Mount Everest (Flash Fiction #4)

Lil, a retiree and a widow, is talking with her daughter Dana.

Lil: “I am going to Nepal with my friend Su next week.”

Dana:”Why, Mom? You are wasting your retirement savings. Why Nepal? You are not thinking of climbing Mount Everest, are you?”

Lil: “Oh, Dana, just a tourist. It’s said Nepal has the highest Buddhist monastery in the world, closest to heaven one can ever get.”

Dana:”Mom, you are a healthy active retiree. You are not going to heaven any time soon. Also would you please not talking about heaven, hell, and your celestial funeral arrangement so much? Especially not in front of your grandson.”

Lil: “Oh, Dana, you are so much like your father. Anything out of your customary way is a big discomfort to you. It’s also a good thing. You are disciplined, reliable, and sweet.”

Dana: “Mom, are you trying to say I am boring, just like Dad? OK. Go to Nepal, visit the highest monastery, climb Everest, freeze your fingers and toes off.”

Lil: “You make me laugh. You can’t climb Everest whenever you feel like it. There are years of training involved and most can’t even qualify for the base camp after all these hassles. I am just a regular tourist, praying in their temple for a good afterlife. By the way, don’t you think freezing myself solid in Mount Everest is a much better choice than dying in a retirement home?”

Dana: “Mom, stop that. You are freaking me out.”