Up Pine Peak
1NARRATOR: It is a bright summer morning at the bottom of Pine Peak. A small red gondola waits at the station, ready to carry riders up the mountain on a thick steel cable.
2OPERATOR: (cheerfully) Next car! Climb in, please, and watch your step.
3JUNE: (bouncing on her toes) That's us! Come on, Nadia, hurry!
4NADIA: (slowly, looking up at the cable) I'm coming... I'm just... thinking.
5UNCLE TOMAS: (gently) Take your time. We'll sit together, right by the window.
6NARRATOR: The doors slide shut. The car swings forward and begins to climb. Below them, the parking lot gets smaller and smaller.
7JUNE: (pressing her nose to the glass) Look! The cars look like toys! The trees look like broccoli!
8NADIA: (in a shaky voice) Please stop saying look. I am NOT looking down.
9UNCLE TOMAS: Then look out, not down. Can you find the lake?
10NADIA: (peeking) The lake... Oh! It's shaped like a giant boot.
11NARRATOR: Halfway up, the gondola slows. Then it stops. The car rocks gently back and forth in the breeze.
12NADIA: (gasping) Why did we stop? Is something wrong? What if—
13UNCLE TOMAS: (calmly, with a hand on her shoulder) Breathe with me. In... and out. Rides like this pause sometimes to help someone at the station. We'll move again soon.
14JUNE: (whispering) This is my favorite part. It feels like floating in the sky.
15NARRATOR: For a moment, everyone is quiet. Then, with a gentle bump, the gondola starts moving again.
16NADIA: (laughing with relief) We're moving! We're really moving!
17NARRATOR: At the top, the doors slide open. Cool air rushes in, and the whole valley spreads out below them like a green and gold quilt.
18NADIA: (stepping out first) That was scary. But I want to ride it back down, too.
19JUNE: (grinning) Who are you, and what did you do with my cousin?
20UNCLE TOMAS: (laughing) That's the bravest rider on Pine Peak.