The Wilder-ness

Chapter Four

Standing outside the cabin, it feels like one of those scenes where the people get dropped off and just stand there, shocked and frozen outside the door. This is probably because we are literally doing that.

I take a deep breath to collect myself, then quickly push open the door and walk inside. I don't bother waiting to see if Charlie follows.

The cabin is much larger inside than it looks from outside. It's like one of those magic tents from Harry Potter. As soon as I enter, the first thing I see is a giant foyer with a grand staircase and a chandelier. In a way, it's practically my dream home. On the right is an open room and as I look on, a baby grand piano and a white couch with a few cushions appear out of thin air.

At this point, I'm no longer surprised as I've come to accept that impossible things are, in fact, possible.

On the left, there's a small dining room, but I doubt we'll be using it any time soon. Moving farther inside, there's another hallway by the stairs that has a bathroom, laundry room, and a spare room. There is another hallway that goes past the dining room, leading into the kitchen and living room.

Of course, the first thing I do is go into the kitchen and check the cupboards and drawers. I am shocked when I find them already full of snacks and food.

Grabbing a piece of bread, I drifted around the island in the middle of the kitchen and towards the carpeted living room side.

There's an L-shaped couch in the room. On the far wall is a giant television and a long painting hangs on the adjacent wall. Sitting down on the couch, I stare at the TV. Before I can obsess over how it's supposed to work where we are, Charlie walks into the room and flops down on the couch next to me. He takes up practically the entire couch, his feet resting in my lap.

Annoyed, I kick him off me and he rolls over onto the floor with a yelp, startled.

I let out a snort and quickly cover my mouth before I can laugh any more.

Clearing my throat, I notice that Charlie hasn't moved yet from where he'd fallen. Looking up, I find him watching me intently. I freeze, not knowing what to do. Quickly, I look away and reach for the remote.

Hitting the power button, options for different channels come up. They have regular cable along with Netflix, Disney+, and they even have YouTube and the Internet.

Not knowing what else to do, I click on Netflix and scroll through all of the different options. I sneak a glance at Charlie and find that he is still watching me. I squirm in my seat, totally uncomfortable.

"Are you hungry?" I ask to break the silence.

Charlie blinks, then shakes his head as if clearing his head.

"No, I'm ok," he says.

I nod my head a few times and turn off the TV. Getting up, I turn to Charlie as he scrambles onto his feet.

"Well. Goodnight then." I give him a short wave and head upstairs.

I can hear his footsteps as he follows behind me. On the upper floor, there are four rooms. One is right by the stairs and the other three are farther down the hall. I'm not sure why we have four rooms since there's only me and Charlie, but you don't see me complaining. More space for me to get away from him.

"Which room do you want?" Charlie asks.

I pause and think, tilting my head slightly to the side as I look at the ceiling. I point to the one at the end of the hallway on the left.

"I'll take that one."

Charlie nods and replies with, "Then I'll take the one across from you."

With that settled, we each enter our separate rooms.

As soon as I walk through the door, a light baby blue colour cascades down the walls and a queen size bed appears in the far left corner. A bookshelf is placed against the wall at the foot of the bed and a dresser to the right of the bed. Immediately, the covers have an aesthetic blue pattern and become fluffy along with the pile of pillows.

Opening the dresser, I find it full of clothes and each drawer is organized into nighttime essentials, comfortable home clothes, and pants. Behind me is the closet, and I'm not surprised when I find it also full of daily clothes.

Grabbing the onesie at the top of the pyjama pile, I head into the connected bathroom and quickly wash off all the dirt and grime I've picked up throughout the day.

Finally getting under the covers, I relax for the first time today. Looking at my watch, it's almost midnight. I'm shocked. It's been less than twenty-four hours, yet this morning feels like it happened centuries ago when everything was still normal. Letting my arm flop back down next to me, I let out a breath and stare at the ceiling. In the dark, there's not much to see, but that doesn't stop my brain from sending my train of thoughts speeding down the tracks.

"Shut up," I say into the dark. Not that it really works, but at least my brain quiets down a little.

I sigh and let my eyes fall closed. I'll deal with all this tomorrow.