Chapter Seven - The Keeper of the Mountain

CHAPTER SEVEN

The Keeper of the Mountain

THE TWO PIPS stared at each other.
Same smooth gray stone. Same chip on the side. Same curious sparkle in their tiny eyes.

Bumble’s jaw dropped.
“Okay… I’ve eaten a lot of honey, but even I know this ain’t normal.”

The second Pip stepped forward.
“I am The Keeper of the Mountain,” he said calmly.
“I was you… or I will be you… or I might have been you. It’s complicated.”

Pip blinked hard.
“You’re me?”

The Keeper nodded.
“I’m the part of you that stayed behind.
The part that believed the mountain’s lie.
I stopped climbing. I stopped dreaming. I gave up.”

Pip’s tiny pebble heart raced.
“Why?”

The Keeper gazed out into the clouds.
“Fear. Doubt. I thought I wasn’t enough.”

Pip walked over and gently tapped the Keeper’s hand.
“I almost turned back too. But Bumble believed in me… and I kept going.”

Bumble gave a thumbs-up with his furry paw.
“True story.”

The Keeper smiled.
“Then you’ve passed the first trial.
You remembered what I forgot: You are never too small to keep climbing.”

Suddenly, the clouds swirled and parted.
A glowing staircase of light appeared, spiraling up to the peak.

The Keeper pointed.
“Go. Your journey isn’t over. The truth is waiting.”

As Pip and Bumble started up the shining stairs, Pip turned back.
“Will I see you again?”

The Keeper chuckled.
“You’ve always seen me. I’m part of you.”

And just like that… the Keeper faded into the mist.

Pip and Bumble climbed higher, toward the final answer, the ultimate twist…