Ava couldn´t take her eyes off of the cabin and had hundreds of different questions roaming through her head. Why was it the same cabin as back home, down to the perfectly placed stone? She should be miles away from home and it didn´t make any sense that her eyes would play tricks on her.
She continued to stay hidden amongst the treeline to see if anyone would walk around inside, but nothing happened. There wasn´t a single movement coming from inside the cabin. She could not understand why she was waiting outside either way or why she waited. It was as if Ava believed that she would gather the courage to walk up to the door once she saw movement. It was not likely that she would ever get the courage to do so.
The forest had gone back to being ominously silent, which it stayed for a while. To Ava, it appeared that the forest held its breath as it waited for her to make a choice; to leave or to investigate. Curiosity killed the cat; that was what her mother always told her. Nonetheless, every fiber of Ava´s body wanted her to go up to the cabin and see what it looked like inside.
Rationally, someone could have liked the way Ava´s parents had built the cabin and decided to build theirs in the same way. Yet, it felt like there was so much more to it. Why were there runes all around the forest, and did it have any connection to the cabin? It was highly likely. Nonetheless, Ava did not want it to be the truth. She wanted everything to be a sick joke and to laugh at the universe´s morbid sense of irony.
As the sun started to set, Ava realized that she would have to decide on a plan based on the possible outcomes. She had been staring at the cabin for an entire day, which naturally resulted in her forgetting about finding a safe place to sleep. Climbing back up in a tree for some sleep was one of her last resorts.
Once it got dark, Ava would have to decide and make a choice. Should she wait out the night and see if anyone would walk up to the cabin in the morning? Or should Ava knock on the door, even if any lights appeared once the night surrounded them? Her stomach turned as she realized how dark it got here and how fast. It felt like a solid minute had passed since she saw the warm hues of the sunset above the treeline.
As the darkness settled, Ava kept her gaze glued to the cabin. She waited anxiously for some lights to appear or the sounds of footsteps or some movement. Her heart thundered in her ears as Ava waited, resulting in the anxiety growing in her chest. Should she knock on the door? Should she leave? Should she walk around the forest to investigate further?
Even though walking about the dark treeline wasn't her first choice, she realized it was her safest. The darkness would conceal her presence in case someone was home, and she could easily see if there was a single speck of light coming from inside.
With legs trembling out of nervousness, she took her first step. The forest floor barely made a sound as she moved, without being able to see where she was walking. Even though the darkness created coverage for her, she didn´t want to think about what else the night shielded.
Now and then, she managed to break a branch as she walked, which resulted in Ava standing frozen in place for a solid minute. She glanced around to see if anything changed, but nothing did. Her gaze never wavered from the windows or the front door it all depended on her location and what was closest.
To her surprise, there wasn't a single light on inside. There hadn't been any movement throughout the day either. Was it abandoned? She stopped by the tree where she had left her stuff before her walk, where she crouched down to make herself smaller. Eventually, her back ended up leaning against the tree stem in the perfect direction, so she had an entire overview of the cabin.
With furrowed eyebrows, she continued to stare at the cabin for the entire night as the uneasy feeling kept growing in her chest. After what felt like five minutes, the sun started to shine light onto the cabin again. Even though her body was exhausted after staying awake for the entire night, Ava got up on her feet.
She had thought about it over the entire night and had concluded that no one was living here. Someone might have, but not anymore. That is the reality Ava wanted to believe. If she was wrong, her mind had crossed the line and asked her: ´what´s the worst that can happen?´. Easily, it was getting shipped back to the village. Yet, the curiosity got the better of her.
With determined steps, she started to make her way up to the cabin. Her mind kept reassuring her in case someone was home, she could just apologize for the trouble and walk away. Her hands started to get warmer, and soon she had to wipe her clammy hands on her skirt.
Dejavu struck her as she placed the sole of her foot on the first step up to the cabin. She glanced around and realized how everything felt oddly familiar from this point of view. As she was staring out into the forest, she believed that this wasn't her first encounter with this cabin. Ava drew in a sharp breath to calm her nerves before walking up to the front door.
Her knuckles softly knocked on the door three times before she took a step back and waited.
It felt like she had done nothing but wait for the past day. As she grew impatient, she walked over to the closest window and leaned closer to look inside. Fear struck her right away, which made her take a step backward in complete and utter shock. Her heart thundered, threatening to break through her chest. Her breath quickened as the image once again made its way into her head.
Frozen in fear and with a turning stomach, she knew how her body would react. She had reacted this way once before, to somewhat the same image. Her legs carried her down the staircase, over the grass garden, and back to the treeline. As soon as her palm leaned against the tree, she threw up her guts.