...They did, once. [He doesn't say more than that, melancholy seeping back into his features despite the continued smile.

The beauty of the scenery is a great excuse to avoid eye contact though, luckily enough.]

It was my dream to come here, as a child. I begged my parents to let me enter the monastery, and once I succeeded, I rarely ever went home to see them. [They pass by more people as they climb--students carrying water or practicing acrobatics, commoners praying by the roadside or walking up to the temple up ahead. His gaze stops at that temple for a good, long while.]

...I thought I could do anything, back then.