The Cabin

Driving down the bumpy dirt road, a red pickup truck, turns and cuts through a green meadow. Inside the truck two women sit quietly through the loud roar of the truck. The driver, an airplane pilot, drives through the tall meadow, following the tire marks left in the grass from so many times before. The pilot tired of the silence, turns to the woman next to her. âSo, whatâs your name?â
âAna. Ana Nash,â the woman says softly. She grabs hold of the door as the truck goes over a hole. Then asks, âYours?â
âValerie Perry, call me Val.â
Ana nods and they fall back into silence. The truck hits one more bump and comes to a final stop in front of a log cabin. The sun is already starting to go down, but the glass windows still reflect the last bits of sunlight straining through the dark clouds. Val turns the truck off and gets out, slamming the door behind her. Ana follows and takes a big breath of fresh mountain air. âIt smells like rain,â she says as she circles to the back of the truck and both women pull their separate suitcases out from the truckâs bed.
âYeah, the forecast read for rainstorms tonight,â Val said glancing up at the sky. âHell, Iâm glad I wonât have to fly in this weather.â
Valerie and Ana drag their suitcases up the porch steps and walk into the drafty cabin. They drop their suitcases and Valerie grabs some wood from the pile next to the fireplace and starts a fire. Ana sits down on the old couch across from the fireplace. âHow long have you had this place?â she asks looking around.
âAbout a year, it was my grandparents, before they died.â
âIâm sorryâ¦â
âDonât be,â Val says taking the chair adjacent to Ana. âThey had a good life and this cabin is great because the airline stops here often, so I have a place to sleep.â
âAnd a place to let a perfect stranger spend the night. Thank you by the way.â
âDonât worry about it, just helping a fellow woman in need. Speaking of âneedâ, I need some hot chocolate, you?â
âYes, please. Thatâd be great,â Ana answers pushing her short, wavy, brown hair away from her face. She feels so much more relaxed and leans back into the couch. Earlier that day she had boarded a plane in England, flew for 6 hours and was now stuck in Maine on a layover. Hearing that the plane would not finish its journey until the next morning, Ana was frustrated and close to tears when Valerie found her.
Ana was trying to clean herself up in the ladiesâ restroom when Valerie came in, dressed in her pilotâs uniform. âBad flight?â Val asked pulling out a red lipstick that complemented her light brown skin.
Ana looked at her in the mirror and dark brown eyes that matched hers looked back. She didnât know why, but everything came pouring out of her mouth about flying for so many hours stuck in a middle seat and all she wanted to do now was just go home. âThe flight leaves tomorrow and I have nowhere to go, except stay in the airport tonight.â
Valerie turned and looked at the woman who was around the same age as her. She wouldnât want to stay in the airport overnight either, so she invited Ana to stay at the cabin with her. At first Ana couldnât believe her luck, but she was hesitant at accepting the invitation. They didnât know each other at all and Ana didnât want to intrude. âBelieve me you wonât, I have an empty couch with your name on it,â Valerie said leading Ana out of the restroom. They found Valerieâs truck in the long term parking and hit the road.
Val came back with two mugs of hot chocolate, handed one to Ana and sat back down in her chair. âThereâs no TV, so weâll have to entertain ourselves. Where are you from? Iâm guessing thatâs where youâre headed?â
Ana took a sip of her drink and then answered, âYeah, thatâs where Iâm headed, to Wisconsin. You?â
âHere. Maine is my home, but with my job Iâm not in one place for very long. So, you got a family in Wisconsin, is that why you need you to get back there so bad?â
Ana looked down at the necklace she was wearing and started playing with it. It was a string with wooden beads on it and a wooden star hanging in the middle of the beads. She looked back up at Val who had a questioning look on her face. âI have a son, he made this for me,â Ana said pulling at the necklace. âHeâs in Wisconsin, staying with my sister, while Iâve been away.â
âWhy do I get the feeling there is a story coming on? Well letâs hear it, we have nothing but time,â Val said settling back into her seat.
Ana sighed, âItâs nothing, his dad and I are going through a divorce. I just want to be with him.â
âHow old is he?â
âSeven,â Ana says starting to smile. âHe has my wavy, brown hair, and his fatherâs dark green eyes. His nameâs Santiago, after my dad.â
Val finished her drink and sat it down on the coffee table. âWhere were you coming from?â
âI was in England, working. I might get a permanent job there, but Iâm afraid Santiagoâs father will not let him go. I donât want to have a custody battle over my child, but I canât bear the thought of leaving him.â Ana started to sniff and Val got up and brought back a box of tissues, this time taking a seat on the couch next to Ana. Taking a tissue, Ana dabbed her eyes.
âYouâve gotta be strong, girl. Everything will work out in the end.â
There was a pounding on the roof; Val and Ana looked out the window to see that the rainstorm had started. Rain was coming down hard and the wind made the trees whip back and forth. Ana remembered and recounted the story to Val of when she and Santiago stayed up all night listening to the thunder and rain beating against the window. They sat there for minutes just listening to the sounds of the storm.
Ana sat up, âWhat about you? Iâve given you my whole sad story.â
âI donât have a sad story.â
âWell youâre a pilot, donât you have interesting stories, been to interesting places? Hobbies? Family?â
Val sat back into the couch, âNo, no family. Interesting placesâ¦I flew over a volcano that was cool. For hobbies I climb mountains and go to raves,â Val finished with a smile.
âWow, adventurer. A little fun fact my favorite movies are adventure. You have no family? At all?â
âI was raised by my grandparents, an only child. There are distant relatives, but thatâs it. My grandpa is the one who taught me to fly, he was a fighter pilot.â
âThatâs amazing. That you were able to have such a close relationship with him.â
Ana and Val keep talking through the night about their lives and learning about each other. The fire finally dies down and the sun starts to rise; the rain had stopped a few hours before. âI canât believe weâve been up all night,â Ana says yawning.
âI canât believe we told each other our life stories,â Valerie says getting up and heading into the kitchen. She gets a glass of water and asks Ana if she wants anything.
âNo, Iâll eat something at the airport. What time is it?â
Valerie comes out of the kitchen looking at her watch, âItâs almost six.â
âI have to leave soon,â Ana says stretching. âIâm not sure Iâve ever met anyone who is so in love with math.â
âHey I told you that in confidence, fairy lover.â
They laughed and started packing the car. âDo you want to drive? Iâm so tired,â Val said starting to hand the keys to Ana.
âI canât,â Ana said pushing the keys away.
âOkayâ¦â
âI mean I really canât. Iâ¦I canât drive. I donât know how,â Ana said looking sheepish.
âReally? I just keep learning more and more,â Val muttered climbing up into the truck. Taking the same bumpy road back to the airport they kept up their friendly chatter. Val walked Ana to her gate and waited with her to board the plane. When it was announced that her plane was boarding both women stood up.
âI hope you get to go do that archeology dig,â Ana said remembering it from their conversation about bucket list items.
âYeah, me too. Hey Ana, I hope everything works out with your son.â
Ana watches Val for a second and then pulls her into a hug. âThank you. Thank you for everything.â They hug for a second longer and then pull apart. Ana pulls her carry on over her shoulder and starts to leave.
Val yells after her, âI hope you finally learn to drive soon!â Ana laughs as she walks away.

3 Months Later

Valerie gets home from grocery shopping and grabs her mail while walking up the drive. She puts everything down on the counter and throws away the junk mail. She finds a letter in the pile, opens it, and finds a letter from Ana. Ana has written that she didnât get the job in England, but a different company offered a job just as good and much closer to home. She is still getting a divorce, but now there will not be a custody battle. There is a picture of Ana and Santiago in the folds of the letter; Val sticks it to the fridge with a magnet. The letter goes on to say that Ana enrolled in a driversâ ed course and is counting down the days until she can take a road trip and perhaps visit Val again. Val is excited for her and hurries to sit down and pen a letter to Ana. She tells Ana all about the archaeological dig she just signed up for and will be doing in a month. She tells her how happy she is that her family is still together and would gladly put them up for a bit if they come to visit. Val signs the letter and runs out to put it in the mailbox. Valerie didnât know she would find a lifelong friend in Ana when they met, but fate stepped in and changed both of these womenâs lives.