If you haven’t read February 26 yet, you can do so here.

If you stumbled onto this post by accident and haven’t read any of the other stories, head over to this post to find out more about this project.

“Oh my god. I think I’m dying,” Yasmin groaned and came to a stop. Her calves burned, her chest felt tight and she was sure she couldn’t go on any further.

“Here, have some water.” Pippa came to a stop beside her, but Yasmin nudged the water bottle away.

“Won’t help,” she gasped. “Need to not be climbing this stupid mountain anymore.” 

All the information said the Pic St. Louis climb was suitable for people of average fitness level. They had lied. Yasmin went to the gym every day and at home they hiked at least once a month. Pic St. Louis was a whole different beast. Right from the start it had been painful, her hips and back protesting every step. Pippa looked only vaguely affected by the same climb. 

“This view is amazing,” she said as she waited for Yasmin’s breathing to return to normal. Standing still had helped a little but her calves still felt like they were on fire. 

Yasmin turned to take in the view and realized Pippa was right. It was beyond amazing. The kind of view you saw in pictures online and questioned not whether they had been photoshopped but how much. 

“Come on, let’s keep going.” Her calves protested the movement but there really wasn’t a choice, they had to be close to the top. Every step brought a new kind of torture, but Yasmin was determined, mostly because she knew it would make Pippa happy. 

Suddenly, they tumbled over the crest and everything flattened out. If the view  before had been amazing, the view from the top was breathtaking. The view stretched for hundreds of miles as far as Yasmin could tell. This was the kind of view they’d left home for. The kind their friends would be jealous of. Green stretched out until it met a thin strip of beach which shifted into the ocean hues Yasmin had become so familiar with. 

“I wish we could just stay here,” Pippa said as she gazed out. 

“It would save the trouble of climbing down.”

The pair stood at the top until they could no longer deny their return to the ship. The 90 minute trek down would already be pushing it a bit close, but the view had been impossible to turn away from. 

You can read February 28 here.

Thanks for reading! If you’d like even more Pride 365 including cool bonus stories, head over to Patreon and become a supporter.

If you’d like to keep up with Pride 365 and be notified when the ebooks and paperbacks go on sale, subscribe to this email list. If you’d like to see cute photos of my pets and hear about my life as well as new releases, subscribe to this email list.