Chapter 1, page 8

What a good hike that was!” Phoebe thought to herself, as she finished the last bite of sandwich. She’d returned from her hike just before lunch, so now it was time to finish unpacking, and put away her clothes, the sewing supplies, fabric, and patterns. She bustled around the cabin, stowing her bits and pieces, rearranging and cleaning as she needed to, and reveling in the occasional glimpse of the mountain top outside the big picture window.

It was a small cabin, but there was the luxury of plenty of storage space. It was as well organized as a small ship, with shelves lining one section of wall, a small armoir to hold clothing, and cupboards for food and cooking equipment. The loft, where Phoebe had slept the night before, was tucked at one end of the cabin, just over the kitchen area. A high ceiling sloped over the living area, giving the illusion of space. Phoebe delighted in the clean white walls, the wood flooring, and the nicely crafted trim that gave the cabin a cozy warmth.

Finished at last, Phoebe found an enticing book, a cool drink, and opted for spending the rest of her afternoon lounging in the chaise, set invitingly in the back yard. She set her drink down, flopped into the chaise lounge, and took a deep breath, enjoying again the clean, subtle scent of the forest. She opened her book and started reading. But before she’d even finished her drink, the book slipped from her hands, closing on her lap, and she slept.

Chapter 1, page 7

Phoebe woke the next morning, listening to the birds twittering outside the cabin. Gail’s offer to let her use the cabin had come along at the perfect time. The time she spent here would be a chance for her to relax, let the stresses of the past year work their way out of her system. and work on self-discovery. She planned to spend a significant amount of time writing in her journal, using her camera and learning to use the images for her quilts, and work her way through the pile of books Gail promised her was on the shelves in the cabin. Oh, she had so many plans for the coming weeks!

Phoebe jumped out of bed, eager to start the day. It was sunny, still cool outside, and not a cloud in the sky. A perfect spring day. She scrambled some eggs for breakfast, and opened her journal for the obligatory hour of writing. Scratching away as she ate, she ticked off the projects she wanted to do while at the cabin. Besides the journaling and introspection, she had a list of sewing projects too. An avid quilter, Phoebe had brought a pile of fabric, threads, beads, buttons, and patterns with her. She listed each project that she planned to work on, along with a few notes on colors and sometimes a particular pattern number or name. Finally her list was complete, and she closed the journal.

By now, the sun was high in the sky and it was warming up. Phoebe looked around the cabin, and decided that putting her clothes away could wait until she’d done some more exploring. She could hike for a couple of hours, then come back in time for lunch and finish unpacking then. She stood up, took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and spent a minute in silent meditation before leaving on her hike.

Chapter 1, page 6

She opened the cabin door awkwardly, trying to keep the rabbit calm while she moved him to her left arm. The little grey bunny sat quietly, and once inside, Phoebe grabbed a polar fleece jacket and laid him on it. She rounded up the supplies she would need, opened the door up for more light, and sat down to clean his ear up. Once that was accomplished, she picked up the needle and thread she’d chosen and took small stitches in the ear, starting at the inside of the ear and working her way to the edge. The terrified rabbit was still as a mouse, letting her minister to his torn ear. When she was finished putting stitches in the ear, she gently turned the ear over to look at the back, and satisfied with her work, she deftly patted more disinfectant on the cut. She picked up the little rabbit, polar fleece jacket and all.

“There you go! All fixed up! I wish I had some sulfa powder for you. But you’re a little toughie, you’ll be okay. Now I’ll take you back where I found you.” Phoebe shut the cabin door, and set off down the trail. Once back to the spot where she had picked up the rabbit, she set him gently on the ground, and after a moment’s hesitation, he hopped into the bushes. She looked at the bushes he’d gone under, and silently hoped that her ministrations had helped, rather than hindered, the little rabbit.

She gave a small sigh, and finally noticing that it was quite late in the afternoon, decided that more exploration would have to wait until tomorrow. Her stomach rumbled in agreement, and she turned around, striding briskly in the direction of the cabin. Just out of the corner of her eye, something flashed by her, and she turned her head. There was that huge butterfly again! But it flitted into the trees before she could get a good look at it.

Chapter 1, page 5

Phoebe started as a butterfly seemed to dive bomb her. It had merely flown a little closer than the others, so she relaxed. A huge butterfly hovered in a branch ahead of her. She stared at it; it almost looked like a person instead of an insect. She blinked her eyes, and when she looked for it again, the gigantic butterfly was gone. She whipped her head from side to side, to see if it had just moved or if there was another one, but all she saw were the smaller, normal butterflies.

Soon she heard the tinkling of the creek. The trail went either way along the creek, and arbitrarily she went left, going slightly uphill. She ambled along, enjoying the scenery and looking through the trees. Presently she came upon a small rabbit, stopped in the middle of the trail. Its ear was torn and blood soaked. The little thing sat, trembling, as Phoebe came closer. She crooned softly to it, and when she was close enough, picked it up.

“You poor little thing!” she cried softly, as she examined the ear. It wasn’t a serious injury, but she turned back towards the cabin and made plans to repair the ear. Mentally, she went over the list of supplies she would need. The first thing would be to clean it up, with soap and water, and some disinfectant. Then trim the hair back, and lastly, sew up the cut. The rabbit sat quietly in her arms as she hurried back to the cabin, muttering softly to it.

Chapter 1, page 4

It was a huge relief to be here. For the past year, her whole life had been falling apart; her job had not been going well, she’d been stuck in an emotionally abusive relationship, she couldn’t get her creative juices flowing; nothing had been going right. So when her company was downsized, and she was given the option of demotion or taking a very nice lay-off settlement, she took the settlement. She wanted the opportunity to sort out her life, to disassociate herself from the last year, and to find her muse again. When her friend Gail offered her family’s cabin as a retreat, Phoebe jumped at the chance.

The cabin was in the Trinity Alps, situated in the northwest corner of California. It was about an hour west of Redding, and two hours east of the ocean, the perfect spot to indulge two of Phoebe’s passions: solitude and hiking. It would be quiet and relaxing, so she could write, sew, and read, yet with plenty of scenery and as much physical activity as she cared to indulge in. She could take inspiration from the surrounding mountains to create her poems and small quilts, and then get out and hike in them.

She took a deep breath, letting the scent of fir trees mingled with the dust of the road go deep into her lungs. Her eyes closed, she felt the breeze gently explore her face. She could feel the tension leave her body, swept away by the quiet shhhh of the wind in the trees. She ambled down the path, keeping an eye out for sticks and roots that could trip her, but drinking in the calming greenness of the forest. Butterflies trailed along, just above her head as though guiding her. Birds serenaded her, twittering and singing, hidden in the forest canopy. Compared to all the pavement in San Francisco, this was heaven.

Chapter 1, page 3

She inspected the attic access ladder that led to the loft, and pulled it down. She went partway up, and with her head just above the loft floor, eyed the bed and bookshelves. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and was grateful for the kindness of her doting friend who was loaning the cabin to her for the next several months.

“Well, time to unpack!” she declared, to no one. And she backed down the stairs, put the ladder back up, and went out to the car.

She opened the trunk of the small green Honda and picked up two suitcases, toted them inside, and set them just inside the door. Her sewing gear was still in the car, so she went back out and brought in her needlework supplies. Lastly, she brought the groceries in. She threw the vegetables, milk, and other items that needed chilling into the refrigerator and set the rest of it on the counter. She could put away food and unpack her clothes later; right now she was anxious to go for a hike and stretch her legs.

She locked up the car, put on a cap and her daypack filled with water bottle, snacks, and her journal, and went down the driveway. She decided to start with the trail across the road that was supposed to go down to the creek. Reflexively, she looked both ways before crossing the road, and grinned as soon as she realized what she’d done. Here she was, out in the middle of nowhere, on a dead end road, and she was worried about traffic. Laughing to herself, she started down the trail, shady and cool.

Chapter 1, page 2

“Yeehah,” she said softly to herself, “here at last.” She stretched her arms over her head, then behind her back. Putting one foot on the bumper of the car, she stretched her hamstrings, then pulled her leg behind her and stretched the thigh muscles, switched legs, and went through the stretching exercises with the other leg. She opened the car door and grabbed a soda from the cooler set on the floor of the passenger side, and popped it open with a snapping sound.

Taking a long drink, she stared at the cloudless sky above her, ringed by the trees surrounding the cabin. She dropped her head, and looked at the cabin. She walked up to the shaded porch, with two chairs and a small table off to the left of the door, perfect for relaxing afternoon reading or handsewing. The door was unlocked, just as Gail said it would be, so she opened it and walked in.

The one room cabin was small by most peoples’ standards. Well under 500 square feet, it had a tiny kitchen, a wood stove for heat, and a comfy looking recliner. The loft was accessed by an attic access ladder, that pulled down when needed. With four windows, there was plenty of light, and the sheetrocked walls, painted an eggshell white, reflected plenty of sunlight without being blindingly bright.

Small, compact, tidy, adorable, were the words that came to mind when she surveyed the cabin. She stepped over to the kitchen area, really a galley, like on a boat, and opened a cupboard door. Just as Gail had said, everything she would need. All she packed were jeans and tees, suitable for hiking, and a swimsuit, for when it got hot enough to enjoy the pond that reportedly wasn’t far from the cabin. She’d stopped in Redding, and picked up some fresh food; milk, eggs, salad stuff, and some meat, but that was all she’d wanted.

Chapter 1, page 1

She drove west, the midafternoon sun bright, but not annoying. Redding was behind her, and she should arrive within an hour. Fumbling in her purse, she dug out the instructions on how to find the cabin. When she got to Weaverville, she turned right and started driving north. Passing the fifth, and last, lake resort was the signal to start looking for the forest service road she needed. “Aha! There it is!” she remarked to herself, and turned left.

The road was already dusty and dry, though it was only May. She drove slowly, trying not to rattle her teeth, and keep the dust down. Finding a turnout, she stopped and re-read the directions. Two miles in, turn left at the disfigured tree, and watch for the huge boulder off to the right of the driveway.

She saw the boulder before she saw the tree, and wondered how, and why, the boulder had settled in that spot. It stood a good eight feet high, with a smooth rounded top. On the other side of the drive, the deformed pine tree bent far to the left and then straightened up, putting an odd curve in the trunk. She puzzled briefly over what had caused the odd deformation, but was more concerned with arriving at her destination, and didn’t stop to look at the tree.

The cabin was set back from the road, down a long driveway. Phoebe parked the car in front of the modest frame abode, and sat staring at her borrowed hideaway. She opened the car door, swept her slim, shapely legs out of the car, and stood up.