‘I feel like her!’ she says with a mixture of a laugh and a cry. ‘I want to throw one of her wobbles. I want to just scream and cry as loud as I possibly can.’

‘Then let’s do that,’ I shrug. ‘Let’s toddler tantrum our way up this beautifully picturesque mountain and not give two hoots who sees or hears us doing so.’

‘Go on then,’ says Zaza.

‘Euuuuuurgh!’ Vicky shouts. ‘Eurgh! Eurgh! Eurgh! Euuuuuurgh!’

Words are unnecessary here. And I can identify with every guttural sound that blasts from my friend’s mouth.

‘Raaaaaaaaaaaaah!’ adds Zaza, her chest concaving as the noise leaves her, as though she’s literally getting all that’s in her out.

‘Yaaaaaarrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeh!’ I say, joining in, feeling the rip through my body at the power that lies within.

Then all three of us go at the same time. The sound is raw, uninhibited, and as it bounces off the surrounding mountains it builds, as though every single bit of life around us is with us in this moment.

Alive.

I am alive.

I’m allowed to feel alive.

I’m allowed to enjoy feeling alive.

We stop, now breathless for a very different reason but with a fire in our bellies.

We enjoy the silence that follows.

‘I can see why she enjoys that so much,’ Vicky says, rubbing her eyes with the side of her arm, not letting go of either of our hands. ‘Maybe I’ll just join in with her next time.’

Another breath is taken, this one to steel herself.

The three of us turn and look ahead. Vicky raises her right foot and, before it can connect with the ground again, Zaza and I join her. We start putting one foot in front of the other. That’s all we can focus on. The simple act of walking. Together. As one.

Every so often I look up from my feet to the path ahead, to the saddle between two mountains that we’ve been told we’re aiming for. When it feels like we’ve made good progress I look up, only to see we still have a long way to go. Yet we continue, squeezing each other’s hands when we need that extra boost, muttering expletives when we need a chuckle, getting the job done.

When we hit the saddle and see the path widen to an area we can stop and sit in, we regroup. Our arms fly around each other in euphoria.

‘Well done, guys, that was quite something,’ Scott calls over our heads. ‘Take your time here and grab some lunch.’