Summer Sun // Hero Fiennes Tiffin

Two

As Dad speeds down the highway, I watch out the window to see the forestry blending together. It's the first week of May and the sun is shining bright, it's rays scattering across the blue sky. I love the sight of nature; it's calm and still, yet you know there's an entire world living right pass the first set of trees.

"El, please tell me you're not listening to sad music again," Eden groans from beside me, bringing my attention back to the inside of the car. Ed Sheeran's melodic voice echoes through my ears as I pull one headphone out. I look to my sister and I can tell by the look in her brown eyes that I shouldn't be wallowing.

I purse my lips and look down, not wanting to admit that my "Sad Songs" playlist has been on repeat for the last two hours we've been in the car. I can't help it though, every one of these lyrics just hits me. It's sad, but comforting.

"Give me that," Eden huffs, grabbing my phone from me. She scrolls through it, completely ignoring how rude it was of her to take away my unhealthy coping mechanism.

"Here, this is what you should be listening to. I don't want you ever listening to sad music again for the whole summer." Her voice is assertive, but I'm grateful for her. I press play on the song she's queued up, and the upbeat rhythm fills my ears. It's bouncy and light. It sounds like summer.

As I nod to the beat, I can see Eden smiling triumphantly out of the corner of my eye. The more the song continues, the more I feel a weight has been lifted. There's still a ton of emotional weight on my shoulders that has embedded itself into me, but better some than nothing.

I mentally thank Eden, glad that she's trying to dig me out of this hole. I reach into the basket of snacks that Eden gifted me and pull out a pack of Skittles. I reach towards my sister to offer her some. She smiles and nods, putting out her hand to accept. We spend the next hour of the drive listening to music out loud, belting classics with Mom, while Dad rhythmically taps the steering wheel. 

Once we pass the stretch of mountains and valleys, I can finally see the glisten of the lake. It's the early afternoon now. Not quite yet dinner time so maybe Eden and I can sneak in a quick swim before Mom calls us in to eat.

Third cabin on the right, I think to myself. We've been driving up here since before I could walk, let alone swim. As we enter onto the gravel road, I watch to see in any of our cabin neighbours have come in yet. When I see a precious golden retriever laying in the sun, I recognize her; Old Shirley. She's an old pup now, she's been around for the last decade and a bit. Old Shirley wasn't always Old, but after Mrs. Anderson started calling her that a few summers back, it's just stuck.

"Aw, look! There's Old Shirley!" Mom points out at the same time that I see her. She rolls down her window and motions for Dad to slow the car down. We come to a halt in front of Old Shirley and her owners; the Andersons. As Mom chats with them, Eden and I unbuckle and sneak out of the car. I adjust my leggings and tshirt, taking in the warm air.

I follow Eden down the dirt road towards our cabin, and she turns once we get to the wooden house with the iron '3' above the garage. Home away from home. Before I can make it up the front porch, something catches my eye. I look to the left to see our neighbouring cabin, and in front is a real estate sign pinned into the lawn. There's also a bold red sticker stuck on the front; SOLD printed in big letters. Cabin #4 used to belong to an older couple. They never mingled much, but were always nice when I jogged by in the morning and they were sitting on their porch.

"They sold?" I question out loud, more to myself, but Eden hears me.

"Guess one of em' croaked," Eden shrugs and I scowl at her.

"Sold...does it mean someone new is coming in?" I wonder, picking to see if Eden has any juicy lake-house-resort drama that we both love.

"Mom said something about a new family, but I didn't think they'd be moving in this summer," she thinks about it before groaning, "ugh, Mom's going to make me go over there with a damn pie again." Eden flails her arms dramatically, like a child during a tantrum, and I laugh.

"You think it'll be blueberry this time?" I poke fun at her and she flips me off. Eden is tons of fun, but doesn't get along well with grown ups. It's funny because she's the older sibling, so Mom expects her to lead by example, but it's usually me who ends up being the mature one.

We enter our cabin and the scent of beach, dust, and good memories engulfs me. I go to pull up the blinds and the sun rushes into the main living room. Through the glass sliding doors I exit onto the wooden deck. I've been here so many times and yet the view still takes my breath away. In the backyard is a huge, ancient willow tree at the bottom of the hill amongst the landscaping. And right behind that is our private beach and dock to the lake. Everything is so serene here, it's as if the outside world was put on pause and placed into an alternate reality. A reality where life and work and school just don't exist. 

And where stress shouldn't exist. But I can feel the tension between my shoulder blades and an uneasy feeling stirring in me. I just want to escape it...

I'm brought back to reality when I hear barking coming from the lakes edge. I peer over the deck railing to see the most adorable brown and white dog splashing in and out of the water. It runs into the still lake, chasing after something, and then runs back onto shore with gusto and enthusiasm. That is one happy looking dog. As I watch it run past the rocky beach and up onto the grass, I realize it's running into the neighbours backyard. But not our usual neighbours, but the now supposedly abandoned house to the left. I can't see any people behind the row of thick trees, but there are noises other than the barking. I guess someone has moved in for the summer, and I wonder who it could possibly be.