Chapter 1, page 14

“This is adorable!” she cried, and stepped inside, totally forgetting Gail’s admonition to stay out of the cabin. She gazed around in delight at the old-fashioned furnishings, and couldn’t resist touching the rocking chair, setting it in motion. She picked up the pillow that sat in the corner of the green armchair, running her hands over the heavily embellished crazy quilt pattern, and enjoying the texture of the threads, beads, and buttons that decorated each patch. She examined the photographs in their old-fashioned frames sitting on a nearby shelf, and picked up one of the kerosene lamps, almost spilling some of the oil.

The fabrics and appliances clearly indicated that the cabin had been furnished in the late 1950’s or early 60’s. The stove in the kitchen appeared to be gas, and the refrigerator had rounded edges on the door, a style she could remember from her childhood. Gingham and calico were used at the windows and for hotpads hanging next to the stove. She sat in the rocking chair, set to one side of the wood stove for a few minutes, totally ignoring the rain pouring down outside. Her head rested on the pillow at the top of the chair back and she closed her eyes. Something was off, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it it. Her hands caressed the smooth wood of the arm rests, and her feet pushed her, rocking slowly.

Her eyes flew open, and she looked around the cabin again. Standing, she went up to the shelf above the woodstove and ran her hand over it. Her palm was clean. Where was the dust, the cobwebs, the animal litter, that ought to be in a cabin that hadn’t been occupied in forty years? The place ought to be filthy, mused Phoebe, not sparkling clean. She looked out a window; the glass was spotless, and yet she hadn’t been able to see in because of the grime just the day before. And there was no evidence of the fire that she’d seen at the corner of the cabin either; no smoke damage, no burn marks. And the stairs. Why was there a set of stairs? From the outside, the cabin just didn’t look tall enough to have much more than a tiny loft. It was much more spacious inside than the outside led her to believe.