“I think I just met the happiest person in the world!” I said in a contemplative tone as I took staircase down the mountain back to the vilage. I decided to finally take my trip up the thousand step staircase that led into the mountain.

It was an escersion many people went on during the spring and summer monthsto meet the monks that dqelved within the mountian. Many went to take pictures or capture their own mental memories while others went to find some sort of ‘awakening’ through this experience.

I would be lying if I said I went for any of those things. In all honesty, I wanted to see the view from the mountain. I started me journey in the morning and finished climbing up the stair case a few hours afterward. The steps on the path were taller than normal and it forced people to take their time going up and down it.

When I finally broke the top of the staircase, I took a long deep breath and looked around. Nothing but lush green trees and grass laid everywhere. So green infact, it looked looked like an edited picture. The air was so clear it made my lungs feel new and the wind, as it blew through, carried a faint scent of dirt with it which turned out to be a supringly welcoming and pleasant scent.

There was a dirt path that lead somewhere deeper into the nature before me. I began walking on the path which led me to a small, stone compound that, from the outside, seemed to have a more open concept. Men and women, mostly tourists, walked around surveying the area with their phones or cameras. I looked around for some time but I felt crowded out and decided to venture else where. In the back of the compound, there was a small bench that overlooked the lush greenery.

A man who seemed to be a monk sat on the bench staring into the greenery so intently, I couldnt help but look confused. he wore a long green piece of fabric draped over his chest and a pair of orange cloth pants. His skin was tanned and a bit rinkled which made it seem like he spent too much time outside. He had wrinkles all over his face from age, most priminently around his eyes and mouth, and on his forehead. As he stared, he had a smile draped across his face.

He slowly turned to look at me and I just a bit realizing I was staring. He laughed as he looked at me. I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding and smiled.

“I am sorry I was staring. I was just wandering why you were smiling like that and staring into the forest?” I said as I rubbed the back of my hand. The man motioned me over to the bench with his hand to sit beside him. As soon as I took a seat and looked up, I saw the most beautiful see known to man. There was a hole in the greenery that gave a direct line of sight onto the mountains coverered but the forest. The sun shone so bright over the mountains that where ever the clouds passed, the shadows were so dark. Closer up on a branch, two owls sat perched looking toward the mountains just as we were almsot as if they were as taken by the sight as us.

A smile willing crept up on my face. Sharing something this breahttaking couldn’t help but make me happy too.