along Journey, grug often comes to a fork in the road between two paths. on the left, a garden filled with sunshine and butterflies. on the other, a long hike up the mountains filled with trails and toil.
grug, along with many grug friends, stand here and choose. he's heard the Shamans speak promises of something Better than garden, and of feelings of accomplishment – the feeling of standing above the garden grug sees at eye-level.
the friends see them too, and so they often go right.
but at one particularly lush fork, grug sits and meddles for longer. drifting into meta-thought, grug brain wonders about what it even means to climb. climbing can be fun and worthwhile, that grug agrees with. after all, getting to this garden was also a climb on grug's Journey. But grug is worried about climbing with recklessness. and when the Shamans start speaking again about the Better above, grug wants to hit them with the club.
"But garden is very pretty now. Grug sees this, and is happy. Grug does not feel like grug needs to go higher. So why Shaman still say climb?"
grug friends do not think the same and choose to follow the Shaman. grug says the "goodbyes" and "we'll meet agains" knowing he cannot – should not, stop them. he wonders why others decided to follow the climbing shamen. what if, grug made a mistake? what if the garden is also an illusion made by garden Shamen? or maybe, there really was a Better above this garden. nights go by, and grug wonders in bed about if this really was the right choice.
but when grug gazes up the mountains, he would also frown with concern. the temperature above must be colder, the plants stouter, the air thinner. he hopes his friends will be okay there, and not get lost following the climbing shaman. grug needs them back alive.
after all, who else would he have tea with in this garden?
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