Respite

Chapter 1

"The rent is due on the fifth, but if you call me, I can give you extensions if you need it." My new landlord, Bill, rattled off, "There's a notepad of the important numbers in the cabinet. Ya know, like the fire department and electric company. If you have any issues, I'd prefer if you text instead of call me." His bright green eyes looked down at me after he had read through his mental checklist. He had easily carried the conversation with me while showing me the other two houses he had available, but when we drove up to this one, I told him I wanted it. He had seemed surprised at first and worried that I would get scared of the animals up here. I think his exact reservation was that it would be hard to convince my new friends to leg it up the hill from town, but I wanted that.

Bill was a middle-aged man, probably about my dad's age, with a receding hairline and a strong smell of aqua Velva after shave. He was about six foot and had the slight old man muscle definition that made me think he had a trade before he became a landlord. While he talked, he played with his gold wedding ring, and I couldn't help but wonder what it was like coming home to someone every day and be excited about it.

I had just rolled into town a few days ago and realized that since I hadn't heard anything that I could stay in this town semi-permanently. He was the second landlord I had called who finally had a small, reasonably priced place for me to stay. It was deeper in the woods than I had wanted, but it was secluded and small. I could just barely see the lights of my neighbor through the trees while standing on the porch. If anyone ever found me out here, no one would hear me scream except for maybe this neighbor. At this point, I wanted some normalcy and was glad that Bill had this place available.

"Sounds good Mr. Bill." I smiled up at him. He gave me a big smile back and then handed me the key.

"If you need anything, a good friend of mine lives next door. His name is Connor. An older fella, but a heart of gold. He'll most likely be cutting the grass for you in the summer." I assumed that the house I could barely see though the trees was Connors. At least Bill vouched that he was a good guy.

"Thank you so much, I really appreciate how quickly you've been able to help me." I meant it. I was almost worried I wouldn't find someplace, and I'd have to keep moving on to the next town. From the moment I rolled into this town, the townspeople had been extremely kind and welcoming. The hotel owner had talked my ear off nearly every time I had seen her, and the diner waitresses were just as kind. Nobody had wondered why I was here, and nobody stared at me, so I took that as a good sign that I could probably hang around. The mountains surrounding the town was what ultimately sold me on this place. They were towering over the town and when the diner waitress had seen me staring at them through the diner window, she filled me in. She said that thousands of years ago that an asteroid had hit the earth and created this bowl were the town laid and because of this crater there was 360 degrees of tall mountains surrounding. It was a sight to behold, and I was drawn in. I could imagine these mountains protecting me from the outside world like a warm hug from a protective parent.

"Golly, you're going to be better than the meth heads who lived here before. I know you'll keep the place clean and keep it quiet up here." He laughed, "Well, if you don't need anything else I'll leave ya to it. Give me a text if you'd rather me come pick up your check next month or I can meet you someplace too." I nodded and watched as he stepped off the tiny porch and onto the pine needles. He stomped through the acorns with loud crunches until he got into his pick-up, reversed, and left down the long dusty driveway.

I stood there on the porch watching as the sun was close to setting. The wind breathed through the trees, and the calm sway of the pine needles was comforting. I stood there long enough that the squirrels came out and ran between the trees and the woodpecker continued his search for a grub. The woods were quiet and calming, and after my last few years this is what I needed to recuperate.

Finally, I pulled myself away from the porch and back into the house. It was a tiny A-frame cabin probably used as an old hunting cabin back in the day. Lucky for me it came furnished with brand new furniture as the last tenants apparently destroyed most everything in it. The bed was up above the small kitchen and sitting area in a loft just big enough for a nightstand, queen sized bed, and a closet rail to hang up my clothes. The bathroom was perfectly tucked up under the stairs leading to the loft. This tiny place must be less than 400 square feet, but it was mine for now. I could do what I wanted when I wanted, and nobody could tell me differently.

I climbed the stairs and crawled over to the bed where I had thrown my two duffle bags. The loft wasn't tall enough for me to stand, so I sat and carefully unfolded my clothes and made use of the closet rail. I had managed to grab a few picture frames of my parents and myself over the years that I carefully placed on the bedside table. The last thing in the bag was a handgun that I carefully slid into the drawer of the nightstand. It was an older handgun that my father had strapped to his side most of my childhood. I've only fired it twice, but it was always there if I needed it. I didn't have much, but I was already feeling light and carefree. This tiny cabin in this tiny town could be the respite that I was craving for. I could start new and find a better life here.

I laid in my bed that night listening to the trees scrape against the metal roof of the cabin. I could smell the woods and dirt clearly in this cabin, and it eased my mind. The birds and creatures outside had no care in the world for this cabin and chattered aimlessly to each other all night. At one point I even heard a wolf howl, but even that didn't scare me. This was my Eden. I was here to start over.