The wind was blowing something brutal that cold December night. Lorabell and I were snuggled tightly in our beds but unlike the stories, sugarplums weren't dancing in our heads. We knew the storm was swirling up trouble and any minute the house could lift right off the ground and break into a million tiny pieces. All we could do was hope and pray. We continued to hear creaking and groaning from the structure around us. Each moment felt more intense than the last. If our home was to blow away, we had no where to go, assuming we survived.
The valley we live in is sparse with residence and the next one ain't for another 50 miles. We'd nearly freeze to death before we made it just past the river. Fortunately before long we could see the sun starting to rise and hear the winds calm down. We made it out, lucky, this time but we knew that it was just a matter of time before we were in real danger. We managed to rest for a few hours. Then we went outside to see what damage was done to the house. Only a few boards were missing. We set out to cut down some wood to try to repair what we could. It took most of the morning just gathering two trees. The sun was right overhead before I realized neither of us had eaten even a crumb all day. After searching the cabin for a few moments I managed to rustle up some soup and a loaf of old bread. I warmed it by the fire and we dug in. It felt like I hadn't eaten in three weeks. We spent the rest of the day finishing up the repairs and bundled in for the night. That night was calmer than the last and we slept like logs.
In the morning we were awoken by a knock on the door. We were hesitate to answer because, as I said earlier, we live 50 miles from the nearest house. Lorabell grab a pan and I grabbed the door. I slowly unfastened and opened it. We both squealed in excitement and ran to hug our visitors. It was Paw and Axel, the horse we raised from a tiny foal. On her back was a wagon slap full of wood, there must have been 150 or more pieces of boards. You see, Paw's been gone with Axel roaming these mountains for three whole months trying to find us enough supplies to build a newer, stronger home. Suddenly I heard someone else in the yard and glanced over to see my old friend, Hunter. The last time I saw him we were both knee high to a grasshopper. I ran to greet him without, even, a coat nor shoes. He grabbed me up and hugged me so tight. "I missed you girl" he said, his voice much deeper than I expected. "I missed you too" I replied. "What brings you to this neck of the woods?" I asked. "Well your Paw ran into me and he started explaining what he was doing so I gathered up all the help I could get and they donated this for your house" he said as he pointed to three more wagons just as full as the first. Attached to them were three men and their horses. We emptied each wagon, one by one and each of the three men were on their way.
The next morning we started building, Paw, Lorabell, Hunter and I. By the end of the week we had the framing built, we even had enough wood to build a new horse stable. In between we would all laugh and tell stories. Hunter was ironically a very good Hunter and helped catch dinner quite a few nights even though wildlife was sparse. The next month our house was beginning to look like a home and we finished up on it just in time as the winter got even colder. It was far too cold to send Hunter home so he stayed with us. I was thankful to have a stronger home and my Paw back but I was most thankful to have my old friend back.
