Sweet Luxuria

4

The only source of water she found was a rusty pump in the backyard. An old metal contraption that stuck out of the ground a few steps away from the deck. It connected to a well somewhere underground, out-of-sight. Her complete lack of thought before coming to the cabin was really coming back bite her in the ass. She had no idea how her parents had managed to live such an outdoorsy lifestyle before she came along. Off-the-grid living was not something Erela was prepared for. But to be fair, she hadn't really prepared for any of this. 

She tried her best to look on the bright side. It was a good thing, really. Now, there was absolutely no way to connect to her to the real world. That guy would be even more insane to come all the way out here. Really, she would probably be fine. She just had to lay low and tough it out for a bit.

Unless someone came asking around town...

Ugh. Erela didn't want to have to worry about any of this! Why did a crazy guy have to save her one minute and then start threatening her the next? Hadn't she gone through enough in her lifetime already? Now, she was stuck getting to know the past of her parents and survive without modern amenities. All she had for entertainment was a radio! That psychotic man would rot in hell for everything he was forcing her to sacrifice.

Erela eventually decided to be productive instead of continuing to stew in her discomfort. She managed to find a station on the radio. It only played country oldies but it got the job done. Over the next few hours, Erela cleaned things up as best she could with the few supplies she had. She stripped the bed of its covers and pillow and fluffed everything out as much as possible. She would do an actual deep clean when she had settled in more and wasn't freaking out about the threat of a potential superhuman stalker. Besides, a little bit of dust wasn't a big deal. She just wanted any possible bugs to vacate the premises ASAP.

When the moon finally crawled its way into the sky, Erela was feeling exhausted. A heck of a lot had happened in the small span of one day. Just that morning, she had been threatened by a crazy man and learned her late-night attacker had been murdered. It's funny how all she wanted was to have a nice movie night filled with binge-eating the night before. She truly hoped she was overreacting, but her gut told her otherwise. 

Now she had a whole lot of shit to deal with and no idea how.

***

Erela woke up yet again to the sound of pounding on the door. After her cleaning spree yesterday, she flopped onto the couch to rest her eyes. Evidently, it turned into more than a rest. Her sore back and shoulders told her not to make sleeping on the couch a habit. Meanwhile, her life was making a habit of freaking her the fuck out.

She didn't have much time to think about her sore body with a person outside of the cabin. Although the pounding had ended for a moment, Erela heard the shifting of weight and the shuffle of footsteps on the wooden steps out front. She stood up and snuck over to peak out one of the front windows only to come face to face with another person. A man.

She let out a surprised shout and ducked down before she could get a good look at him. "Hello?" he shouted.

She peered up and could see him still looking into the window. He was searching the inside of the house through the dingy glass, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Is anyone in there? Grandma Minnie sent me over to check on things," he seemed to holler to no one in particular.

Erela's eyebrows rose and a portion of her panic dissapated. Had Minnie actually sent her grandson over? She hadn't thought she was serious. Neither her or the cabin were in any state for guests. But at least he wasn't the scary psychopath, right? 

"Hey! Is someone in there?" he cupped his hands around his eyes to peer in, "Are you okay?" he hollered again. 

Giving up, Erela snuck to the door and yanked it open with a creak. The guy, hearing her emerge, ran up the steps with surprise on his face. "Uh.. Hi," Erela said awkwardly. 

The man let out a breath before smiling easily, "Hey! Um, Erela?"

She nodded carefully, waiting for him to introduce himself. Had Minnie told her his name? "I'm Jasper," he held out his hand in greeting, "My grandma told me you might need a hand around here."

She felt her eyebrows raise as she emerged from the cabin and gave him a quick handshake, "Yeah, Minnie," she smiled, "but I think I've got everything handled here."

Jasper hummed and stuck his hands in his pockets while looking around him at the property. "Well, if you say so. For now at least," he responded. He had a stereotypcial masculine vibe to him complete with a dark beard, a baseball cap, and a flannel shirt. 

Erela tried not to show how badly she wanted him to leave. "Anyway. Thanks for stopping by, Jasper," she started shifting inside but took the opportunity get some information while she had it, "Um, about how far is the nearest grocery store?"

He kind of chuckled at her question, "Well, seeing as you'll have to walk, it's at least an hour to the general store in town. You can get to a real grocery store in car in about the same time," he stated. 

The information settled in and she accepted the long walk ahead of her. "Okay, thanks again, Jasper," she spoke again. 

He took the hint and started decending the stairs, "No problem. See you around Erela."

Jasper's footsteps crunched along the gravel to his truck and Erela closed the door, securing it behind her. She heard his diesel engine start up and leave the driveway, leaving her in the safety of solitude once again. With the visitor gone, she could now destress from the rude awakening he brought with him. Erela had a long day ahead of her to make this place more liveable, and a walk to the nearest store was part of the plan. It would involve a bit of prep, but she knew she could brainstorm some food ideas to get her by for the time being. Canned goods were about to become her best friend for a while. 

After resting on the couch for another hour, her first full day at the cabin flew by in a blur. She went on another cleaning spree and prepped some storage space for food. She even managed to get the water pump working. It had started with a pathetic, rusty stream until it eventually began running steady and clear. She wasn't brave enough to drink it yet, but it would have to do for wiping things down. A trip to the store in town had taken her the rest of the day and a quarter of the cash she brought from home. It was a depressing and exhausting walk back to the cabin with her fortune of toilet paper, canned food, bread, and water. Jasper was right. What they had in town wasn't a real grocery store. It had the basics, but they were pricy. 

She sure hoped this hiding place would be worth it. The trip to town today was a hell of an investment in her safety. That was for sure. No one looked suspicious while she was there, so she assumed she was in the clear for now. A sense of relief filled her as the cabin came into view once again. Finally, she would be able to relax for a while.