Perfect retreat

Gleaming hardwood floors allowed my case to roll smoothly as I gawked at the interior. More gleaming wood created built-ins with white plaster above them, with a dark wood trim, on the wall across from the door. A floor to ceiling gray stone fireplace sat between them. To the left was a wall of glass that looked out over the mountain. Leaving my case behind, I quickly went to ohhh and aww at the view. It was gorgeous. Reds, browns, and oranges covered the trees as the leaves had changed but not yet dropped. Fading softly, the sun disappeared behind the fire-colored foliage. I watched until the pinks and purple of the fading sun faded.

Turning from the wall of glass, I noticed the kitchen tucked along the far wall. Marble countertops set on gray cabinets. Upper cabinets were only on the interior wall. The exterior wall was glass from countertop to ceiling. A large marble topped island sat in the middle. My focus was on the back door. Looking through its window, I could see the deck that I seen on the way in. More cozy looking furniture was arranged near a patio table. Through the only other door was a half bathroom. Turning I inspected the curving carved staircase that stood between the kitchen and the living space.

It was gorgeous. The wood curved around like it was bent into shape. The etched spindles filled the space between the banister and steps. Grabbing my case, I carried it carefully up the gently curving work of art. At the top I found the bedroom. It was completely open to the floor below facing the glass wall. I couldn’t wait to wake up to the view of the trees gently lit by the raising sun. Also relieved that whoever built this place didn’t want the sun rising to wake them and put the glass wall to the west and not the east.

Back downstairs, with my book and a fancy strawberry drink I found in the fridge, I snuggled into the lounge on the deck. Surrounded by the fauna of the Appalachians with the ambient noise of being in the woods, I hoped to truly absorb the gift of not killing every plant I brought home. No matter how hardy, I could kill it. Any time I mentioned I’d gotten a new plant, my family and friends started referring to it as my latest victim.

An hour later found me bored and slightly cool. Gathering my drink and book I went back into the cabin. On my way through I grabbed another fruity drink, this one mango. Sprawled out on the L shaped couch I flipped through channels on the gigantic TV mounted on the wall over the fireplace. Nothing of interest on three hundred channels. Ugh. Scrolling on the home screen I found YouTube. It logged me in as guest. Being nosy I looked at the history to see what previous people had watched. Everything from political to down right p**n. All forms for conspiracy theories and true crime. Finding a video on things that go bump in the night I put it in. How could that be a bad choice. I was just alone, in the woods, in someone else’s house. I laughed a little as I snuggled under a blanket.

My phone began to dip as I drifted off listening to some guy droning on about shadow people. Knowing if I didn’t get up now, I’d spend the night on the couch, I forced myself to stand. Tiding up before I headed upstairs. In the bathroom off the bedroom, I got ready for bed. Teeth brushed, hair in ponytail, face washed I eyed the king-sized bed that dominated the room. Earlier I had checked for cameras and didn’t find anything. Plus, my friend had vouched for the safety of this house. Not trusting the sheets, I stripped them and put my own on. I’d trust I wasn’t being watched, but, I wanted to be sure I was on clean sheets. Once the bed was remade, I stripped down. After draping my clothes on the chair by the bed, I slid into the cool soft sheets. Laying on the nightstand by the remote to the lights was a candle sitting on candle warmer. Beside it was a note that said for a blissful night, to turn on the warmer. Bringing the candle to my nose I detected vanilla and mulberry. Some other notes I wasn’t sure what were. I turned the warmer on. As the delectable scent filled the room, I made a mental note to see if I could buy one in town. Quickly I dropped off to sleep.