The Cabin

Ella woke up Saturday morning with a feeling of sadness inside of her. For a second she forgot why but then she remembered the note from her mom from the previous morning. It was for her and her dad, since she was an only child. It read “I need a break. Don’t try to follow me or look for me.” She hadn’t even signed it. This hurt Ella. She knew her parents weren’t getting along, but she didn’t expect this. Her dad did, though. When he read it, he had no look of surprise one bit. He didn’t even look very sad. This made Ella hurt even more. As she recited this in her head, tears came to her eyes. She couldn't help it. After she wiped her eyes, she got out of bed and put on her bathrobe. She sat down at the kitchen table and poured some fruit loops and milk into a bowl. She was scrolling through her phone when an idea popped into her head. She would take a long walk in the forest! This would let her think and calm her down. She decided she would pack some food and water. She gobbled down the rest of her breakfast, got dressed, and packed her bag. She packed lunch, snacks, and water. She wrote a note to her dad and headed off to the forest. She hoped to be back before dinner. It was a cold and snowy January day and the snow made Ella happy. While she was walking against the wind and snow, something caught her eye. Ella stared at it for a few seconds before realizing it was a log cabin. She headed for it and when she reached it, she looked for signs of anybody living there. It didn’t look like it. She knocked on the door. No answer. she knocked again, just to be sure. Still no answer. She turned the door handle and to her surprise it was unlocked. Ella walked through the door and looked inside. The cabin was well taken care of. On the wall, she saw a sign that read “If you’re reading this, good for you. Stay here as long as you wish.” Ella smiled. She closed the door, set down her bag, and walked around. She wandered every room and inspected everything. She was so busy exploring, she didn’t notice the blizzard that had started outside. It got worse by the minute. When she was  finally done exploring, a half hour had passed. She toppled onto the couch and layed there for a long time, just thinking. She finally got up and went to her bag. She got out her phone to call her dad but she couldn’t because there was no cell service. She sighed and put her phone back into her bag. She got out her sandwich and started eating. She took a sip of water and put her garbage into her bag. She rummaged her bag looking for some paper and a pen. Thankfully, she always kept a notepad and pencil in the front pocket of her bag. She wrote “You’ve got a nice place here. Thank you for letting anybody stay here.” She ripped off the paper and put it on the counter. She put her pencil and pen back into her bag and tried to open the front door but it wouldn’t move. She tried again but the door still wouldn’t move. She looked at the door through the window and saw a big, tall pile of snow across the whole front porch. The door was really small so it was almost completely covered. Ella started to panic. She had no cell service and she couldn’t get through the front door. She decided to look for a back door or a side door even though she had already explored the whole house and didn’t see any more doors. She looked anyway. She searched the house 3 times before giving up. She just plopped herself down on the couch and sat there. She sat and started to cry. Then she started to talk to God. “Why? Why did my mom have to leave? Why do I get stuck trying to calm myself down? It’s not helping. Why do you choose to do this to me God?” She practically yelled these words, tears streaming down her face. Then she heard a voice. It was from inside her heart. “I am with you wherever you go.” The words were so powerful Ella practically heard God talking to her. She calmed down, feeling better. She realized, getting stuck in this cabin with no cell service was kind of a good thing. She let all of it out to God and now she felt better. She remembered the little Bible she kept in her backpack. She took it out and started at Genesis 1. She took out her pencil and wrote down notes and underlined verses. She read and read realizing how much the Bible really taught you. After about half an hour she heard footsteps outside the cabin. She looked out the window and saw her dad walking around searching. She realized he was searching for her. She started to tap at the window but then started to bang it so he would hear her. He looked at the window and saw her. A smile of relief overtook his face. He ran to the door and saw the big pile of snow piled up against the door. He said in the loudest voice he could “I’ll go get a shovel. Wait a few more minutes.” he ran from the door and disappeared into the snow. Ella noticed the snow had stopped falling. This made her happy. She liked the snow a lot but now the pile of snow in front of the door wouldn’t grow. She sat back down and found where she had left off a few minutes ago. Quite a while later, she heard shoveling at the front door. Her dad was shoveling away all of the snow. She put her pencil and Bible away, made a mental note to continue reading at home, and she watched her dad shovel away the snow until he was finally done. When he was, Ella opened the door and hugged him. He hugged her back. “Next time, check the weather. Also, what are you doing in someone else’s cabin?” She smiled and explained the whole story. She said what she did in the cabin, too. When her dad heard the part about her crying to God he felt sorry for the way she felt but was happy she confessed it to God. Ella took her bag and she and her dad walked home. At home they made a nice cup of hot chocolate and some hot popcorn, too. They sat down on the couch and put a blanket over top of both of them. They chatted for a long time and talked about why Ella's mom had left. They went back to the cabin again and again and eventually met the owners. They were very nice people and soon their families became friends. Ella’s mom never came back and she never heard or saw her again but Ella and her dad lived a happy life together.