Then the water became bitterly cold and we squeezed up and up. We arrived in an icy stream in a moonlit meadow.As I grew I stepped over the rocks to the shore, Maddy beside me. Once I’d reached my full size I was almost dry – only my runners were damp.I was cold anyway. A sharp wind blew down the mountain behind us. We were surrounded by mountains lit by an almost full moon. A few lights flickered in the valley far below us, and a sheer rock wall towered to our left.Aleena said, “There was a fire here, years ago.” I could hear the fear of fire in her voice. “It was started by a lightning strike.”I looked down the mountain at tree trunks burnt clean of branches, still standing long after the fire, with new growth surging up from below. In the moonlight it was all in black and white and shades of grey, but I didn’t think it would be much different in daylight. To paint it, I’d just need to add deep green for the new growth, and a few spots of colour for late-blooming wildflowers.The wind gusted and we shivered.
