“I’m going to go climbing. Would you like to join me?” I asked Hanna.

    “Yes, I’d love to.” Hanna happily accepted my invitation.

    This activity was to raise attention for thalassemia. Over 500 people took part in it. Dressed in orange in the bright sunshine, people looked fresh and joyful. Before the climbing started, some coaches guided us during warm-ups. The group clapped, stretched and jumped along with “We Will Rock You.” We were energized by the rock music and the cheerful interaction.

    As the blockade dropped, the stream of people rushed to the mountain. Hanna and I just walked at a leisurely speed, chatting. We were not eager to win a prize, but got a chance to relax and share our life. We were soon left behind. “I think we could win if the host set a price for the last,” Hanna mocked.

    The mountain was not tall, but quite steep. I was impressed by the kids. They were so energetic and lovely. A little boy walked so fast it was as if he were walking on a flat road.

    “Slow down, baby. You must be tired,” his mother said.

    “No, I’m not,” the little boy replied cheerfully.

    “But I am,” the mother said, out of breath.

    It took effort to climb up to the top, but walking down did not prove easy. As we walked, our legs trembled.

    “I would like to roll down the mountain,” I said.

    “Go ahead,” Hanna said, jokingly.

    “Give me a bucket,” I said.

    Hanna and I moved slowly, hand in hand. Suddenly, we glanced at a boy running and then falling down to the ground. That was really terrifying. Luckily, he was not hurt badly.

    “When I was a little girl, I used to run down a slope as fast as I could. But now I would not dare,” Hanna said. “It seems that we become more timid as we grow older.”

    “As far as I am concerned, it’s not because we get more timid, but we have more concerns,” I said.

    We heard someone playing music.

    “Depending on how I am feeling, I will really like a particular song. I will listen to it again and again, but not get tired of it,” Hanna said.

    “I have the same feeling, too. We might love a song because it matches our feeling at the time,” I said.

    “Currently, I like ‘The Rose’ by West Life,” Hanna said.

    Then we began to sing. Later, I thought of part of another song.

    “Do you know that song?” I asked.

    “Which song?” Hanna asked.

    I could not remember the name or the lyrics. “It’s like…” I began to hum. Then, the little girl beside us asked, “Are you playing the piano?”

    With laughter, our trip came to an end. Hanna and I were so lost in our conversation that we almost missed our bus.

    “213, is that our bus?” Hanna asked.

    “Oh, yeah, wait!”

    We hurried to the bus and got on just in time.