It was a bright winter morning. Students were all gathered up in groups to hike up the hill. Ahmed was blabbering to his three friends about some tips his sister gave him to ace the hike. The build-up of excitement was evident from their body language.

While they were at it, they heard the whistle of their sport’s teacher, directing the students up the hill. All the kids started running up, laughing and enjoying their trip to the fullest. Ali took out some snacks to munch on and Hamza joined him.

“This is easier than I anticipated,” said Ahmed while snatching Ali’s pack of crisps. All four of them were utterly thrilled.

“Hey, let’s race! We should be the first to reach the highest point,” said Hamza with enthusiasm, and within moments all four of them were lined up.

When Ali said, “Go!” the quartet rushed up the trail. Within just 10 minutes of running, they reached the highest point, panting, sweating, yet laughing because they had made it to the top like they planned it.

“Wow, we did it so quickly,” cheered Ahsan, while looking away at how small the city appeared from there.

“Oh boy! Hiking is a tiresome, yet most entertaining activity,” said Ahmed.

After a few minutes, the rest of the students and teachers joined in. They had lunch. Later, it started drizzling. The teachers made children play different games until the winter sun started to descend.

“Alright students, that was it! Now, we have to climb down. Do not run on your way back. It is dangerous!” said the sports coach. So everybody started to march back. By then all of them were tired and, therefore, slower than when they had come up to the top.

Ali exclaimed, “We should enjoy the hike down. It would be great if we are the last ones to reach this time.”

To this, Hamza replied, “Yes, I’m in, that’s a great idea!”

Their hike down was going well and slow, just how they decided it to be until Ahsan slipped and sprained his ankle. The other three became worried because they were already way behind the other students, so there was nobody to help them. Since it had rained, it was difficult for all of them to make their way down while supporting Ahsan. They tried to move down cautiously. It was almost dark and cold now.

“Aghh … it hurts so badly. I cannot do this anymore,” exclaimed Ahsan while falling on the ground. Ahmed suggested running down to ask the teacher for help, to which Hamza and Ali refused, because they thought it would take even longer.

After some thought, Ali came up with an idea. He told all of them to take off their T-shirts. He tied the sleeves of two T-shirts together and did the same with the other two.

“C’mon guys! We can do it!” Ali said while wearing the open arm of the T-shirt. Ahmed did the same. With that, they made a small cage-like space in between.

“Oh, what a genius you are!” exclaimed Hamza when he finally figured out what Ali was up to and gave a hand to Ahsan. He helped him stand and took him in between the two friends wearing the tied t-shirts.

Ahsan was very happy because walking was much easier now as he could clutch the tied T-shirt arms from both sides as ropes to hold on. Hamza also came in the centre and buckled his arms around his waist to give him the best possible support. They started hiking down slowly and kept their pace smooth to avoid slipping into a puddle of mud.

Within the next few minutes, they joined their class fellows on the ground. The quartet silently joined others to avoid being caught by their teachers for coming down so late. Ahsan hugged Ahmed for coming up with an impromptu idea and thanked other friends for being so compassionate.

This trip is an unforgettable experience for them.

Published in Dawn, Young World, April 2nd, 2022