Page 23 of Somewhere Only We Know

‘It’s okay,’ I replied, feeling teary. ‘I wasn’t thinking it through, that’s all. Seeing the mountains up close was Brontë’s number-one reason for being in Nepal. I have to find another way to do it, preferably one which won’t require an oxygen mask.’

Tiff grinned. ‘That’s easy. Come on the flight tour tomorrow with me. You won’t get closer than that.’

She opened her laptop and tapped at the keyboard. ‘Want me to book you a seat?’

‘I …’ I tried to concoct a reason to refuse, but other than the fact that I’d have to be up before dawn, I couldn’t think of one. Tiff’s idea was a great compromise and flying would be a damn sight easier than walking. ‘Why not. Yes please.’

Within minutes, I had a seat on board the 6:30 a.m. flight with Yeti Airlines and a plan for the day. Between us on the nightstand lay Brontë’s Gap Year. I gave it a kiss and settled down to sleep, feeling closer to my daughter than I had in months.

‘Thank you,’ I said into the darkness once we’d turned the lights out an hour later. ‘I’m glad the guest house was double-booked, and I got to meet you.’

‘Save your thanks until tomorrow,’ said Tiff. ‘Apparently my snoring could wake the dead.’

I snapped on the light and rummaged around for my ear plugs. ‘I don’t suppose you’d mind waiting for me to fall asleep first, would you?’

From the other bed came a low rumble which grew into the sort of noise I hadn’t heard outside of a sea life centre. So that would be a no.

Brontë’s Gap Year

Nepal absolute definites:

Trek to Everest Base Camp

Visit the Boudhanath Stupa and see the prayer flags

Take art materials into a school (maybe even do some art with the kids???)

Bathe an elephant. Harry did this in Sri Lanka and the photos he got are awesome.

Visit a women’s empowerment project. Mum told me that if you put other people at the centre of your world, you’ll always feel fulfilled. I love that. This trip feels self-indulgent, so my aim is to give back as much as I receive.

Chapter 6

Nepal

Six-thirty a.m. on the tarmac at Kathmandu’s domestic airport was a chilly and drizzly place to be. Beside me, I could sense Tiff’s disappointment as we headed towards the tiny aeroplane that awaited us.

‘I’m not a morning person,’ she’d informed me when first her alarm and then mine had jolted me from sleep. ‘Please ignore me until I’ve had at least two cups of coffee.’

I was with her on the coffee front. I’d kept quiet and retreated into the bathroom to talk to Brontë while I got dressed (only in my head – I didn’t want Tiff to hear me) until Tiff had knocked on the door to chivvy me along. So far, we’d only had one coffee and I was keeping conversation to a minimum.

‘Oh my Lord, will it even get off the ground?’ hissed the woman in front, clinging to her partner’s arm. ‘Looks like it’s held together with elastic bands.’

‘Look at that, Diane.’ Her partner slowed to peer at the propeller as he walked past. ‘Get a pigeon caught in one of those and we’re dead in the air.’

‘Don’t say things like that, Steve,’ she tutted.

I wasn’t usually a nervous flyer, but that was the last thing I needed to hear. I’d been on bigger buses.

‘Asshole,’ Tiff muttered, tugging up her hood against the rain. ‘It’s precisely because it’s so small that we can get so close to the summit. Still up for this?’

I was doing this for Brontë. Whether I was up for it or not was irrelevant. ‘A bit scared,’ I admitted. ‘Thanks to Steve.’

‘Fear and excitement are two sides of the same coin,’ she replied. ‘Let’s choose excitement today.’

‘That’s a brilliant way of looking at it. Thanks.’ I smiled gamely and tried to ignore the way the steps were shaking under Steve’s weight as the couple ascended ahead.

‘Namaste!’ A member of cabin crew greeted us on board and waved us to seats.