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.