A Single Flame

Jaymie adjusted the backpack resting on her shoulders, sweat slowly rolling down her face; the heat from the sun pressed down on her as she continued to hike up the steep mountain trail. Her grandfather's cabin sat at the top of the hill, abandoned for the last dozen years. Jaymie remembered hiking to the cabin as a child with her family. Late last night, she decided that would hike and see what was left of the building that her grandfather had built so many years ago.

Streams of sunlight winked at her from the spaces between the green leaves of the astoundingly tall trees. The sounds of nature filled her ears as buzzing, chirping and sweet songs sung by the birds came from every direction; despite the difficult climb, Jaymie couldn't help but smile. This challenging climb was exactly what she needed to start her summer after a challenging spring semester at University.

Her legs began to shake from the effort of climbing, it was easy for her to make the decision to take a break for a few moments. Jaymie made her way to a large boulder that sat underneath the shade of a tree, her backpack hit the ground with a resounding thud. Snatching her water bottle, the young woman made herself comfortable on the ground; her back resting against the cool stone of the boulder. The sun warmed her face, her eyes closed against the bright light; the longer she sat there the harder it became to open her eyes. With great effort, she forced herself to get up and keep moving up the mountain trail.

Time seemed to pass slowly, as Jaymie pushed her legs to go a few steps and then a few more steps after that until finally she could see the cabin nestled in a little grove of trees'. Jaymie let out a victorious whoop, pumping the air with her fist. With a short burst of energy, she jogged to the door of the cabin. The building didn't appear to be suffering from neglect, in fact it looked as though someone was taking care of it. 'I wonder if Uncle Burt's been coming here,' mused Jaymie twisting the door knob, 'he's always doing renovations of some kind.'

The door swung open without a creak or groan, the musty smell that Jaymie had been expecting didn't fill her nostrils. Her eyes landed on the fresh wild flowers sitting in a vase of clean water on the small wooden table in the kitchen. A sense of uneasiness began to build in her stomach as she closed the door behind her.

“Hello? Anybody here?” Jaymie called out

She almost felt relieved when the only answer she received was silence; 'Still whoever has been here could come back at any moment.' she gulped nervously

Jaymie couldn't help but marvel at how similar everything was to her, it was as though she'd never stopped visiting the cabin. Everything was in the same place her grandfather had arranged when he'd been alive. She was so lost in her memories that she didn't hear the dog barking in the distance. Her fingers danced along the back of the soft grey sofa when the barking was suddenly closer; Jaymie jumped, her eyes flew to the window in search of the sound. Dread filled her veins as she stumbled to get out of the cabin; her eyes searched the tree's in search of the dog and it's owner but found no one. The continuous barking warned her that whomever was living in her grandfather's cabin was quickly approaching.

Jaymie started to back up when she suddenly froze at the sound of creaking beneath her feet! Her eyes travelled down towards her feet, it took her a moment but she soon realized she was standing on rotted wood that possibly led to an old cellar. With the dog and it's owner coming closer and closer, Jaymie felt more and more frantic to get back down the mountain. She shifted her feet towards the very solid ground that sat only a few inches from where she was standing. The creaking beneath her sounded thunderous in her ears, she decided to make a leap for it when without warning the wood beneath her feet gave way.

She had no time to scream as she fell into the dark hole; her lips parted yet no sound was released. She laid there on her back, her chest heaving frantically as she stared up at the sky and trees. Jaymie slowly moved into a sitting position when she heard the growling and a sharp whistle. Panicking, she shimmied out of her backpack and drug it with her into a dark corner away from the hole above her. From her hiding spot she spotted the large black dog sniffing the area where she'd been standing only a few seconds earlier.

“Scout! What'd ya find?” came the deep gravelly voice

Dust tickled her nostrils, she clamped a hand over her nose and mouth to prevent the sneeze that was threatening to give her away. Jaymie could hear the man's heavy breathing, and waited desperately for the man and his dog to leave.

“Ahh, ain't nothin' but some forest critter lookin' fer food.” grumbled the man, “The door was rotted a squirrel fell through Scout...”

A few seconds of silence reigned before the man spoke again, “Scout! Leave that hole alone...come and git yer food, we've a long day tomorrow.”

The dog reluctantly left the hole, Jaymie released a soft sigh of relief though she knew she was in for a long night. 'As soon as they leave in the morning,' she thought, 'I am out of here!'

As quietly as she could, she searched her backpack for a sweater and her bag of trail mix; the sun was quickly setting and Jaymie wanted to get as comfortable and warm as she was able before it was completely dark. Her hands gripped her flashlight as she shone the light on her surroundings; there wasn't too much to see except some broken shelves and jars along with thick spider webs. The light began to fade, “No, no, no, no...” gasped Jaymie shaking the flashlight furiously but it was to no avail the flashlight was failing and the sun had almost faded completely. Her hands desperately searched every pocket for the matches her brother had convinced her to take. After a few moments, her hands found the matches, she pulled the packet out and made a mental note to thank Joe for making her pack them.

With trembling hands, she lit the match and stared into the flame; a feeling of warmth flooded her stomach. With the small light, she didn't feel quite so alone; her situation didn't feel as bleak as long as the flame danced in front of her eyes. Soon, however, the flame danced it's way down the stick and she had no choice but to blow the flame out. Her stomach grumbled it's protest at the lack of food; Jaymie dug into the trail mix. She shivered from the cold mountain air that blew into the cellar; she looked again through her backpack, finding a raincoat, Jaymie covered her legs with the coat in an attempt to stay warm.

She lit a second match and soon a third and fourth match; 'I need to be careful how many I use,' she thought sadly, 'but it's the only source of warmth I can get at the moment.' She pulled her sweater and raincoat closer as tears began to stream down her dirt smudged cheeks.

She missed the heat of the sun on her face; the light had made everything appear safer and now that she was in the dark...even simple shadows seemed menacing. Jaymie tried to get some sleep but struggled with the cold and the fear of being discovered by the man and his dog.

The night seemed to last a lifetime as she shivered, yet mercifully the cellar slowly began to lighten with dawn's early rays. Quickly, Jaymie lit another match holding it close enough to feel it's heat; her ears straining for the sounds of the man and dog leaving. Finally, she heard the cabin door open and close. The dog was once again sniffing the opening to the cellar, she blew the single flame out and prayed the dog didn't find her and give her away.

“Scout! Stop sniffing that cellar and let's go!” shouted the man

Scout sniffed the cellar a few more times before obediently following his owner. 'Finally...I just want to get out of here!' Jaymie thought waiting impatiently for them to go. She waited and waited until she heard no signs of the man and his dog.

The sky had finally turned blue, Jaymie decided that she would now have enough time to get out of the cellar and safely down the mountain without getting caught. With all the strength she could muster, she threw her back pack out of the cellar; it sat precariously on the edge. Carefully, Jaymie climbed on top of set of broken shelves and struggled to pull her body up and out of the cellar. She swung her legs hard, until finally she was able to grip the grass with her shoe. The morning sun began to warm her cold body, tears of gratitude streamed down her face as she scrambled to get her backpack on and make her way down the mountain. The sunlight surrounded her in it's comforting rays as she hiked down to her car.

Spending the night in absolute darkness had been not only physically taxing but emotionally as she had spent the night terrified of being discovered by the man and his dog or even by other creatures. Every shadow and sound played havoc with her mind, while the cold mountain air sliced through her sweater and chilled her bones. Jaymie had never been more grateful to see the sun's rays winking through the leaves. She had learned a valuable lesson that night and was determined to never forget that she needed light in her life in more ways than one. The single flame from the match stayed in her heart, reminding her to have courage and faith.