enlightenment, but I couldn't seem to glean any new details from reading over my latest entries. It was frustrating.

I make my way into the other room and help Djakk pack for the trip ahead.

We gather things for our expedition in near silence, a strange emotion hanging in the air that had been absent the previous day and night. Whenever I glance at Djakk, I can see his face is a mask of concentration, and occasionally I see his lips moving as he mutters quietly to himself.

I decide not to say anything, as he seemed truly lost to his own thoughts, and as it so happened, I had quite a few of my own to muddle through as well.

Before I'm truly ready for it, everything is packed, and I'm changed into my original climbing gear. Djakk is wearing something similar to the outfit he had on when we first met, but with a few more layers and a larger bag.

I gather the map up from the table, folding it carefully and tucking it into my pack as he comes into the kitchen, rope in hand, looking at the floor.

I watch him a long moment, unhappy about the silence between us and how much his joyous spirit seemed dampened. Something clicks in my mind, and I clear my throat, Djakk looking at me directly for the first time since that moment by the fire.

"Djakk, I... what's going on?" I ask, and he gives me a look I can't decipher. "You haven't been silent like this since we met; what is going on? What's changed? Where is the Yeti I met yesterday, full of spirit and seemingly ready for anything?" 

He stares at me for a minute, the air painfully brittle between us.

Suddenly, he strides purposefully toward me, his eyes shining with a fire I hadn't seen before. It's unsettling, but I hold my ground as he comes to stand before me, towering head and shoulders above me. 

He looks down at me, and I almost seem to see a sneer on his face in the flickering light of the fire. His hand comes up and gently caresses my cheek, and he suddenly smiles, but it's painfully sad.

"If you don't know already, then it's nothing for you to worry about," he says softly, and my heart ached painfully.

His hand falls and he steps back, clearing his throat. He glances away, taking a deep breath before looking back, and suddenly he's Djakk again. 

It was impossible to pinpoint, but something changed in that moment, and I felt as though I'd just lost something incredibly important. He grins as he always did, but it's somehow empty.

"Let's head out, then, shall we? I'm dying to see what we can find." He turns and heads into the other room, and I hear the door creak open.

The fire flickers wildly as a cold breeze swirls in, and the flames die abruptly with a hiss. I shiver against the chill, unnerved at the possible implications of such an omen, and follow Djakk outside, carrying my pack in one hand and wiping away sudden tears with the other.

Once outside, Djakk quickly sets up the same makeshift harness with the rope as he did the previous day. He hesitates a moment before turning and lashing the rope to himself, and quickly uses the mantle and such to pull me close to his back. There's a long moment afterward where he stops and I can feel him taking a few deep breaths under my hands. He suddenly looks over his shoulder with that same empty grin and gathers up the rest of his gear.

"Alright. We're all set to go," he says a bit too cheerfully.

His hand comes back and gently squeezes my thigh, a sliver of the old Djakk coming through in his touch. I bite back the question on my lips as he starts to stride toward the exit. I didn't know how to ask the question I wanted to know the answer to, so I held my tongue.