No Trespassing

Long drives aren’t really my thing. So, I was surprised when my wife convinced me to make the trip to this cabin we rented out in the woods, a couple hours from home. Maybe part of the reason I agreed is that I wanted to save our marriage, and this was our last shot at fixing it. Things... weren’t smooth between us. I was working too much, she wanted more time, it was a mess. Both of us wanted to push past this rough patch, both of us wanted things to go back to the way they were, in the beginning...

Launa and I met in college, and after 5 years of building a wonderful relationship, we tied the knot and declared our love for each other to the world.

Marriage was everything I’d hoped for and more. Nothing changed, and at the same time, everything did. Her beautiful smile, the warm glow surrounding her always seemed to calm me down, her mesmerizing eyes, and everything about her that I loved only amplified 100 times over.

Whenever we were together, we’d have a blast. Even the most mundane tasks became enjoyable with her presence, and I never wanted the day to end. Making her laugh every single day still remains one of my biggest accomplishments. Then, we hit a bump.

Could you give a man who has everything, something more? If only I’d known the answer...

I was offered a promotion and like a moth drawn to a flame, I foolishly jumped at the chance and accepted my new responsibilities head-on.

Office troubles started seeping into our home and things turned chaotic. Fights became more frequent, yelling replaced compliments, good times turned into memories and the end seemed near.

Suddenly, the past 10 years seemed like a dream, a distant fantasy that would never become real. We were never angry at the other, both of us blamed only ourselves and our arguments reflected that. All the yelling and fights were just pent-up emotions, bubbling up to the top and spewing out. Both of us understood this, and we weren’t going to let all these problems break the bond we’d created over the long period of a decade.

And after working hard on our relationship for 16 months, we were in pretty good shape. Everything was pretty much back on track, and all we needed was one final push – this trip. I stepped out onto our driveway the day of the trip and the weather was perfect.

The birds were singing, each chirp a drop of honey in my ears; the sky was cloudless and blue with a tinge of pink,  a wonderful mix of colors; the Sun was shining brightly, beaming down upon us as if to smile; and the lush of the trees provided a beautiful backdrop for a wonderful morning. All of nature’s creations were in harmony that day, and it only convinced us further. It wasn’t even an hour in and I could sense things were finally going back to normal.

With the Sun’s warmth and the radio keeping us company, things were starting to finally lookup. Time flew by as we talked and the outside only seemed to elevate the experience. If only I knew what was coming...

Halfway into our trip, things took a turn for the worst. It was a rather sudden but subtle change; one that took place as we crossed over into Mortem Hill, an isolated hillside area with forests running along either side of it. The shade of pink was replaced by a tinge of grey. The previously plentiful drops of honey became sacred as fewer and fewer birds continued to sing.

A couple of miles into the valley and the tinge of grey had spread throughout the sky; the melodies of the birds were replaced by the monotonous voice of 96.5FM’s radio host, and the Sun was nowhere to be seen.

The radio was the last to leave the party as we ventured further into the valley. Despite the sound of the car’s mechanical whirring, an eerie tranquil set in. Just as we were settling into our newfound calm, our ears perked up at the familiar noise of raindrops hitting the car from all sides. The atmosphere turned on a dime and went from comforting and inviting to unsettling. The drops from the sky, the hum of the engine, the safety of Launa’s company; it felt like we were the only two people in the world. Thinking the worst had happened, we decided to trudge on and get to the cabin as quickly as we could.

The rain only worsened and soon, the windshield was covered by a wall of water and blocked us off from the outside world; snuffing out what little warmth we had and cutting through our safety net. What happened next kicked off a chain of events that still haunt me to this day...

“James, I think we should stop, we can barely see”

“Don’t worry Launa, it’ll be fine. Besides, Maps told us we’ve got a straight road ahead”

Turn slightly left onto Malum Curve

Huh, that’s weird. I could’ve sworn the road didn’t seem curved from a couple meters back

I should’ve followed my gut and kept on the road. Going against my instincts, I swerved left and before I could even take my foot off of the pedal, the sound of metal crashing against wood rang out into the open. The last thing I remember seeing before passing out was my wife screaming frantically.

I’m not sure when I came to, but I could tell a couple of hours had passed by the darkness that had enveloped the land out in front of us. A painful throbbing in the side of my head probed me to investigate further and I quickly discovered what had happened – A branch had pierced the windshield and had lodged itself between my lap and the dashboard. The broken pieces of glass had gashed my head as well. The next thing I did was to check on Launa, who was in much better shape than I was; she got away with just a small cut on her arm. She came to a while later, and quickly realized we were stranded in the middle of the Hill with both our phones out of charge.

Just when we were about to give up, Launa exclaimed that she saw a mansion on the way and suggested we could probably use the phone there or even ask someone in there.

I remembered the mansion as well, along with the dozens of “No Trespassing” signs plastered against the bordering fence. I also recalled that it was one of the few houses that littered the dry landscape of the hills. It was a feat of architecture, standing at around 200m high, the walls were covered with basalt and hints of marble. That night’s weather only seemed to heighten the anxiety and fear this mansion induced in anyone who dared to look in its direction. The front lawn was unkempt, autumn leaves masked the majority of the ground, save for a well at the far corner. It matched the ambiance of the rest of the mansion. You could tell the well was a couple hundred years old with multiple cracks in it, and yet it stood strong. The gate wasn’t any friendlier either. Almost as tall as half the mansion, it stood tall and proud, cast in metal. And in the middle of it all, was a skull emblem covering both sides along with the biggest, “No Trespassing” sign amongst all the others.

After a pointless argument with her, it was decided that she would be the one going out for help. As she stepped out of the car into the still thundering rain, my dazed state of mind returned as I slowly lost consciousness…

Tip tap, tip tap, tip tap. This time, it was the pitter-patter of rain that woke me up. Judging by the intensity of the drops, Nature seemed to finally calm down as the brunt of the thunderstorm was reduced to mere raindrops.

The strangest thing was, my wife hadn't returned yet. Fear and adrenaline replaced the pain in my body as I pushed the branch off of my legs and stepped out to search for my wife. I looked around and what I saw next....made me wish I hadn’t turned around. Pierced through a branch, a couple feet above the ground, was my wife. Her once life-filled eyes now devoid of them, her beautiful smile replaced by a grim expression, and her body, limp and lifeless. My beautiful Launa, basking in all her beauty, with an eye missing, her scalp burnt, and blood splattered all over her clothes. As I continued to stare at her in utter shock, all I could think of was how ethereal she was.

And what haunts me the most, and makes me regret sending her into the mansion, was a wooden sign nailed to her chest with the words, “No Trespassing” written in her blood, slowly dripping down onto the car roof…” tip tap, tip tap, tip tap” ….