The cool, fresh mountain air made the girls sleep peacefully throughout the night. However, Igashu’s mind was restless. His ankle injury played on his mind. He wondered how long it would be before his ankle recovered fully. Silently, getting up from his bed, he limped out of the house and sat under the closest street light. He unwound the bandage from his ankle and carefully examined the injury. Yes, he did have some swelling, but it didn’t look too bad. He gently stood on his injured foot. A shooting pain ran down his toes, causing him to howl in pain.

Sherpa Tenzing, a light sleeper, immediately rushed out and was by Igashu’s side. “Relax, Igashu. Give the injury some time to heal. I assure you, you will be fighting fit soon. Patience, my boy”. He placed Igashu’s arm over his shoulder and helped Igashu get back to Koso’s house. “Get some sleep. We have a long way to go”.

“Yes, Sherpa, more for everyone else than myself; I must get well soon”.

The Sherpa was up at the break of dawn and gently shook Igashu, Myauka and Kiana awake. All three were light sleepers and were up immediately. As soon as they refreshed themselves, Koso’s wife served them a glass of warm goat’s milk with honey. “Here, I have packed some nourishing meals. Have it on the way”, she said, handing them a large cloth bag.

Kiana thoughtfully said, “we need to change Igashu’s bandage. Let me see how your injured ankle is doing”?

Koso’s wife gently ran her hand over Igashu’s ankle. She stated, “it feels warm, and I can see noticeable swelling. You need to reach Tezu soon. Koso, you should take the truck and drive them to Tezu. Once they finish with the doctor, drive them home. If they go on foot, they will reach Tezu only after sunset and be forced to break the journey there”.

“Hmmm. Good suggestion. I will get the truck out. Tenzing, you can use that ramp to have the yaks and Zino get on to the truck”. Saying that, Koso left to fetch Zino, Ayk, and Kay.

Zino spotted Koso from a distance and came darting across. Tenzing got Zino, Kay, and Ayk onto the truck and securely closed the rear panel. Koso and Tenzing made Igashu comfortable in the back seat of the truck cabin whilst the girls sat on either side. Tenzing, Igashu, and Mayuka bid farewell to Koso’s wife and thanked her for the lovely stay as Koso started the truck engine.

“We will be in Tezu by noon. It’s a comfortable drive. Relax and enjoy the scenery and the dawn-lit mountains”, said Koso. The sound of the distant waterfalls was like music to the ears. This blissful setting didn’t last too long. The low clouds descended onto the road, and before long, the visibility was reduced to zero. Koso had to pull over to the side as driving became too dangerous. The low clouds passed off as quickly as they set in, and before long, they were back on their way to Tezu.

Koso brought them to the Tezu General Hospital by early afternoon. Tenzing, Mayuka, and Kiana escorted Igashu inside, where a surgeon carefully examined Igashu’s injured ankle. Much to everyone’s relief, the surgeon declared no fracture or dislocation. “Young man, make sure you take complete bed rest for two weeks. You may resume your trekking only after that”, said the surgeon.

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Mayuka and Kiana ran out of the hospital excitedly and gave Koso the excellent news. Koso was equally delighted. “That’s great news. We should leave for home immediately. Only then can we make it by sunset. I have already informed Igashu’s dad that we will be returning this evening”.

There was excitement in the air. Igashu and the girls were extremely pleased to hear that the injury was not serious. They were thrilled about being home in a few hours with their loved ones. Tenzing and Koso were also in good spirits as they looked forward to meeting up with their good friends.