Lila lived with her family in a little village on the south bank of a river where it emerged from the forest. Summer solstice was her favorite day of the year because it was their tradition to watch the sun set behind the mountain peaks.
Every summer as the solstice approached groups of climbers passed through the village headed for the mountains. Their backpacks were enormous, but still not large enough to hold all of their climbing gear. Ice axes and crampons and all sorts of equipment Lila didn't recognize were strapped to the outsides of their packs. The jangling could be heard long after the climbers had disappeared from sight.
On the day of the solstice the villagers packed picnic dinners and they too crossed the swaying bridge and followed the path through the forest. It was a long walk, gentle at first and then steeper as the forest thinned. As the altitude increased the trees became small and disfigured by the cold and wind and snow of the frightful winters.
Lila's favorite moment was when the mountain peaks came into sight, high and rugged, still snow-capped at the highest elevations. The sun glinted off the ice fields as the villagers ate their picnic dinners. Lila watched the wind blowing the clouds across the peaks and the light shifting through a myriad of colors with the setting sun. The little girl promised herself that someday she would climb those peaks. She would stand on the top of the world and watch the villagers moving slowly toward home, the beams of their torches like a string of diamonds at her feet. She glanced back one more time and sealed the promise to herself with a nod.
A few years later, when Lila was ten, she was helping her mother dig potatoes in the garden. She was cleaning the dirt from the potatoes and tossing them into the woven basket when she turned to Mother and said quietly, “I'm going to climb the mountains.”
Her mother Maya continued digging. “What did you say?”
“I am going to be a mountain climber.”
Maya stood up slowly, her hands on her aching back. “What are you talking about, Lila?”
“Mother, I want to be a mountain climber when I grow up. I want to stand on the tops of the mountains and not just look up at them and wonder what it is like.”
“Lila, stop saying such things. Your father died climbing the mountains. I am not losing you, too. Stop even thinking such nonsense. Now get back to work. It's almost time to go in and prepare dinner.”
Maya and Lila lived with Father's brother and his family after her Father died. This was the custom in their village. At dinner that night Uncle asked her, “What is this I hear from your Mother? Why would you worry her by saying such a thing? What would your father say?”
Silence spread around the table as her cousins quit talking so they could hear what was being said. Lila was never in trouble so this should be interesting.
“Uncle, I didn't mean to worry Mother, but Father wants me to climb the mountains,” Lila replied respectfully.
Her uncle looked at her thoughtfully and asked, “What do you mean?”
“Father comes to me in my dreams and tells me how beautiful the world is from the mountain tops. He says the gods will touch you when you climb high into their world. He says, 'Lila, you must climb so you can experience the joy of being with the gods.'”
Everyone stared at her in silence. Finally, Uncle said, “You are being selfish. You must stay here and help your mother. When you are a young woman, you will work in the tea house and help support the family. I am now head of your household and I forbid you to climb the mountains.”
Lila lowered her eyes and looked down at her hands clasped in her lap. She nodded her head as if in agreement, but she was secretly renewing her promise to herself that she would reach the mountain tops.
Her cousins teased her for several weeks. “Hey, don't you know you're too young?” “Don't you know girls can't climb mountains?” “Who do you think you are, a Sherpa?” Lila cast her eyes down and ignored the badgering. The cousins soon grew tired of their jokes and left her alone.
She continued as if nothing had happened but quietly began preparing. She offered to help carry the heavy baskets brought in from the fields and the firewood cut in the forest. She ran the trails through the woods and scrambled the rock paths to the higher elevations. When the mountaineers passed through the village, she talked with them and learned as much as she could.
When Lila was fourteen, Uncle allowed her to hire on as assistant to an expedition cook; the family was always in need of money. She traveled with the climbers to the snow line. She turned her wages over to Uncle but kept the tips, well hidden in a secret place in the forest, to pay for her dream to climb.
Lila woke before dawn on the morning after her eighteenth birthday. The brilliant stars were losing their twinkle as alpenglow suffused the sky with the palest of pink. She placed a letter to Mother in the kitchen and silently slipped out the door. When pale pink turned to blazing orange, Lila was miles from home and her tears had dried. She was on her way to bringing her dream to life.
She had heard more than enough about the vagaries of Kathmandu, so she headed for a less famous climbing center. The Himalayas stretched east to west the entire length of her country and there were many destinations other than Everest to attract trekkers and climbers from all around the world.
Lila knew that without the support of her family and village it would be difficult to become a climbing guide. However, she quickly found a position on the kitchen staff at one of the new tea houses recently built to serve the soaring influx of trekkers. At every opportunity she moved closer to the mountains until she was at one of the remote rustic lodges.
No matter how tired she was Lila wrote a few lines to Mother every night. “Mother, my heart yearns to see you and the family. I talk to foreigners as often as possible, and my English is much better. I am also learning many useful phrases in several other languages. I like the Americans very much. They are open and friendly and like to talk with me. The people from India treat me like a servant. The people of Japan are very polite, and I like learning their language. I am including some foreign spices for you to try. Please tell everyone I am well, and I love them.” She always included as much money as she could spare.
“Mother, I am now working in remote areas where there are no tea houses and the trekkers camp in tents. This is challenging and I am learning so much. I met a woman guide and she taught me how to use some of her climbing equipment. She was so kind and encouraging. She told me about climbing schools for women and I have applied. I am so excited. Please say a prayer for me that I might be accepted.”
“Mother, I think of you every day when I say my prayers. I miss you so very much. The mountains here are high and beautiful. The stars are brilliant and the winds are fierce. Father comes to me in my dreams more often when I am high in the mountains. Tell the family I love them and miss them.”
“Mother, I hope you are well. I am happier than I ever thought possible. I have been accepted by a climbing school for Nepali women. Dawa Yangzum Sherpa is one of the instructors here. She is the most famous woman climber in our country. Please say an extra prayer that I may excel in this endeavor. I look forward to receiving your letters at the Khumbu Climbing Center next month.”
“Mother, the teachers say I have the potential to become an excellent climber. I have been offered an opportunity to take the advanced classes in exchange for helping with the beginning classes. I have gratefully and humbly accepted this honor. Thank you for the warm hat and gloves you made for me. Your work is so beautiful, and everyone admires the lovely colors and pattern.”
“Mother, please do not worry. Safety is paramount here. We learn to use climbing and rescue equipment properly to prevent injuries, but that is just the beginning. Learning to understand the weather and the conditions on the mountain is critical. Maintaining good health is so much more complicated than I ever thought. And snow science; I had never heard of such a thing. I am extraordinarily happy here and I pray that you and Uncle can be happy for me.”
“Mother, I have wonderful news. Dawa is leading a trek to Everest base camp next year and she has asked me to assist her. This is the greatest honor, more than I ever thought to have. And just imagine, it will be all women. No men to criticize us for not knowing our places.”
“Mother, trekking season ends in a few weeks. I'll be home soon. I am so excited. I have missed you and Uncle and the family so much that sometimes I cry when I think about you. Thank you for all of your letters. I can hardly wait to see everyone. I love you so much and pray for you all.”
Lila was walking up the steep path to her village, exhausted from the long trip home, excited to see her family and neighbors. She was trying to picture the faces and remember the names of each person in the village. It had been four years since she left home, and she wondered how much everyone had changed. She only had a few miles to go when a young man stepped from the verge and said, “Cousin, I would like to walk with you.”
Startled, Lila looked carefully at him and realized, indeed, this was her cousin Tej. Her eyes burned as she blinked quickly, trying not to cry. Despite what Mother had written last year, she had been so afraid that she would be ostracized for having disobeyed Uncle and flouted the cultural norms. She embraced Tej in a tight hug as relief and joy flooded her heart. Side by side they continued toward the village.
A little later a girl jumped from the edge of the forest and flung her arms around Lila's neck. “Cousin, cousin, I am so glad to see you. Please let me walk with you. Tell me about being a climber. I don't want to get married. I hate it here. I want to leave the village and meet people, and make money, and be a climber, too.” Looking into her face, Lila recognized Chana, no longer a child but almost a woman, and hugged her tight. She was now sniffing from all the tears she was trying to hold back.
The closer to the village they came the more children were waiting to walk with her. Lila grabbed the littlest one around the waist and tossed her joyfully into the air. She sat her on the top of her pack behind her head. Where the path reached the village gateway, Lila saw Mother and Uncle waiting to greet her. It looked as though perhaps the entire village was with them. Flags flew from all of the poles as if it were a festival day. Lila's tears finally broke free and coursed down her face as she hurried the last few yards into Mother's outstretched arms. She was finally home.
Author: Laura Nicol
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