From PRX, this is the Mawth Radio Hour. I'm Jay Allison and in this episode's story is about finding the light at the end of the tunnel.

Bright futures in dark times and hope even when things seem hopeless. Our first storyteller is Katya Duff. Katya told this story at one of our open Mike's Story Slam competitions in Los Angeles where we partner with Public Radio Station KCRW.

Here's Katya live at the Mawth.

When I was 14 years old, my parents decided it was a great idea to get me out of school and move a million thousand miles away from the far east of Russia, close to Moscow, so I could go to a great college several years later.

I didn't want any of this. I liked my school, I liked my skiing, I liked my rock climbing, my friends.

When they just moved me to Moscow, I was very depressed. In addition to everything, once we moved, we had little bit of savings, but they suddenly all disappeared because of a financial crisis.

When I came to my new school, not only we were poor, but also I had no friends. I mean, I told my fault, I was very grumpy about moving and I didn't want any friends.

The first year in the new school was extremely miserable. So, from my 15th birthday, my dad told me, I know what you'd like as a birthday present.

Let's go camping with a bunch of other adults and kids, and this way you can climb the tallest mountain in Europe.

You know, most girls for 15 years old, for at 15 they won't probably address or a pair of shoes. For me it was an amazing idea.

Yes, I really want to climb the tallest mountain in Europe. So, we got on this trip, which was not very well planned honestly, because it was 10 parents and about 15 kids.

We didn't bring enough food for all of us. It was non-stop camping for a month, we lived in tents, bathing in rivers.

And for the last two weeks of our trip, we completely ran out of food and we were in the mountains. So, we had to stop by different villages asking highlanders for cheese and milk.

And that was our diet for about 10 days. We all lost about 10 pounds, I'd say. They were completely emaciated.

But for my birthday I said, I'm still climbing that mountain. So, we spent a night in a wooden house, all of us, and they tell me, cut you the weather, it doesn't look very well.

You know, they promised like a little bit of rain for tomorrow and maybe a little bit of a storm. I say, no, we are going. It's my birthday, absolutely have to do it.

So, next morning when I get out, I realize that there is no electricity because all the electric cables lay on the ground after a storm. My dad tells me, cut you, we are not going. No, you are not doing this.

I say, no, it's my birthday, I'm 15, my life has been crap for the last year. I absolutely have to do it.

So, when my dad turns away, I put all the equipment on the special metal shoes and I bring it in metal stick and I start climbing.

Good thing my dad got out of the house and he saw me on the horizon and he was like, oh God, she decided to do it.

So, he starts chasing me with other adults, they grabbed me off the mountain, they bring me back to the house, they say, cut you, you don't want to die on your 15th birthday.

And that's when I started bowling and saying, my life just sucks, it's been non-stop for years, so bad, I'm so depressed. Why, why, why, why did you take me away from my friends, you started this.

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