Therapy Bits

“Ciara, I’ve made the executive decision to…”

“…cancel the mission,” Rowan finished, exhaling as though the words themselves weighed more than the pack on his shoulders.

Ciara stopped mid-step on the frost-crusted trail. “Cancel? We’re a half-day from the summit.”

“Exactly,” Rowan said. “And the storm’s moving faster than predicted. If we push on, we may not make it back.”

The wind climbed around them like a living thing, tugging at their jackets, whispering warnings in sharp, icy breaths. Ciara turned her face toward the distant peak—a jagged crown of white, gleaming faintly through the moving wall of clouds. She’d dreamed of seeing it up close since she was ten. For a moment, disappointment twisted through her chest.

Rowan touched her arm gently. “We can try again. I’m not risking you for a view, no matter how spectacular.”

Ciara swallowed. Rowan rarely spoke with such soft certainty, and it disarmed her more effectively than any blizzard ever could. “You’re stubborn,” she said.

“I prefer ‘strategically cautious.’ Come on. We’ll camp lower, ride out the storm, and head back at dawn.”

They descended as the sky darkened to the color of bruised steel. Snow began to fall—first in hesitant specks, then in thick curtains. By the time they reached the sheltered hollow Rowan had spotted earlier, the storm was a roaring presence above them, all fury and frozen teeth.

Inside the tent, the world shrank to the rustle of nylon, the glow of a small lantern, and the calm steadiness of Rowan’s voice as he told stories to keep the cold from settling in their bones.

Ciara leaned back, listening. Maybe turning back wasn’t failure. Maybe it was its own kind of summit—choosing safety, choosing patience, choosing each other.

“Next time,” she murmured, “we make it to the top.”

Rowan smiled. “Next time, we do it together.”

Executive – Word of the Day Challenge