The Essence of Water

NEW VERSION Chapter 20

Besides the disgustingly thick layer of dust on everything the cabin is surprisingly untouched. I find some mouse droppings in the cabinet under the sink and chew marks on the wood but there is no significant damage. Aiden opens the chimney and cleans it out with a ball of water to make sure there is nothing inside that will catch fire. Every time the ball of water drops back down to him it's littered with debris and feathers. I busy myself and pull off sheets from the furniture and clean. I pull water from the spring and run it over all the surfaces until the dust is gone. I place our bags on the table and unpack our supplies.

"I think that should do it," Aiden places his hands onto his hips and nods approvingly at the stone fireplace. He brings wood inside and starts a fire. The door and windows are open to let the fresh air in. It's cold, but once the house is aired out we'll be able to shut the door and hide from the world. The thought makes my heart pound and I feel nauseous with anticipation. I'm safe.

"I'm going to take care of the fire outside and grab some more wood," Aiden says and walks outside to douse and clean up the fire in front of the cabin.

I empty the food into the cupboards and I'm a little discouraged by the amount. I try to picture how long the food will last if we ration it carefully but I shake my head. We need more food. No matter how I look at it or divide it up we will need more than what we've brought if we're to survive the winter up here. I look out the open door. It's cold now and though it hasn't snowed any more I know it will only be a matter of time before winter sets in. When that happens we won't be able to get off the mountain easily or safely. I know little about the winters in the north, but if the weather now is any indication it won't be easy.

Aiden returns with the wood stacked on in his arms. "Is everything alright?" He stacks the wood next to the fireplace in a neat pile and stands back up, wiping his hands on the back of his jeans. A dark slash of soot marks his left cheek.

"We're not going to last the winter on these supplies," I tell him honestly.

He comes over to the open cupboard. "You're right," he frowns. "What do you think we should do? I could try to hunt with Doug's rifle. I'm not sure there are any deer up here and we don't know what to do with one if I did manage to kill something. Though I'm sure we'd be smart enough to figure something out."

I shake my head and open the creased map. I smooth it out against the table and together we look at it. We look at our current location or a rough estimate of it and I trail my fingers to the nearest town.

"We'd have to trek back to the truck," Aiden says. "This would be at least a day and a half excursion under the best of circumstances."

"We don't really have much of a choice," I tell him. "We'll last two weeks on the rations we have."

"True," he nods. "It's your call."

"We'll stay here for the night." I can't imagine leaving the cabin right after we've found it, but the prospect is made easier by the knowledge that we will be returning. "Then we'll head out early in the morning with the empty packs to get supplies. We can use the time here for now to make a list of things we might need."

We close the house up and draw the curtains shut when everything is aired out. The cabin smells of pine and wood smoke. I close my eyes and smile. This is the smell of safety and assurance. This is the scent that drew me across forests and rivers with a man I hated. This is the place my parents made for me, a safe haven; a home.

Aiden disappears into the bathroom for some time and I sit on the couch and stare into the fire. I watch the way the flames flicker and swirl and pop. The warmth fills me to the core and I throw an extra log onto it. As I watch the fire I can't help but think that it's not so different from water.