As you approach the small cabin, a pleasant scent of fresh pine lingers in the air. You look up to see the trees swaying gently. The subtle breeze is pleasant. The cabin door creaks as you turn the slightly rusted knob. Dusty drapes shield light from entering the small, empty room you stand in. As you walk towards the first window, you notice many disfigured nails spread across the old oak floor boards. You open the drapes and hear metal scrape across the curtain rod. The sun warms your cheeks.
After exploring the cabin for some time, you find a small handle on the closet ceiling in the study. You pull the handle and hear an ear throbbing screech come from the hinge. You look up and see a short ladder that leads to what you believe is the roof. The ladder is old and creaks as you try and climb up it. Your back scrapes against the old brick making up the tunnel. You finally reach the top and peer your head out of the hole. You guessed correctly, the ladder does indeed lead to the roof. You climb out of the hole and stand on the old, but sturdy cabin roof. The gently breeze yet again brushes against your cheeks. You look out in the distance, but all that is seen are miles and miles of pine.
After climbing off the roof and making your way to the front porch, you decide to go explore in the woods. You fill a backpack with the essentials; matches, a water bottle, as well as a bag of Ruffles. You put your camera around your neck and began your adventure into what seems like a never-ending forest, but boy were you wrong.
The trip started off being very pleasant. You saw a few deer, found some berries, and took some wonderful pictures of trees. But dusk grew closer and you had been walking for hours. You turned in all directions looking for a familiar path back to the cabin, but soon realized that there were none. You took a few deep breaths in, and out. You were determined to not panic. Deciding to stay the night in the woods was the best option. Wandering around all night not knowing where you’re going sounded like a scene from a horror film. You opened your backpack and looked at the contents; a full box of matches, a half drunken bottle of water, and an empty bag of Ruffles. Maybe it was time to start panicking.
The next morning you awoke to the pleasant sound of birds chirping. The dew on the leaves around you glistened in the morning sunlight. You had a terrible knot in your back from sleeping on a large rock. You stood up, stretched, grab your backpack and camera, and began walking. After about five minutes of walking, your stomach began to rumble. The fact that you’d eaten all of the Ruffles didn’t help. Your legs became sore and feet blistered from all the walking. You had realized that nothing around you looked familiar, and began to feel a little less reassured. However, you soon found an opening in the trees that led to what looked like a field. You began to run towards the opening, with the morning sun glistening off your long hair. You burst through the opening and trip, landing face first in a grassy field. You were surprised by the size of your surroundings. From the view of the cabin roof, it had seemed as though the forest went on forever, but the field you were standing in marked the edge of the wood. You stood in awe of the glorious view containing a gigantic mountain, rivers, a lake, and many birds flying overhead. Although this view was amazing eye candy, it wasn’t your cabin in the center of the wood. A deep pit began to form in your stomach at the thought of never returning home.
The best option at the time was to go back into the forest. You didn’t have any food, barely any water, and matches weren’t going to help unless it turned cold. You took a few pictures, turned around, and ventured back into the forest.
After walking for several hours, you once again saw an opening in the trees. A little less hopeful it lead to the cabin, you slowly walked to the opening. You looked upon the grassy field with anger and frustration. You had gone in a circle. The same mountain looked down upon you and seemed as though it was mocking you. The fact that you had just spent several hours walking, and make absolutely zero progress was infuriating. You turned around and walked back into the forest, this time, making sure you walked straight.
Several more hours past, and the sky began to darken. However, you saw a familiar lamp post up ahead and knew exactly where you were. You ran with all the energy you had left to the lamp post which lingered in the front yard of the cabin. You tried to be excited, but you were so tired and hungry that nothing else mattered except for getting inside. You ran to the front porch and twisted the rusty door knob.