Bank Holiday Monday (competition entry)

Me and Hugh climbed a mountain in Brecon

We got lost and it wasn’t sunny and he didn’t
ask me much about my family
but it was as perfect as things ever are

no-one was there to hear us talk except the mountain
who listened quietly, humouring us
as we imagined weird shit happening
whilst making decisions that could change our lives
for the better

being up a mountain can do that to a person

we imagined Zombies had taken over Abergavenny
we discussed jobs we’d get in September
Hugh spoke about going to Ecuador
and I vowed to stop watching Neighbours twice a day.

We thought about what it meant to appreciate life
as we squinted in the direction of England
and admitted we liked Deal or no Deal.
We decided we'd stop getting drunk on Tuesday nights
and we wouldn’t slag people off for having annoying haircuts.

It started to rain.

Hugh produced a Kit-Kat I didn’t know he had
he gave me the broken half
I ate it like it was roast beef
and didn’t mention the Twix in my pocket.

We passed a family, a lone hiker,
two old women and a Spaniel
they all said hello to us

being up a mountain can do that to a person.

We walked slowly on the way down
stretching it out for as long as possible
without discussion

as the rain petered out to this insipid drizzle
Hugh chose that moment to offer me his jacket.
It was red, it smelt like horses and fags and
we knew that when we came down things would be the same

we knew we’d still get drunk on week-nights
we wouldn't leave our jobs
or start smiling at strangers
and we knew that there would be no Zombies in Abergavenny

I think we were both more than a little disappointed.