The Cabin

The sun’s rays glisten upon the freshly fallen snow that blankets the wilderness where a cabin is amid the trees. Smoke escapes from the chimney as flames lick up the remaining wood in the stone fireplace—the coffee pot spits and whistles as the temperature rises inside the metal can hanging on a hook. 

Derek pours the black gold in his mug, steam rises, warming his hands, taking a sip, pulls up one of the chairs from the table as he glances up, sees a black bear running toward the cabin. His cup shatters on the floor, spilling the remaining liquid, the rifle steady in his hands, as he swings the door wide open.  Derek looks through the scope, squeezes the trigger, the vibration penetrates through his shoulders and right down his arm.  The bullet whizzes through the air right past the bear’s head. Stumbling to his feet, Derek sees the bear standing on its hind legs with his ears facing forward

Stunned, Derek slowly walks back into the cabin, swiftly secures the door, waiting to see what the bear will do.   Whether or not it’ll leave and go back to the woods, or if it decides to come closer to the cabin. Either way, he picks up the rifle, gearing for one more shot, with beads of sweat on his forehead. Taking slow and steady breaths, as the old clock with its rhythmic sound ticks away, the minutes

As the afternoon sun rises in the gray-blue sky, Derek leans the rifle up against the wall since his unwanted guess is no longer standing in his front yard.  He rubs his shoulder before tossing on another log to the fire. Humming a little tune, he puts on a pot of stew with meat, carrots, and potatoes. The aroma fills the air, ‘A touch of home,’ stirring it with an old stain wooden spoon.

“Now this is peaceful,” he said, as his mind drifts off to a distant memory, one that he would not remember if it wasn’t for that bear, ‘what was it?’ he muses, ‘Yeah, the first time that I went camping with Uncle Jack,’ Images of their tent blend together with the lake, “Good times’ Derek said. “Yep, those were good times,” he repeats partly to himself and the four walls.

A knock on the door draws his attention back to reality, followed by a second knock

“Who could that be?” Derek said with a furrowed look, “I’m the only one up here, right?”  

 The knocking continues, ‘a most annoying thing,’ Derek thought as he opens the door and sees a slender small young woman thinly dress for this time of year. Her hair sunrise color, with eyes deep brown like the earth, wrapped in a shawl covering a loose top, with a hem of ripped jeans overlapping her shoes and a knap snack hanging just off her right shoulder, exposing bare skin.

“May I help you?” he asks, with knitted brows.

“Um., can I’s…, come in?” the young woman said, tightening her shawl around her shoulders.

Derek’s knitted brows glance past her as if expecting someone else to appear in the distance. ‘Can’t be too sure,’ he thought as he continues to scan the area before he finally agreed to let her in his cabin.

“Thank yuzu’s,” she said, as her body brushed past his toward the fireplace to warm herself from the cold.

There was something about this young woman. As he watches in disbelief, her skin shimmers in the soft glow of the flames, the movement of the woman’s body swaying back and forth tantalizes his thoughts.   ‘Who is she?’ he ponders, wondering if she is real or his imagination playing tricks on him, ‘I wonder,’ he said, her shoulder felt cold to his touch.

“Ye...ss,” she said, as their eyes met,  her thin lips quivering.

“Um..., what’s your name?”

“Hummingbird,” she answers, turning her back towards him, stretching out her hands over the fire.

‘The heat feels good,’ Hummingbird thought. ‘It’s been a long time since I’s took this human form,’ closing her eyes, taking a tiny breath of air, a sense of some familiarity about this place. ‘Is this a dream?’ Hummingbird softly said, taking in the aroma of Derek's stew, “Mm,” she said, “Ye...ss, it smells so...oo good,”

“Did you say something,” Derek asks

“No... oo, I’s didn’t,” Hummingbird answer. Her eyes catch a glimpse of Derek's’, ‘They’re kind,’ she thought, ‘Ye...ss, he has kind eyes,’ said, with flush cheeks, matching the color of her hair.

“Hey, would you like some stew? Derek said, “I have plenty.”

“Ye...ss, I’s would like some, very much.”

After dishing up some of the stew, his fingers can feel the warmth from her hands as they briefly touch, handing her a mug of stew.  It was a sensation unlike he had ever felt before, a spark of desire, ‘No, this isn’t real,’ he said, trying to convince himself, this is only his imagination.  ‘I’m just lonely, that’s all.’ Yet, still, Hummingbird appears to be real. Everything about her is stirring something inside Derek. He feels torn between his desire for her to be authentic and the fear that this is nothing more than a dream.

Hummingbird sits cross leg on the bed, bowing her head, and whispers a prayer, and it feels strange to pray, she thought, ‘in this form, I’s guess it’s what humans do,’ Though while watching Derek, she notices that he didn’t bow his head and say a prayer. “That’s strange’ Hummingbird quietly said, ‘I’s thought all’s peoples pray.”   As she takes the first bite, feeling the warm stew traveling down her throat, ‘this is another thing that I’s missed so much.’

“Why are you's here?” Hummingbird said

“Huh?”

“I’s says, why did you's come here?”

“I needed to get away for a while,” Derek said, finishing his stew, ‘Why did she ask?’ He doesn’t know the answer himself, so how can he explain it to a stranger. Yet, there is a burden on his heart that her eyes are begging for him to share. As he pours another cup of coffee, Derek pulls his chair closer to where Hummingbird is sitting.

 His words were thoughtful and slow as Derek started to tell how he feels, keeping his focus on Hummingbirds' haunting eyes. And like a river breaking a dam, Derek’s’ words began to spill over each other. Before long, he did what he never thought would have been possible, exposing his feelings to a stranger.  His sense of being disconnected from anyone, especially his family, ever since his father's murder when Derek was ten years old.  And afterward, following his father's death made Derek believe that he needed to be the ‘man’ of the house. A burden that Derek had kept locked inside all these years. Suddenly, he has grown with no longer a purpose, or at least that is how Derek believes, especially since his brother is getting married.

“So, you see, I feel lost somehow, you know?”

“One’s never lost when you's have a family.”

“But..”

“No..oo, you have a mama who loves you’s, right?”

The warm glow of the oil-burning lamps casting shadows on the floor and the walls, the flames from the fire give extra warmth inside the cabin. Time slips slowly away as the moon’s light brightens up the night sky, being joined by the stars shining like diamonds.  Derek straightens up the cabin, securing the leftover food in airtight baggies to store in the plastic bins.

Hummingbird snuggles underneath the sleeping bag,  her eyes flutter shut, and soon she is fast asleep, leaving Derek with a dilemma of what to do. After adding some branches to fuel the flames, he leans back in his chair, listening to her breathing. The sound was soothing, making him smile, knowing that he isn’t all alone after all.

 Derek’s eyelids start growing heavy with his head leaning forward, wrapped in some blankets, shifting his body until comfortable,  he finally falls fast asleep. As the morning light breaks over the mountains, its rays shine into the cabin. Derek stretches, his muscles sore from sleeping on the chair. He glances over toward his bed, expecting to see Hummingbird still sleeping, only to discover that she is gone.

Derek leaps to his feet as the blankets fall to the floor, ambling to the bed that is still warm from Hummingbird sleeping there. As his pulse races, Derek opens up the door, hoping that she only stepped outside to use the ‘outhouse.’, with a quick scan over the area, not seeing any trace of footprints leading to or from the outhouse. That is when he caught the sweet aroma of honeysuckle, coming from the direction where the bear was standing along with Hummingbird.

*** ***

Derek packs his jeep to head back home, checking the cabin one more time, as his Uncle Jack has always said, “Always leave the place better than you found it” Yet, he feels reluctant to leave this place, knowing that out there somewhere was Hummingbird wandering the hills and valleys with a bear. And as he bids a fond farewell, Derek will always cherish Hummingbirds memory and the words she spoke.

“One’s never lost when you’s have a family.” Hummingbird said a young woman who was able to breathe new life into his wounded heart.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Hummingbird watches Derek drive off into the sun as a tear glistens in her deep brown eyes. With a smile, she waves good-bye.

The End