the gleam of light

In the depth of night, we wonder waiting to get where we are going. The snow is about as white as paper and as soft as a winter blanket. In the crisp cold winter, air stands a wooden house. It is cold and we are growing heavy from our wet clothes covered in winters ice that has frozen on to our heavy jackets.

We walk closer to the mysterious wooden house. There is a raised stone walkway with a thin layer of winters blanket. A small gleaming glare catches my eye. A small key that reads” Where wonders rome they shall use the key.” I take my cold wet hand and grab the key barely holding on with my numb hands. I show the key to my spouse who is almost as curious as I. He takes the key from my numb shaking hands and reads the key. He walks over to the big door. He starts running his shaking hands around the edge of the door. Me being generally confused with the idea I try not to comment. He puts the mysterious key towards the bottom of the door where lays a singular lock. The saying on the key must have been a riddle of some kind to find the lock which lies near the ground. He puts the key in the newly found lock. 

We walk inside the big wooden house. Sitting there in front of the door is a small metal box that reads” Those who enter must pay a price, open the box and look inside.” I step closer to the box when slowly moving my hand closer when I feel I tug on my heavy jacket. I pull away my arm and quickly turn around to see the one who was unknown. “ Don’t be scared it’s just me, who else could it possibly be,” he says straddling me. I smile wide and let out a slight sigh. “Oh my, you startled me. Read the box.” I move ever so slightly to let him through to see the box. He grabs the handle of the metal mysterious box. “Are you sure it’s safe?” I ask him. He nods an unconvincing nod and slowly starts to open the box. Within the box lies nothing, what. There's nothing in the box just rust from the unknown time it has been sitting there. 

Not thinking much of it we spot a big brown couch. It looks as if was made of natural animal fur from some kind of unfortunate animal. Naturally cold and feeling lonely we sit down, closer to each other than we ever have. I run my hand through the couch fur outing. The couch is so soft on the outside but hard once you sit on it. He moves closer to me and puts his hand around me to warm me.

 “Hey, Veronica” he says to me. “Yes, Matthew, everything okay?” I say to him. He keeps looking at me weird. “It's just...i’ve been keeping something from you for a while. You see Veronie, I think I…” he starts to say with tears falling down his face when a loud banging noise cuts him off. 

I want to know what he was going to say but whatever it was coming from somewhere within this mysterious cabin. I look back to see that the metal box has fallen on the ground. Matthew is not moving, he’s still sitting there, looking hurt. My mind starts to wander away from the fallen box to him. What was he going to say that would make him look so hurt and even heartbroken.

 I walk back over to him and sit back down. I take off my heavy coat so I can wrap my arms around him. I slowly start to move my cold hand around his body to hug him. He pushes me away. Why would he do this? Is he okay? “Veronie, what I was saying was… I think, well I know. See I’ve been feeling this way for a while and I really do…” his eyes are gleaming from the tears in his eyes. He is once more cut off from weird unnatural trapping coming from the wooden chair in the mysterious cabin. We look back at the same time and see a mysterious almost supernatural figure sitting in the chair. I opened my mouth and before I can even think of making a noise Matthew put his trembling hand over my mouth. 

“Tap, tap, tap” the figure is tapping its hand on the hard wooden desk making the unnatural noise. “Listen, whatever you do don’t move. I’ll take care of this.” Matthew says. I'm not too fond of this idea but there's not much more for me to do than just nod a worried nod and let him go on with his plan. He walks up to the figure and looks at it blankly. 

What does he see that I might be unable to see from the far distance? I can’t make out what the figure is between the glare of the light and the darkness of the cabin. Matthew starts to circle the figure. He's saying something but I can't make out what it is. He leans over the figure and whispers something. The figure then stands up and shakes his hand. 

If only I knew what was going on. The figure is walking next to Matthew. What could have possibly happened? Who or maybe even what was this figure? As the figure moves closer. The face of the figure that was once unknown is becoming much more clear. It’s a man, a very tall man in that fact. My father used to be tall just like that. He disappeared a few years back to who knows where. The figure looks very familiar. As the figure starts getting closer I feel my hands start to shake and I feel my eyes fill with tears. 

I now know who this figure is who was once unknown. It’s the man that caused me years or anxiety and depression, who now gives me the fear of losing those I love. The figure was my father. I don’t want to talk to him. Not now, not ever again. I had caused me and my mother way to much hurt and heartbreak. I walk toward the door and put my cold hand on the metal doorknob to leave when I hear Matthew

” STOP! Veronie, you need to talk to him. For your own good.” he says. “No, I don’t. I never want to talk to him and you know that.” I tell him hurting more than ever. Just seeing him makes me feel those feelings I tried so hard to forget. 

“You see Veronie, he owns this cabin. He said that he would leave us alone if we pay him the money, or you could talk to him,” he tells me. It would bring back many memories that I wish to not relive so I walk up to this man I would rather not name and give him the pile of cash which no longer holds any value to me. His face looking as blank as it always used to, emotionless and empty. I was almost hell bound that I had seen a singular tear fall out of his eye but it could have just been the gleam of light coming from the utterly unique porthole in the ceiling. I guess I will never know. 

I go and sit back down to Matthew once more. “Matthew, is everything okay?” I ask him worried. Still a little star-struck from seeing the man who brought me years of pain but Matthew is much more important than that. “It’s just, Veronie you see I love you and I have fallen in love with you,” he tells me catching me off guard. I always simply thought of him as a friend if that. At this moment my views of him have changed. I don’t respond as there’s not much to say and maybe silence will speak louder than words. 

This cabin started out as a mystery of sorrow, dread and memories of which I wish to forget. Now it is a place where I had to watch one person I truly care about get hurt and maybe even heartbroken from me. To this day we are still friends who visit the cabin each sorrow winter to bring back the memories that we wish to forget. It helps us move on with life in a way of which is unknown to most and at times even us. Sometimes I think I felt the same way but here again, it could have just been the gleam of light coming from the porthole in the ceiling.