Mountain Shadows

Chapter 1

                                                                                  

                                                                                        One Year Later

                       She wasn't fond of the hustle and bustle of the holiday rush. Not this year. But it kept her mind busy, as well as her hands. It had been one year since the accident. One very long, very painful year.

                            In the time since she lost her husband, she had managed to sell their quaint home and move to a rental she found in the small town of Silverton, Colorado. She had a homey cabin on the outskirts of town with nothing but surrounding woods to greet her good morning everyday. She wanted the isolation, needed it. The cabin itself boasted of a single bedroom and a single bath. Just enough for her. It held a beautiful little covered porch with decorative railings and hanging plants to add to the vision. To add a modern feel, inside, the walls were painted a sky blue with white borders. It made her feel like she had jumped back in time to days that were more simple. Hanging outside her bedroom window, there hung a small bird feeder. While small in stature, it more than made up for it in its ability to showcase nature. Every day was an eclectic choice of birds enjoying their meal and allowing her to find a moment of peace in their beauty. She never realized she liked birds until she moved here. Not that she had come across the opportunity much where she and Phil lived in the city. Phil. As a single tear escaped her eye, she shook the thought away and started getting ready for work.

                         She found a job at a local retail shop to cover the cost of bills and to keep her from focusing on the pain. She loved her little job, despite the constant encroaching depression. Her days were all the same. Not much to the exception. She awoke to her birds, grabbed a quick shower and ran out the door with coffee in hand to hustle to work. At work, she would prepare the till for the days cashier and precede to open the doors. During the day, she would straighten the mess that so many of their customers would make while shuffling through the days selections to find what they needed. She often wondered how their homes would look with their inability to fix what they had done in their quest for the perfect outfit. She never took a lunch. She didn't need it. A pack of crackers in the storage room and she was ready to go again. She didn't eat much anymore. When the day came to an end, as it always did, she lumbered home to her empty cabin for a cup of tea and a simple sandwich. Then she would change for bed and stare at the ceiling waiting, hoping, for sleep to come.

                        As for the rest of her life, she had made one friend since she had gotten here. Lucy to be exact. Lucy was also her landlord. They had become fast friends from the moment they met. Lucy was a fierce soul. Loving, supportive and endearing. Just what Madelyn had needed. She had met plenty of other people in her time here, she just felt the need to isolate from everyone. They wouldn't understand. Or so she thought. Death was something everyone had to encounter at some point in time or another in their lives. But such a violent loss, that was a whole other loss. Besides, she didn't want to throw her sadness on anyone elses shoulders. This was her burden to bear. She had eventually confessed to Lucy what had happened. The moment she saw the sadness and pity in her friends eyes she knew she couldn't do that again with anyone else. She just couldn't. So this was her life now. Solitude when possible, bare minimum when not. It was great, but it would do. It had to.