It's almost sunset.
Extremely exhausted, he sat on the huge, jagged, wind sculptured, granite monolith that marked the summit of Monte Trésor. Rogelio Pagoto breathed a sigh of relief as he gazed across the western horizon. As seconds went by, the perfectly round midsummer, evening sun had been gradually hiding behind the distant, rugged hills. With the priceless vista in front of him, all he wanted was to savour this moment!
"Finally!" he said.
The random patches of orange lichens covering the gigantic rock he was sitting on had turned golden-- as if glistening against the final glow of the day. Minutes later, darkness engulfed the mountain range! Then Rogelio thought about his backpack- it was almost empty. The three-day journey up to the peak had completely depleted all his provisions. So as the unseen forest crickets started chirping, he felt another challenge he's facing right now. Darkness... frigidity... starvation.
But there's something waiting for him! According to the legend, Monte Trésor promises brightness, warmth and abundance. Rogelio believed all the tales that had been told about this mystic mountain so armed with faith, courage, and determination, he took the treacherous, less travelled trek and luckily conquered it.
Troubled, he stayed lying on the rock for a few minutes blankly staring on the starless sky. The night was pitch black.
Rogelio finally decided to stand and as he laid his right hands flat on the supposedly lichen-carpeted granite surface, within the crevice, he surprisingly felt a small purse half-full of round, soft and smooth tiny balls. His heart rate had risen, unusually beating stronger! He quickly grabbed the purse believing that it might be the treasure that everyone had been searching for!
As he was excitedly loosening up the purse's string, he suddenly spotted something that's glistening ten metres away! Rogelio was on a serious dilemma because according to the legend, there were plenty of treasures interspersed within the moss-covered rock, scattered around the summit Monte Trésor. The worthy recipient, however, could only possess ONE (and not both) to achieve happiness and success in life! So now he had to choose- take the vintage purse he was holding or grab the one that's glittering at a distance.
------------------------------
NOTE: 'Trésor' is a French word for treasure.
Extremely exhausted, he sat on the huge, jagged, wind sculptured, granite monolith that marked the summit of Monte Trésor. Rogelio Pagoto breathed a sigh of relief as he gazed across the western horizon. As seconds went by, the perfectly round midsummer, evening sun had been gradually hiding behind the distant, rugged hills. With the priceless vista in front of him, all he wanted was to savour this moment!
"Finally!" he said.
The random patches of orange lichens covering the gigantic rock he was sitting on had turned golden-- as if glistening against the final glow of the day. Minutes later, darkness engulfed the mountain range! Then Rogelio thought about his backpack- it was almost empty. The three-day journey up to the peak had completely depleted all his provisions. So as the unseen forest crickets started chirping, he felt another challenge he's facing right now. Darkness... frigidity... starvation.
But there's something waiting for him! According to the legend, Monte Trésor promises brightness, warmth and abundance. Rogelio believed all the tales that had been told about this mystic mountain so armed with faith, courage, and determination, he took the treacherous, less travelled trek and luckily conquered it.
Troubled, he stayed lying on the rock for a few minutes blankly staring on the starless sky. The night was pitch black.
Rogelio finally decided to stand and as he laid his right hands flat on the supposedly lichen-carpeted granite surface, within the crevice, he surprisingly felt a small purse half-full of round, soft and smooth tiny balls. His heart rate had risen, unusually beating stronger! He quickly grabbed the purse believing that it might be the treasure that everyone had been searching for!
As he was excitedly loosening up the purse's string, he suddenly spotted something that's glistening ten metres away! Rogelio was on a serious dilemma because according to the legend, there were plenty of treasures interspersed within the moss-covered rock, scattered around the summit Monte Trésor. The worthy recipient, however, could only possess ONE (and not both) to achieve happiness and success in life! So now he had to choose- take the vintage purse he was holding or grab the one that's glittering at a distance.
------------------------------
NOTE: 'Trésor' is a French word for treasure.
