"Got everything?" asked Ben's Uncle.
"Yup," nodded Ben.
"Good." Ben and Mr Koch walked out into the the car, bags on their backs. Teddy trotted after them, taking in the fresh smells, making him more energetic. The car was smaller than the usual long limousine. It was still spacious though and very posh. Snow was starting to melt and birds were singing in the early morning. The air was crisp and slightly cool as the car drove through the city. They climbed the mountain towards Edna and Timothy's new house. There was no music on. Ben's Uncle said, "We can open the window and listen to the sounds outside. It's as good as it gets." Ben didn't fully understand but he liked the noise of things whizzing past him and the cold air flying inside the car. They finally pulled into Edna's driveway. Timothy was further down in the garden, facing the majestic view, his bag was at his feet. Edna shuffled along towards them smiling from ear to ear.
"I'm so glad you came," she welcomed them with open arms.
"Of course we did, we were honoured to be invited to such a special event," Mr Koch responded. Ben jogged towards Timothy.
"Hey Timothy!" He cooed.

"Oh hi Ben," Timothy turned around, not looking very excited.
"What's the matter?" Ben wondered aloud.
"It's just...well normally, this trip is just me and gran," Timothy admitted, his anger was slowly boiling inside him.
"But it'll be more fun with us right?"

"No it will not. Don't you get it? You just come into my life and take everything from me! You borrow my clothes! Then you get bought clothes, then you steal my friends and..., and you...you, you took Grandma," Timothy tried to hold back his tears. Ben looked down ashamed.

"They weren't really your friends.." he murmured.
"It doesn't matter. Grandma matters," Timothy growled.

"I know. I'm sorry. I thought we could be friends," confessed Ben.
"Well we can't! Because you've taken everything from me. Everything!" Timothy snapped.
"Kids! We're leaving! Come on!" called Edna from the driveway. Timothy walked away and Ben followed him, downcast. At the front gate, Edna and Mr Koch waited for them impatiently.
"Finally," sighed Mr Koch. They walked out and hiked up the road. Soon, they turned into a narrow path. It was a dirt path and some plants were starting to creep onto the road. The birds sang more loudly and bravely here and the sound of cars was slowly fading. They trekked up the lane, past rivers, streams, fallen trees, large rocks and a few fields before stopping near a small stream to rest. There was a boulder at the side of the stream and they sat on it using it as a chair. The trees swayed in the wind and there was a few patches of snow. Timothy went over to the stream to play at the bank. Ben wanted to join but he knew Timothy hated him. Teddy was still full of energy after the tiring hike. He jumped around and ran about, he jumped into the stream and swam a bit. He loved the smells, the sights, the sounds. He felt so at home, there was so much to explore.
"This is especially good for Teddy. Dogs need a lot of exercise plus he must feel very at home here." Edna pointed out. She was enjoying herself. She loved hikes and not even her aching feet could stop her from going on her grandson and hers yearly hike. Mr Koch served everyone a few cookies and some orange juice. They ate contentedly, listening to the birds, the water and the occasional call of a wolf. Once they were well fed and rested, the continued hiking. Now, they hiked mostly in long fields of grass instead of forest. Soon, they reached a hill of grass.
"Here we are. At the other side, it goes down into a long part of just grass. A lake stretched out at the end of the field of grass and doesn't end till the foot of a mountain. There are usually the most beautiful flowers but now, it should be covered in a few stray patched fo snow. There are a few small charming trees growing in the field, making it not so wide with no hiding places," Edna explained.

"Great then, let's get going," Mr Koch enthused. They marched up the hill and came to the other side, where large expanses of grass grew. It was just as Edn said. They pitched their camp near a small bush and Mr Koch and Edna started to set everything up. They put the tents up, making it cosy. They built a fireplace and soon, they had their little miniature home ready.
"Alrighty-oh," huffed Mr Koch, "You kids go over to the lake and explore. Ben stick with Timothy and don't let Teddy wander too far. Edna and I'll call you back when dinner is ready."

"Oh and take this," Edna handed Ben her small flip phone.

Ben and Timothy set off. Teddy bounded after them, he loved the feeling of the grass tickling his fur. The smells up here were like nothing he had ever smelt before, so wild, free and fresh. Everything here wa clean of pollution and cool. They walked by the lake, the beach was made of small grey rocks. Timothy wordlessly picked a rock and stared to ski them across the water. The water was half frozen, so Teddy didn't go in. Ben watched as Timothy skimmed rocks. Timothy never got them to go more than twice. Ben chose a nice flat rock and remembered when his father used to show him how to skim and they had little competitions. Ben's best had been about 7.
"Watch," He told Timothy and skidded his rock 5 times on the water. Timothy scowled at Ben. Suddenly, Timothy lunged at Ben and Ben tried to jump out of the way. Edna's phone flew into the water with a splash.

"Ben!" snarled Timothy, "How could you? Go get it!"

"But the water is half frozen," complained Ben.
"Too bad," Timothy raised his eyebrows.

"But, why? We can explain to Grandma" Ben asked, confused and intrigued, he knew Timothy was up to something.
"Are you going to do it or not? Are you going to be a baby?" Timothy spat. Ben was good at swimming, very good. It was another of his secrets, but it wasn't a small one, he was awesome, he could practically do anything in water. His father always said he was part fish. His mother had been so proud when he had beat his father in swimming. Ben had once swum in winter, it had been 1 degrees. Timothy threw his top off and pretended it wasn't cold. The air was crisp and much colder up there. Ben undressed unsurely but had no intention of going into the water.
"I don't want to go in. It's dangerous. You shouldn't do it. I'm not going." Ben stated firmly.

"Well I'm going in. Grandma will be proud of me." snarled Timothy, his fury and hatred was so strong for Ben. Ben tried to stop Timothy. He tried calling for help but neither Mr Koch or Edna were in earshot. Teddy sensed Ben's anticipation and some sort of fear and stopped sniffing around.

"Timothy don't do it!" Ben begged, almost yelling. Timothy gave him a withering look and started to wade into the water. Ben cried out in panic. Teddy was frantically barking at the water's edge, sensing Ben's helplessness. Suddenly, Timothy dived into the water and disappeared, he resurfaced a bit further. He was between some floating ice. Ben could see Timothy was struggling to stay above the water. Timothy suddenly started flailing.
"Help! HELP! I'm going to drown!" Timothy went under the water, gulping the freezing water, he was numb and couldn't move well, it was too cold, "HELP ME!" Timothy was hollering so loud, Mr Koch and Edna heard. Ben didn't think twice, he dived into the water. The water hit him hard, it was ice cold. He felt like he couldn't move anymore but he knew he always needed to keep moving. He remembered his mother saying, "Just keep moving and it won't be so cold." The water was too cold to describe. He struck out and started to swim. It was hard, it took a lot of strength for him to stay afloat and keep going instead of heading back for the bank. The further he swam, the colder the water was, stinging him. Teddy was yapping in panic, he barked fiercely, trying to get to Ben. Mr Koch looked in horror and Edna was shrieking in fear. Ben finally reached Timothy who was blue. Ben grabbed Timothy and pulled him. Ben's legs and arms were aching, he just wanted to drop the dead weight and swim back to land. Ben was getting tired but he swam towards land, Timothy in tow. Timothy had stopped flailing. Ben was gasping for breath, he couldn't ever describe the feeling. He could not imagine anything worse. Ben felt his eyes closing, he felt heavy, tired. He closed his eyes and felt the water against his skin, cold, stinging. His lungs hurt, they were bursting, he stayed under.

Ben blinked open his eyes, he tried to hear. His ears were ringing and he felt as if someone was talking distantly, like he was hearing underwater. His vision was blurred. He dizzily got up. He felt someone hold his hand.

"Hey Ben, you awake?" A voice gently asked. Ben didn't bother to answer. His vision finally cleared and the ringing in his ears slowly faded. He looked around. He was in the tent. It was spacious and covered in big warm blankets and sleeping bags. He looked up at Mr Koch then realised Edna was on his other side. He looked more closely and realised Timothy was sleeping peacefully almost fully covered by a blanket.
"How are you feeling?" Edna inquired, concerned. Teddy pushed his head through the tent door and wagged his tail when he saw Ben. Ben tried to smile as Teddy nuzzled him lovingly.
"I'm ok," ben realised he was feeling fine. He was suddenly wide awake and he grinned.
"Oh," Edna was taken aback but smiled. Mr Koch patted him on the back.
"I knew you were quite the swimmer. My brother used to brag to me in private," chuckled Mr Koch. Ben smiled weakly.
"What happened?" He asked.

"You saved Timothy is what happened," Edna reported.
"Oh, I thought I gave up at the end..." Ben said, "I was really tired. I gave up."
"Yes, but you were close enough to the bank already and we pulled out both out." Mr Koch told Ben. Timothy woke up, he looked around and Edna fussed over him. They hugged and the adults made big deal. They asked if they were fine until the children finally convinced them they felt fine. Finally, they all sat in a circle.
"I don't know what happened but we need an explanation." Mr Koch said sternly.
"Ben dropped your phone in the water," Timothy blurted out quickly to Edna.
"It was an accident. Because I skimmed my rock more times than Timothy and I was showing off. Timothy jumped on me and I threw the phone in the water by accident." Ben retorted.
"Timothy?" Edna said slowly, unbelieving,"Is this true?" Timothy sighed deeply.
"Yeah. I'm sorry but he took everything I had. You love him more than me... He's so annoying," Timothy confessed. Edna gasped.
"Timothy! I love you so so much. You are my grandson but you owe Ben, he saved you. I don't care whether you're jealous or anything but you must thank him. I don't know why you would go after the phone either." scolded Edna sadly. Timothy looked ashamed.

"I'm sorry Ben. Thanks for saving me," he muttered solemnly but not angrily. Ben nodded without saying a word.
"Well I don't think this should ruin our trip. Let's have fun and no more quarreling from now on." Mr Koch clapped his hands just like Ben. Edna nodded and beamed, they filed out of the tent. The sun was setting as they build a small bonfire. Edna cooked some meat over the fire and they ate,warming up and started to talk animatedly. Then Mr Koch took out a packet of marshmallows. Ben exclaimed excitedly, he loved roasted marshmallows, so did Timothy. They roasted their marshmallows and shared stories by the fire.

"Then I waved back," Mr Koch said, they all waited in silence for him to continue, "Then I turned around and realised he was waving to the people behind me. I blushed so much my cheeks turned into tomatoes." Ben, Timothy, Edna and Mr Koch shared the biggest laugh. They joked around and laughed. They had the most fun time. They giggled and soon, they were tired. The stars shone brightly above them and the moon was climbing higher into the sky. They put out the fire and Ben watched it sizzle into nothing. Teddy went off into the long grass and the 4 of them lay down outside, star gazing. They didn't make any noise, they were all contented. Mr Koch brought out the big blankets and sleeping bags and they put on big jumpers before settling down under the covers to gaze at the stars. They fell asleep under the stars.

Ben woke up, the breeze blew gently on his face. He was warm under the blankets and in his sleeping bag. He wore a big jumper and some fluffy socks. Timothy was awake, he stood at the top of the hill, walking alone. Edna was preparing breakfast and Mr Koch could be seen at the lake, collecting water with Teddy. Ben got up and walked over to Edna.
"Good morning Ben," Edna called.
"Morning Grandma," Ben yawned.
"Breakfast isn't ready yet but you can go join Timothy up on the hill," Edna sighed, "Please don't fight. Now that I know you guys don't' get along well, I don't want to force you together all the time."
"It's ok. Me and Timothy made up," Ben comforted, lying. Ben then marched up the hill to join Timothy, expecting him to tell him to bug off. Timothy didn't mind Ben's company as they walked along the hill, looking down.
"It's nice up here. The views everything. Nothing is as beautiful as this, not even the city at night from above, with all the lights and all," Timothy expressed. Ben agreed.
"Thanks Ben. For going in there and saving me..." Timothy took a deep breath, "I know I act like a jerk but I thought about what I did. I am reasonable really and I realised that I was being mean, really mean. I'm sorry, but you took a lot of things from me.."
"I know. I'm sorry too. I am." Ben replied.
"Thanks a lot again. Only a real friend would do that for me. You are a good friend Ben."
"Thanks Timothy. You too."
"Call me Tim."
"Thanks Tim." They fell silent. Teddy sprinted towards them and licked Ben on the face happily. Ben patted the dog on the head and they walked together, the 3 of them. Teddy enjoyed every moment by Ben's side. When they were called for breakfast, they raced down the hill. Teddy tore down the hill, reaching a long time before the 2 boys.
"We got some bread that I just warmed up and milk. Got a few other things like ham too." Edna told them. They ate a bit before resting on the blankets, chilling. Teddy snuggled up with Ben and they stayed close. Ben decided to go for a walk when Timothy fell asleep.

"Can I go for a walk?" Ben asked permission from Mr Koch.

"Yes, but be careful. Take Teddy with you," Mr Koch cautioned.
"Always."
"Oh and don't wander too far. After we're all going to go for a nice walk. Edna has this secret place she wants to show us. And do be careful." Ben agreed and whistled for Teddy

He walked down the field towards the forest with Teddy.