Firewatch

Settling Down

I entered the room, limping because of all the blisters that I had all over my feet. 

I was happy to discover that the room was quite big. To my left was a small grey radio which looked like it had seen better days;  handheld yellow torches which looked quite heavy; matches and candles for when the power goes out; a bright-red flare gun that looked brand new, and all other things that you would expect a fire watch tower to have. 

On the right, there was a comfortable looking bed with cozy nightstand that had an eighties looking lamp on it accompanied by a bible (which was of no use to me as I follow a different faith). I decided to put the bible away in the bedside drawer as looking at it made horrible memories come flooding back to me. 

In the middle of the room, under a ceiling fan, was a table which was covered with a large and detailed map of the whole forest. I scoured the map looking for where the standing stones where marked but I could not find it. I searched for a marker representing the stones for a little while more but I eventually gave up after not being able to find it. 

It was starting to get dark so I decided to unpack all my belongings that I brought on this (what I thought was going to be) adventure and finally get settled into what was now, my new home for a while.

Outside the room on top of the tower, was a shower shack area that was quite small and tight. It looked as if it was makeshift, however, I knew it was not. I immediately knew that it would be a challenge to bring all my cleaning accessories without making space for myself to actually take the shower. Regardless, I still managed to take a quick shower, which was exactly what I needed after my hike. However, I had to abandon my sponge and razor as there was not enough room to fit them in the small shack where the shower was located.

It was night-time after I finished showering. I proceeded to unpack my belongings and turn the lookout into my new home.

When I was finished, I was happy to feel more at home, the lookout went from being a foreign stranger into a warm and welcoming family friend that I knew for years and years.