pure colour artemis

Serie: Kureye Butu – (It Used to Be Simple)
Chapter 3 – Grainne (Part 2)

When she reached the cabin, it was already one in the afternoon. It seemed to her that no one had been there for a long time, as the windows were dirty and covered in dust. She found the key under a flowerpot by the right window, just as Mike had told her. Upon entering, she found an envelope with her name on it.

Hello Grainne,

Welcome to the Cabin that will be your new home for the next 90 days.

We have prepared firewood for the next two weeks; it is stacked against the right exterior wall.

In the pantry, you’ll find supplies: cereals, canned goods, butter and oils, condiments, etc. There are also fresh vegetables and fruit for the first week (we’ll bring you more). There are two oil lamps; use only one, the other is just a backup. About 100 meters away, you’ll find a stream with fresh water, and in the same direction, you’ll find the dry toilet, with a bucket of sawdust included. You can bathe in the stream or heat water on the fire and fill a small bathtub you’ll find in the corner for washing.

If you get bored, there are drawing and watercolor materials on the desk, and you’ll also find a guitar.

The blueberries and currants are about to ripen; go for the wild berries. They’re a great source of vitamin C, and you can also make jam (we’ve left you sugar and gelatin).

It’s advisable not to go out at night; there are wolves in the area, although they are shy.

Good luck!

Mike.

Grainne began to inspect the cabin, her eyes still not adjusted to the darkness inside. She started opening the blinds of the windows in the main room. It was a single room, but with everything she needed; at one end was the kitchen with a stove and iron burners for cooking and heating water. Right next to it was the dining nook, typical of the area, with a corner bench, a relatively large table, and two chairs. On the other side, there was a cupboard with all the kitchen utensils, some canned food, cereals, condiments, salt, and oil. The pantry for fresh food, sacks of cereal, and oil drums was attached to the house with a small exterior door, a dark and cold room (full of mousetraps). When they built the cabin, they couldn’t add a basement due to the state of the land and the need to secure the foundations.

At the other end of the room, there was a wooden screen with three-leaf painted flowers; behind it was everything needed for washing: a small table with a basin, a mirror, and a towel rack. Next to it on the floor was a kind of small enamelled metal bathtub, just enough to enjoy a bath. Grainne opened the drawer of the table and found soap supplies for six months. There was also an empty wardrobe with shelves and a coat rack; on the top were spare towels and sheets.

Suddenly, she was startled; she realized it was getting late! She had to prepare for the night, and there was still much to do. The first thing she had to do was light the fire. Although she had been prepared for it, it was the first time she did it alone. She brought in enough firewood for the afternoon and evening. Next to the stove, she found smaller materials for lighting the fire: some dry pinecones, twigs, some paper, and cardboard. First, she put in some crumpled paper, some pinecones, and dry twigs on top. But… where was the lighter or matches? She searched all the drawers in the cabin but found nothing. She started to get nervous; the fire was vital. Her therapist had given her clear guidelines in case of a panic attack, so she sat on the bench and began to breathe and think. Mike had assured her she would find everything she needed, so she remembered the oil lamps. Where are the lamps? They weren’t in the main room. The open loft only occupied half the surface of the main floor, so you could see the bed from below. Grainne climbed the wooden stairs and reached the loft; there was only a mattress on the wooden floor, a rug, and a small nightstand. At the head of the bed was a small window overlooking the valley. Very beautiful, but still no lamps, matches, or lighter…

There was only one place left to inspect: the exterior pantry.

She left the cabin; it was already three in the afternoon. Luckily, it was summer, and she still had a few hours of daylight left. Past the stacked firewood, she found a small door leading to a completely dark little room. She opened the door and heard a strange hiss; the snake was already in attack position. Grainne didn’t move, held her breath, and without taking her eyes off the snake, slowly, almost in slow motion, began to walk backward, giving the snake space to escape. As soon as there was enough room, the snake left and disappeared into the forest. Grainne knew it was venomous, not deadly, but it could cause necrosis and would require urgent medical attention. On the other hand, snakes don’t like to waste venom on an animal they can’t eat; they only attack if they feel threatened. Most bites happen when they are stepped on by careless hikers.

Once she got over the scare, she entered the exterior pantry and finally found the oil lamps and, next to them, 20 boxes of matches wrapped in plastic to keep them dry.

The most important thing was solved; with fire and water from the stream, she could cook and wash. She was so busy that she barely noticed when it started to get dark. Suddenly, she realized the silence around her. She sat on the outside bench, smelling the fresh air and watching the sun go down. Then she remembered what Mike had mentioned and went inside. The lamp’s light was too dim to read, so she noticed the silence and that she had nothing to entertain herself with—no TV, no radio, no smartphone, no computer… nothing at all. Then the first symptom of digital withdrawal appeared. Luckily for her, she was so tired that she had no trouble falling asleep in what would be her bed for the next 90 nights.

She woke up at six in the morning; light came through the little window in the loft, and Grainne opened her eyes. From her bed, she could see the full splendor of the valley. Her first day in the mountains!

The first weeks were very hard. Despite the training she had received, she wasn’t used to the countryside; she came from the city. She had to get used to the sounds of the cabin, the creaking wood, the forest animals, and the silence of the absence of urban noise. Besides the fact that there wasn’t a single electrical outlet. Real solitude without her digital allies, unable to talk to anyone on WhatsApp or just swipe for hours through Instagram to keep her mind entertained.

Now she had to learn to entertain herself. Mike only came once a week and only checked that she was okay and didn’t lack anything.

The visit lasted about 20 minutes; he didn’t even accept the invitation to have something on the terrace (of course, it was part of the therapy, and Mike had strict instructions not to make friends with the doctor’s patients).

Grainne didn’t really mind; Mike seemed too stiff and cold. Apparently, he lacked even the slightest sense of humor, so she didn’t make much effort to befriend him.

A month passed before Grainne began to feel good; she calmed down and could appreciate for the first time the wonder of the environment she was in. She had overcome numerous internal conversations. Since she was alone, she could talk to herself, so her imagination and creativity began to flourish. Every day, she took long walks in the valley. She picked blueberries and currants from the ground. An hour’s walk further up was a frozen mountain lake. Deep enough not to see the bottom, dark green in color. It was so cold you couldn’t swim for more than 15 minutes. Since it was a small lake, Grainne could swim from one end to the other. One day, when she was in the deepest part of the lake, she looked toward the shore where her things were and saw a young wolf searching through her stuff for something to eat. Grainne couldn’t stay much longer in the water, so she started swimming toward the shore. The wolf, hearing the splashing, raised its head, made as if to run away, but its curiosity was stronger than its fear, and it stayed watching as Grainne approached the shore. She didn’t know what to do; she thought the wolf would get scared and run away. Now what… she was freezing, either she died of cold or faced the situation—there were no other options. So she slowly got out of the water; the wolf started growling and showing its teeth but didn’t move. Then Grainne started singing, which confused the wolf even more, but the melody seemed to calm it; it stayed hypnotized, listening, and stopped growling. Grainne slowly approached the wolf and her things; when she got within two meters of the wolf, the animal howled and ran away.

How strange, Grainne thought; wolves usually travel in packs. What is this wolf doing alone? Anyway, she dried off, got dressed, and began the descent to the cabin.

Two weeks passed, and she had completely forgotten about the wolf story. At sunset, she was sitting on her terrace watching the last rays of sun disappear on the horizon when a growl startled her. She looked down, and there, about four meters away, was the wolf again. She wouldn’t have time to get into the cabin; the wolf could reach her in a leap. Paralyzed, they stared at each other. Then she remembered the singing, so she sang the same melody again. The wolf seemed to like it and lay down to listen. While she sang, she slowly got up, and in a moment when the wolf was distracted, she opened the door, went into the cabin, and locked it behind her.

The confused wolf howled sadly and left.