The Cabin - Part Five: Peter

 Joseph and Amanda were already upstairs asleep but he was still awake. Peter was left lying on the couch to spend the night. He had this faraway look in his eyes. His ears were straining to hear any sound that might be coming from the woods. Satisfied that the night was quite peaceful, he surrendered himself to slumber.

His dream was about what happened earlier during the day. He had not planned to visit this cabin nor get acquainted with these two friends. He only planned to get away from this wretched place and settle in a town far from where the mountain was located.

Peter’s peaceful night was shattered when he heard the initial piercing sound from the woods. He sat up immediately and tried to listen carefully for a few minutes.

Silence.

He did not go back to his previous position on the couch immediately. He listened more for about two minutes before trying to get a wink for the night. His back hadn’t even touched the couch when he heard this long piercing sound. He quickly stood up and listened carefully.

He heard the gut wrenching sound from the woods. He was about to go outside when Joseph and Amanda appeared on the staircase. He could see that she was crying because of fear. Joseph wrapped his arms around her. Peter restrained himself from going out of the cabin. He looked at the cabin’s front and back door.

“Go back to your rooms,” Peter commanded.

“What was that,” Joseph asked.

Peter did not answer. He knew that he needed to do something. This was the thing that he was dreadfully avoiding since he came to the mountain this morning. He knew that this would happen. He heard the stories. He knew about the rumours. But these people inside the cabin were innocent. They did not know what was happening. Joseph and Amanda did not have any clue at all.

The two were already with him in the middle of the room. They did not obey him. He could hear Amanda sobbing violently beside Joseph. He was looking around the room thinking of what to do. “I told you to go back to your rooms,” he exclaimed.

“How can we if we are hearing those eerie sounds,” Joseph answered.

He was right. Peter remained silent.

There was a strong gust of wind against the window. Peter was glad that the wind did not break it. They could hear the wind whistling loudly outside as if there would be a storm anytime soon. Then it became quiet again. Joseph sensed that Peter was all tensed up. He looked at Peter but could not read his face.

Then, they heard an animal howling in the stillness of the night and the piercing eerie sound came right after. This was the last straw for Peter. He ran to the front door of the cabin and went outside.

“Peter! No,” Amanda exclaimed.

All they could see was Peter’s back. The wind blew angrily again almost knocking Peter from his position. To their surprise, Peter gave a loud cry which could be heard throughout the woods. Amanda and Joseph could not move when they heard him scream.

They were looking at him from inside the cabin when they witnessed something bizarre. Their unexpected guest was not the one they knew earlier. Peter’s short brown hair became long and white. He shouted something to the woods in a language they never heard before.

Amanda was staring at Peter as if she saw him before, a young man with long white hair under the evening sky. She did not know that she was walking towards the door until Peter’s piercing blue eyes looked at her and shouted, “No!”

It can’t be, Amanda thought. She remembered him very well. Peter’s blue eyes and white hair were always been part of her dreams, of her past childhood memories. She suddenly saw herself outside near the river picking up flowers. She felt something was looking at her from the woods. She pretended not to notice anything. She slowly moved away from her usual spot and moved to the flowerbed next to the woods. She let her eyes scanned the woods and saw a pair of the bluest eyes and the whitest hair she ever saw. Still pretending she did not notice anything weird, she averted her eyes towards the flowers and went back to the cabin for lunch.

Amanda’s thoughts went back to the present and looked at Peter. He was standing still and calmly looking at the woods. Joseph pulled her back towards the cabin.

Peter was having a telepathic conversation with the angry mob of spirits in the woods. His ancestors.

Do not hurt them! They are innocent, he said.

A tall man dressed in a long light blue robe with the same white hair and blue eyes emerged from the woods. How would you know that they are innocent? How could you tell that they are not pretending not to know in front of you?

Because I’ve been observing them since the very beginning, Peter said. Their ancestors did not tell anything about our past and what had happened.

The tall man walked towards the cabin but Peter blocked his way. “Close the door, Amanda,” Peter said.

Amanda closed the cabin door obediently. She and Joseph were watching through the windows. She turned to Joseph and said, “Remember the boy that I told you about when we spent the weekend here when we were kids?”

“The one who was looking at you from the woods,” Joseph asked.

Amanda nodded. “He is that boy,” pointing to Peter.

Outside, everything looked calm and peaceful. They could see that Peter was standing in front of the cabin as if he was guarding it. However, they could not see the tall man with the white long hair and blue eyes.

“They cannot see you, great grandfather,” Peter said. As if on cue, he heard Amanda’s surprised scream. He knew that his great grandfather showed himself to Amanda and Joseph.

The tall man looked at Peter and said in a forgotten language, “Their ancestors defiled our lands. They destroyed almost all of the sacred trees that we grew and took care. If we had not interfered almost a century ago, this mountain would not be standing here. That cabin would not be here!”

Amanda turned to Joseph, “Did you hear what he said?”

Joseph gave her a puzzled look. “I couldn’t understand their language!”

“What,” Amanda said. She heard them very clearly about what the tall man and the others like him did a century ago. And what about this cabin? Why did she understand what they were saying?

Without hesitation, Amanda rushed outside and stood at Peter’s side. Peter was surprised seeing her looking at his great grandfather. “Who are you,” she asked.

The tall man with white long hair like Peter’s stared down at her but she did not buckle. He ignored her and turned his gaze to Peter. Peter knew what his great grandfather would like to say.

“Amanda does not have any idea about her ancestry. She does not know that our clan warned her ancestors about harming the woods and to stay away from it. She does not know that one of her ancestors disobeyed our clan, dishonoured the pact and built this cabin here in the middle of the woods,” Peter said.

“But I promised her father that I’ll protect her and the cabin,” Peter continued.

“Her grandfather was the reason why our family has been separated ever since,” Peter’s great grandfather said. “He lived with that human and formed their own family outside of ours.”

Amanda gasped. She did not know that she was only half human. She heard stories from her grandfather about deities and spirits in the woods, how they got angry when one of their own betrayed them for love and how they had protected the woods since the very beginning. Her own history was entangled with all the past histories this mountain had. She now realized why she understood Peter’s and his great grandfather’s language.

“She and that boy have to go now,” the tall man exclaimed. His outrage towards humans was felt up to their bones. Joseph shivered as he heard the shrill in the tall man’s voice.

“No,” Amanda said. “We won’t leave because we have a right to be here.”

“What,” the tall man exclaimed.

“Joseph and I may be one of the descendants of those who nearly killed the forest and the mountain but we are different from them. We don’t chop down trees for unnecessary use. We only chop them down if we need wood for the fireplace. We don’t kill animals here unless we don’t have anything to eat anymore,” Amanda paused.

She looked at Peter’s grandfather and continued, “I did not pick flowers and let them die. I pick the flowers for my mom when she was alive. I planted seeds at the back near the river so they can grow to beautiful plants and flowers.” She wiped the hot tears coming down like a river. "My grandfather built this cabin and educated my parents and I about taking care of the forest and the mountain."

“Peter always reminded me to stop picking the flowers when I was young. He always made his presence felt when I had enough in my hands,” she said and turned to Peter. His white long hair started to turn into brown.

She turned to the tall man and said, “I love this mountain as much as you do. I promise you that I will protect it with all the strength and power that I have. Please. I beg you. Don’t harm us.”

Peter, his hair went back to the short brown one, turned to his great grandfather and said, “You heard her. She made a promise to our family that she will protect the mountain. Just let your anger go and let them live in peace.”

Peter’s great grandfather looked at Amanda and directly addressed her, “We will leave for now. We will continue to watch you and see if you and your descendants will keep the promise that you made with us tonight. You will know what will happen if you break it. You might be one of our descendants but it doesn’t mean that we will give you another chance after this one.”

Amanda smiled through her tears and gave her thanks to the tall man. Before the Peter's great grandfather went back to the forest and disappered, she felt a something warm on her left hand as if a hot cup was on it. She heard him in her mind, "That will be a sign of our agreement and this will be passed upon your descendants to remind you about tonight. If anyone from your family break this pact, I assure you that we will destroy this cabin and hide this mountain once and for all."

Amanda nodded while soothing her left hand. She then ran inside the cabin and told Joseph the whole situation.

Peter was smiling now. He could feel the tension had eased. He turned to the tall man and said, “Thank you, great grandfather.”

He looked at Peter with affection and said, “I’ve been watching you since the day her family first came here.” He nodded towards Amanda and continued, “You’ve been watching and protecting her diligently since she was a child. I know about you affection towards her but I hope that you’ll think about what you are planning this whole time.”

Peter looked back at the cabin with Amanda and Joseph inside, with the light from the fireplace still burning brightly. He smiled at the tall man and said, “I already did.” He turned his back to his great grandfather and went inside the cabin to be with Amanda.

The Cabin - Part Four: Joseph

 Joseph was tossing and turning in his bed. He dreamt of being his fourteen-year-old self on that summer vacation when his family spent the weekend with Amanda’s family.

They arrived at the cabin that Friday at lunch time. His parents were excited to bond with Amanda’s parents. They had not been in the cabin for quite a while. They bought chips, some drinks and more pork for the barbecue tomorrow.

His dream shifted on that Friday evening when Amanda’s dad gave out a warning: “Do not go outside at night no matter and whatever you hear.”

In his dream, he and Amanda were lying in between both of their mothers. They were talking in whispers and making sure that the children would not hear whatever they were talking about. All of a sudden, they stopped. Silence was all they could hear. Then, they heard it. They heard this piercing howling sound that was coming from the woods. Amanda suddenly opened her eyes and cried. He suddenly sat up when he heard this. He had goosebumps all over his body. His heart was racing that he could hear it himself.

His mom hugged him and pulled him down to bed. She wiped his face with her hands. He did not know that he had been crying all this time. She then started to sing their favourite Disney song until both he and Amanda were fast asleep.

His dream ended on that scene. He woke up and looked at his watch. It was two o’clock in the morning. He was sweating heavily despite the room temperature was cold. He was about to go back to sleep when he heard this familiar eerie sound. That was the howling sound from the woods which he heard before. He decided not to give any attention to it when he heard Amanda’s bedroom door banged open. He went out of the room and found her trembling in fear in front of his room. She was crying. He hugged her and tried to calm her down when they saw Peter standing in the middle of the cabin, looking at them with a look that was telling them that he was right.

The Cabin - Part Three: Amanda

 She fell asleep the moment her back touched the bed. She was in a deep sleep and was dreaming about that one summer vacation when she and her parents were spending their weekend in the cabin. She was twelve years old. She hoped Joseph came with them but his family had other plans. However, her father told her that they would visit on the day before they leave. Today was THAT day and she was sitting on the stairs waiting for Joseph and his parents to arrive. Today was Friday. Tomorrow, Saturday, was the time when they would all go back home together.

They arrived when it was almost lunch time. She remembered it vividly. Her mom quickly began cooking spaghetti and chicken for lunch. Joseph's mom started to make peppermint tea while his dad started to bring in logs for the fireplace. Her dad started unpacking the food they brought and put them in the fridge. The raw chicken and pork were put in the freezer just beside the fridge. The day was perfect at the moment. The cabin suddenly smelled like home and felt happiness she had never felt before.

She went outside and started picking up flowers for the vase on the middle of the table and for the vase on the fireplace. She was humming her favorite song when she felt the hair on the back of her neck stood up. She felt as if someone was watching her from behind. She turned around to see who it was but there was no one. All she could see were the pine trees smoothly bending and dancing along the mountain breeze. That afternoon was peaceful. She could the wind softly bustling the leaves of the trees. She dismissed the feeling and finished picking up the flowers. She then started running towards the cabin and slammed the door. She had no idea why she did this. It was as if her intuition told her to go back as quickly as possible. She was panting when she was inside the cabin putting the flowers that she picked in the small vase.

“What’s happening? Why are you running,” her mom asked.

“Is there anybody else in this part of the mountain,” Amanda asked.

Her mom paused for a while, thinking. “I think I saw some college students at the first campsite. That was half way from here. Why?”

She was about to answer when her dad said, “Do not go out in the evening no matter what you hear. Alright, dear?” She saw her dad looked at her mom with a concerned look.

She noticed that her mom tensed up and went back to her cooking. “Why, dad,” Amanda asked her father.

“There are some souls out there in the woods that are seeking revenge,” he answered.

Curious about what her father meant, she was about to ask him another question but her mom stepped right in. “Let’s have lunch!” She smiled and called Joseph and his parents over. The kitchen became lively as both of their parents chatted endlessly about their trip before they arrived at her parents' cabin. While they were all chitchatting, Amanda remained silent all throughout lunch and kept on wondering what her father meant earlier.

Whatever it was, it was surely forgotten when Joseph's mom started to ask her about what school she would be attending for middle school. This thought had been since forgotten over the hearty meal of chicken and mashed potatoes. The adults were planning on what to do before going home tomorrow.

The Cabin - PART TWO: JOSEPH

He suddenly felt uneasy. He did not know why but the breeze became ice cold while he was climbing up the mountain towards the cabin. It was only four o’clock in the afternoon. It was a good thing that he decided to wear his new hiking jacket. He ignored this creepy feeling that he had and went straight up the mountain.

He remembered Amanda calling him during lunchtime asking him if he wanted to join her to spend the whole weekend in the cabin. He gladly said yes. He knew she needed someone to comfort her. Her dad passed away a month right after they decided to pull the plug on her mom. It was a tragic moment for her. Two months had passed since that saddest time of her life but he could still hear pain and sadness in her voice. He told his girlfriend, Jessie, about the plan and gave her consent. His girlfriend was friends with Amanda. He was happy about it. He did not want his non-blood sibling be not in good terms with the love of his life.

He was already near the clearing in front of the cabin after two hours of hiking. The cabin did not change a bit. It was still the same old log cabin he knew since childhood and was full of pine trees at the sides. The river was behind the log cabin if you follow the stoned pathway from the back door. He was fixing his backpack full of clothes and a huge bag of take-away food from a famous restaurant near home when he noticed a young man sitting on the stairs of the patio. He looked he was freezing to death. He had a small backpack on the ground. He looked weak from hunger, thirst and cold. Joseph approached the man cautiously.

“May I help you,” Joseph asked.

The young man, maybe around mid-twenties, looked up at him and said nothing. Joseph noticed that he looked pale. He further prodded, “I am one of the caretakers of this cabin. May I ask your name?”

The young man answered, “Peter.”

“Okay, Peter,” Joseph said. “I’m Joseph.” He reached out his right hand to Peter but he did not shake his hand.

Feeling a little bit embarrassed, Joseph smirked and put his hand inside the jacket’s pocket. “How did you get here? Are you lost?”

“I dropped my GPS somewhere in the woods, I think, while I was running earlier,” Peter said.

“Why were you running?”

Peter remained silent as if he did not hear Joseph’s question. Joseph opened the cabin’s front door and asked for Peter to come in since it was already evening. Peter obediently went inside and sat on the couch in front of the fireplace while Joseph was starting to warm up the place.

He had been observing Peter when he was preparing dinner. Peter had not moved an inch since they got inside the cabin. He was silently staring at the fireplace when Joseph gave him his dinner.

Peter looked up at him and said, “Thank you.”

Joseph sat on the wooden chair beside the fireplace and put his feet up on the table in front of them while eating his dinner. He looked at Peter and noticed that there was something eerie and mysterious with his guest. He couldn’t hide his curiosity and asked, “Peter, how long have you been in this mountain?”

“Longer than you think,” Peter answered.

“What do you mean,” Joseph asked but Peter did not answer. “Why were you running again?”

Peter was still silent and finished his dinner. He put his plate on the table and began staring at the fireplace again. Joseph shook his head in dismay and began clearing their plates. He was washing the dishes when Peter spoke up.

“Have you ever felt something has been following you or watching you from the woods,” Peter asked.

Joseph looked at Peter’s back and was puzzled by his question. Peter did not wait for any response. He continued.

“Do you know that there are entities in the woods that humans do not know? They’ve been neglected by humans for centuries and trampled on their tombstones and territories as if they owned the land. For centuries, humans disrespected them and their patience and kindness are already at the end of the string.”

Peter looked back at Joseph who was standing stiffly in the kitchen while listening to his story. He looked at him for a few more seconds before returning his gaze back to the fire. He fell silent again.

Joseph looked at the clock on top of the fireplace. Ten o’clock in the evening. Where the hell is Amanda, he kept asking himself. After a minute or two, he heard a knock and immediately opened the door. He saw Amanda wearing only a tank top, freezing because of the cold mountain air and looking hungry. He motioned his gaze to Peter and started preparing her dinner while she was talking to their unexpected guest.

She went inside and introduced herself to Peter.

The Cabin - PART ONE: AMANDA

The evening was cold. The stars and the moon were not visible. The woods was unusually dark tonight. A chilly breeze brushed on her bare arms. She regretted of not taking her light jacket tonight. She regretted of going into the woods this late. Well, she wrestled with the ideas of going and not going to the cabin earlier that day. After spending the whole morning contemplating, she just decided to spend the night there. She did not have time to regret anything. She looked at her wristwatch. Her hand was shaking because of the cold breeze. It was almost ten o’clock in the evening. She scampered uphill in a hurry for another twenty minutes before she reached the old log cabin on top of the hill.

When she reached the clearing, she saw that the lights in the cabin were on. Her childhood friend, Joseph, must be already there. She felt guilty for inviting him abruptly today. It was fortunate that Joseph had no plans this weekend and agreed to come with her to spend time with nature.

Joseph was like a big brother to her. They met on a camping trip one summer when she was only six years old. He was eight years old that time. From then on, they bonded and had this “non-blood sibling” relationship. He became a real sibling to her since she did not have any.

He was only an hour away from the mountain where the old log cabin was. Her place was about two to three hours away that’s why she hiked up the mountain at around six o’clock in the evening. The hike took almost four hours for her since it was unusually dark tonight.

She knocked on the cabin door while trying to keep herself warm by rubbing her arms. Her head lamp needed to be recharged. "What’s keeping him so long to open the goddamn door,” she whispered.

The door opened and Joseph was about to tell her something but she went straight inside the cabin. She was irritated and about to confront him when she saw another guy sitting straight up on the couch near the fireplace.

She looked at Joseph with a questioning look. He just shrugged and led her to the middle of the room. The cabin was not that big but big enough to accommodate three to four people. The downstairs had a kitchen and a dining room near the back door, a fireplace at the other side of the room, a couch in front of it and a bathroom near the stairs. The second floor had two bedrooms and a bathroom.

She cautiously put her bag down and spoke to the outsider. “Hi, I’m Amanda. I believe you’ve met Joseph. My family owns this cabin. May I ask for your name please?”

The young man turned to look at her but kept silent for a few minutes. He looked about their age but there’s something off about him. He seemed alert and cautious. He smiled and reached out his hands. “My name’s Peter. Joseph found me freezing outside the cabin. I think I lost my way. I was supposed to be going down the mountain but I dropped my GPS and found this place instead.”

“Oh, I see,” Amanda said. “Did you two eat dinner already,” asking her two companions.

“Yes,” Joseph said. “I warmed the soup I bought from the restaurant in town. We still have chicken and a loaf of bread if you want some of them too.”

She nodded and waited for Joseph to bring the food for her. She sat on the carpet and turned to Peter again. “Where do you live?”

Peter looked at her with those suspicious eyes. “I live in the town three miles from here.”

“Have you been hiking this mountain before?”

“Yes.”

Amanda gave him a questioning look. “Then, why did you get lost and ended up in this cabin?”

He looked at her. She could see the he was being careful but he just smiled and said, “I am not really great with directions. I always rely on my GPS.” He laughed. The kind of laugh that a person needed to forced out to avoid being awkward. And suspicious.

Joseph came back with a huge tray of chicken, bread and a big bowl of soup. She gave him a grateful smile then went back to Peter while eating her dinner.

She was about to say something when Peter asked them a question which haunted her until she fell asleep. “Do you have any weird experiences in this mountain before?”

Joseph gave out a nervous laugh and asked, “What do you mean, bro?”

Peter looked at him for a full half-minute before he removed his gaze and looked at the fire again. He seemed to be in this state since she arrived.

Amanda put down her chicken and said, “I don’t remember having weird experiences here with my parents. We just stayed here almost every weekend. Well, my dad had one rule only when we were always here, though.” She remembered suddenly the one weird rule that her dad always tell her and her mom.

Peter suddenly looked interested and asked, “What is that?”

She looked at him in the eye and said, “Do not go out in the evening no matter what you hear.” She felt a chill in her spine when she said that. She did not know why but she shivered and continued eating the soup to keep her warm.

Joseph smirked and said, “Really, Amanda? Maybe your dad just wanted to scare you since you’re in the woods. You know, to keep your imagination alive and kicking during those days so you can consider your time here with your dad a memorable one.”

Peter looked at him. “Do you really think that he said that just to scare his daughter?”

Peter looked away. There was something in the words when he said it. She could not put a finger on what she was feeling at that moment but she knew it was not pleasant.

She finished her dinner quietly and told them that she was going to sleep since she was exhausted after a long hike that evening. While she was going upstairs, Peter warned her, “Do not open the windows and the doors even when you hear something or someone calling for help.”

He looked out of the window and continued, “The moon and the stars cannot be seen tonight, so beware.” Peter then looked at her.

She was paralyzed in the middle of the staircase when she heard Peter’s warning. It was a very familiar one. A warning that she would never forget since that night her dad warned them about not going out. She looked back at Peter and forced a small smile. She continued to go upstairs to her room and locked herself in.