Scaling the Cliffs

The climb was grueling. The heat from below chased them up the rock face, making every stone hot to the touch. Maya’s fingers bled as she scrambled for handholds, her boots slipping on the loose shale. Above her, Makolo climbed with effortless grace, despite carrying the baby.

Every time Maya felt her strength failing, she would look up. Kojo was looking down at her over Makolo’s shoulder. Amazingly, the little gorilla was still clutching the yellow dandelion in his mouth, keeping it safe from the wind and the climbing embers. That tiny speck of yellow was a beacon of hope against the gray and orange landscape.

“Just a little further,” Maya muttered to herself, her muscles screaming in protest.

Suddenly, a loose ledge crumbled beneath Maya’s feet. She gasped as she slipped, sliding down several feet before her fingers caught a narrow crevice. She hung suspended over the smoky abyss, her grip slipping.

“Help!” she cried out instinctively.

Before she could lose her grip entirely, a massive, leathery hand wrapped around her wrist. Makolo had reached down from a flat ledge above. With a single, fluid pull, the silverback hoisted her up onto the safety of the rocky plateau.

Maya collapsed onto the stone, gasping for clean air. Above them, the smoke was beginning to thin, replaced by the cool, blue air of the high ridge.

“Thank you,” she managed to whisper, looking up at the giant.

Makolo simply grunted, turning his head to look back down at the valley.