Lost In Paradise

Using every ounce of her strength to shut the door was draining the little energy she had collected from the previous night’s rest. Visibly winded as she engaged the lock, she panted like a dog in heat as she thought through her approach. There wasn’t much she could do, she awoke in a sprawl of a freezing cold. The thing that puzzled her was the fact that the climate inside of the cabin remained unchanged. Considering the stark contrast from the outside world, she decided it was best to wake her husband from his peaceful slumber.

Always a klutz, she tripped over the shoes that were scattered about the oak wood floor. She giggled to herself, knowing that Matthew would surely fire a snide remark about it. She caught herself against the wall and took a breath before stepping toward him with caution. As Mrs. Wallace sat next to her sleeping husband, she let the calmness of the moment become her. She wondered if she would be better off just sitting at the kitchen table and staring out the window until he woke up. He wouldn’t take kindly to that and she knew as much.

She rocked his shoulder back and forth until he mumbled and raised his head up from the pillow underneath his head. The string of drool followed his cheek as he pulled his head up to ask why she woke him up.

“I was actually dreaming for once, what’s the matter?”

“You have a good dream? Cause I can tell you this, no dream you were having could’ve prepared you for what you’re about to see.”

“Is this you over exaggerating again?,” he snapped back, “why don’t you go flirt with the desk clerk?”

“Because there’s no one left to flirt with.”

Matthew threw the blankets aside and rumbled towards the kitchen window.

“What in the fuck is this? What’d you do?”

“What did I do?! I can control the weather now? Get over yourself, love.”

He hated when she’d refer to him in an affectionate tone when they were bickering.

“Alright, so you woke up and what? You just realize that we’re neighbors with Santa and his legion of elves?”

“Right.”

“Why do you gotta break my balls? Did you look outside? We’re not prepared for this. We have no winter gear, all we have is camping supplies. So unless you know something I don’t, how about we take this a little more seriously?” He ran the faucet and placed his hand under the flowing water. “Well, we still have hot water pressure, so that’s a positive.”

“Maybe you’re taking a bit too seriously, Matthew. You said you wanted to get away from it all, so we are. Farther than you could have ever imagined. What is worrying going to do for us? Stress us out? Why not embrace the situation?”

“You’re fucking crazy,” he said before turning the knob on the faucet off. “We have two kids at home, what if we don’t come back when we’re supposed to. Your mother can’t watch them as we rot away in a cabin. It isn’t built to deal with these kinds of extreme conditions.”

She rolled her eyes and flipped her hair back before speaking.

“You don’t even know what it’s like out there. I do. I opened the door and felt the wind nearly knock me down. Maybe that would’ve been a better wake up call for you, huh?”

“Are you trying to fight with me? I don’t want to fight with you, Hope. It’s counterproductive. We’re wasting time arguing when we should be trying to figure out what the fuck we’re gonna do.”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you! There’s nothing we can do. We just have to hope for the best.”

He grimaced at her suggestion and grabbed his light fleece jacket that rested on the kitchen chair. “I’ve never been one to just wait it out, you know this. Now you can either come with me and try to find out what’s going on here, or you can sit here and twiddle your thumbs.”

Tossing the jacket over his head and slipping his arms inside, he looked at her for an answer.

“Well?”

“I’m thinking.”

“Fine. You think. I’m gonna go take a look around outside and see what I find.”

He swung the door open with brute strength and braced himself to enter the freezing unknown. The wind whistled and stung his clean shaven face. He thought back to when he told her he’d prefer to keep his beard. She shot down the notion that would’ve been helpful in regards his overall warmth. Snowflakes stuck to his eyebrows and swished in front of him, clouding his vision. He could see no more than ten feet ahead of him.

It appeared his wife was staying inside, leaving him to brave this battle on his lonesome. It was a challenge that he was open to accepting. He treaded forth, the snow crunching under every step.