Elude

We drove up the snowy, winding road towards the cozy, A-frame cabin. The entire drive up until this point had seemed like every other. But there was something deeply nostalgic about this place. The atmosphere was quite familiar to her, even though she was certain she had never been here before. The town was quaint. It almost resembled something you would see on a Hallmark movie during Christmas time. Suddenly she felt a strong desire to idle in one of the local coffee shops for hours. There was one that stood out from the rest. The neighboring shop windows were boastful of their trinkets, toys and holiday displays. “Elude” was painted in an beautiful, humble script just above the wooden doorframe. From the mere 10 seconds she had to take in everything from the comfort of the warm passenger seat, she noticed a young woman through the window of the shop. She was beautiful. She sat alone at a small table, book in hand, seemingly unbothered by the world around her.

Pangs of desire stung deep into Aurora’s chest. The car came to an abrupt halt. Somehow several minutes had passed without her realizing, and they were now parked in the snow-covered driveway of their destination. She had been silent for quite awhile. Though this was usually something that made her anxious, she had come to grow comfortable in silence. True love is when the mere presence of another being fills the void in your soul. She believed this is why she has always liked animals. She reflected back to her childhood dog, Scotch. Her mother always told her that he was named after butterscotch candy, her grandpa’s favorite. Although it wasn’t until she was in high school that she came to realize her father’s unhealthy obsession with alcohol was a probable inspiration for the golden retriever’s name.

After dragging her insignificant, overstuffed suitcase up the slippery steps and fiddling with the lock to be let inside, Aurora took in a breath. High ceilings, she thought. There was a massive fireplace made with stones larger than her head. Glancing at the old clock, she realized there was only two hours of daylight left. “I’m going to check out the town real quick.” She exclaimed aloud. She exited the size-able front door before she even heard a response back. She wasn’t typically one to adventure about. Something about this place felt warm and safe, even in the dead of winter. She trudged through the snow to the end of the road where the cabin was nestled. Half of a mile towards the west was where the bookstore was located. She felt drawn to it. Snow was coming down lightly now. She tucked her face into the long, knitted scarf that was draped around her neck and began her journey.

For a town as picture perfect as this one was, she expected to see more people. The cold was shocking but not unbearable. She had sudden guilt rush over her like a pounding wave. She should’ve asked Beau to go on a walk with her. Only thinking about yourself again, dammit…she thought. More time had passed than she realized as she already felt the familiar cobblestone sidewalk under her feet. If getting lost in your thoughts was an Olympic sport, she would be a gold medal winner. She resisted the urge to window shop at the ornate window displays and walked up to the looming wooden door. She couldn’t see anyone through the window this time. She traced her fingers over the door handle and reluctantly pulled it towards her. Instead of being welcomed into the world of dimly lit rooms, old book smells and screeching coffee machines she was blinded by a light so bright it startled her. A big gasp of air immediately followed. “Ma’am, can you hear me?” Was repeatedly being asked by the shiner of said light. A flash light was the source. Have I teleported into a different world? She thought to herself. She glanced quickly over to her right hand side, where she saw a devastating sight. On the ground, scattered and strewn about, was the car that she had made the trip up the mountain in with Beau. Something was terribly wrong. “You’ve been in an accident. We are taking you to the hospital.” The paramedic who was shining this light was filling her in on the details as she continued to ponder in shock and silence. She desperately wanted this to be a bad dream. She closed her eyes and tried to exit her dream-like state.

We drove up the snowy, winding road towards the cozy, A-frame cabin…