Sweet Luxuria

4

The sound of Minnie driving down the road slowly faded away while Erela carefully approached the cabin. It was small; made up of just four wooden walls and a roof. The front steps appeared to have been painted brown long ago, but now the paint was chipped and faded, leaving the exposed wood looking aged and grey. The same could be said for the rest of the exterior. The building was certainly showing its age. There were two filthy windows on the front of the cabin, one on each side of the door, giving the appearance of two wide eyes.

As a whole, it was in clear disrepair. Though that was to be expected after so long with no one visiting. At least, if this was miraculously the right place.

Erela's suitcase bounced along behind her on the uneven dirt while she trekked toward the steps. She hauled it up the stairs to the door and dropped it with a thud before reaching into her pocket for the key.

The metal was warm in her hand as she jiggled it into the lock. For a moment, it seemed as though Erela was indeed at the wrong place, but after a bit of wiggling, the key settled into the lock, and she turned it open. She gave the door a hard shove with her shoulder. It swung open with a groan and slammed against the wall behind it.

The dust inside the building was disturbed by her entrance. Endless particles flew around in the air, caught by the sunlight beaming in from the doorway. It felt strange to disrupt a space that had been forgotten for so long. A pang of anxiety struck her stomach at the thought of her parents once inhabiting this place. She had no choice but to suck it up, so she hauled her bag through the door and swung it back closed, locking it immediately. The space was lit lowly by sunlight and was silent besides Erela's quiet breaths. Her suitcase rolled along with her dutifully as she took in her surroundings. 

The cabin was basically a studio apartment. On one side was a small kitchen with ancient appliances and a four-seater dining table. To the other was a 70s couch with a brown, floral pattern. It sat facing an old radio on a coffee table. Behind the living area was a bed. A queen-size mattress sat on an old metal frame, covered in a patchy quilt with pastel floral sheets. There was a thick layer of dust covering everything, and Erela felt defeated at the thought of having to clean it all. 

It was hard for her to grasp that her parents had once existed here. As she walked around, she noticed the tiny details that gave away their long-ago presence. Bobby pins on almost every surface, left by her mom, who always had to have her hair out of her face. On the walls, a few wooden frames held photos of their younger, smiling faces. A hunting rifle stood up against the wall near the door, one of her dad's hobbies long forgotten.

They weren't here, but they were, and it was hard for Erela to come to terms with. She would have to move forward. This would be her temporary home for a while, and she wouldn't be able to sit around sulking about her dead parents the whole time. In fact, she had other things to do, like figuring out how she was going to find food in a secluded cabin without a vehicle.Erela's next major concern was sourcing water and electricity.

With a brief amount of snooping, she deduced that electricity was simply not a possibility. A more thorough investigation of the tiny cabin revealed an iron fireplace between the bed and living space. The kitchen hosted an intimidating woodburning stove alongside a sink that she had yet to find a water source for. Erela rolled her eyes at the thought of living without a fridge. She'd have to figure out a way to keep things cold eventually. At least, once she figured out a plan for food in the first place.

The water outlook was equally as disappointing. No indoor bathroom, but instead, a decrepit, wooden outhouse behind the cabin. Erela had spied a door past the bed at the back of the room. She managed to yank it open to find a small deck off the back of the building. There was a makeshift, metal bathtub sitting on the deck. Beyond that, a set of steps brought her down to an overgrown path leading toward the "bathroom". The tiny shack featured a real toilet seat and even a toilet roll holder mounted to the wall. Courtesy of her dad, she assumed.