It Happened One Night

"Ugh! The car is stuck! I think I'm going to be stranded!"

"Can you call a wrecker? Where are you?"

"I'm not really sure, somewhere along Hwy 8..." The phone went dead. And of course, I don't have a charger for it in the car. "When will I ever learn?"

I saw a cabin a ways back, so I thought it might be better shelter than my car. I hoofed it, grateful, at least that I had a decent coat on for a change.

It was a cabin, and an abandoned one, from the looks of it. The door was shut, but not locked. Pushing the snow, I managed to open it and enter. It was barren, as though time had forgotten it. Dusty, too - I sneezed several times. But it was dry, and I hunkered down in an old rocking chair that stood in the corner. Completely worn, and cursing myself roundly, I fell asleep.

I felt a warm tongue on my hand - and was startled to see a dog. It was looking at me with wide, wary eyes.

"Hello, there, fella. Where did you come from?"

"What are you doing in my house?"

"Well, I got stuck in a snowbank....Hey! Wait a minute...Are you talking to me?"

"Kind of a silly question, don't you think?"

"Well, dogs don't usually talk to me where I can understand."

"Silly human, we talk, and those that want to listen, understand."

Shaking my head, I just pet the dog's head. "I suppose that's true."

I fell back to sleep, and awoke in the morning.

The storm blew over and the sky was bright blue, without cloud in the sky. My companion for the night was nowhere to be found, so I smiled to myself at the odd conversation, and headed back toward the car.

To my surprise, a wrecker was pulled up by the car.

"Is this your car?"

"Yes it is. How did you find me?"

"I wasn't looking for you. I only stopped because your dog was in the middle of the road barking."

"My dog?" Then I saw him. He came over to me and sat, wagging his tail.

"Good boy. I guess we are going home."

I could have sworn the dog winked at me. "Woof!" was the reply.



Word Count:381

Prompt 1: Bard's Hall Contest Jan 2023 ▼

It’s freezing cold, your car is stuck in the snow, you see a little cabin in the pines and hike over to it for shelter.

You get to plot it yourself.
Describe the cabin, the person, (OR animal,) sharing the shelter of the cabin until the storm blows over and help arrives.
How does it end?
Will you both get out alive?
Become friends for life?

So many things can happen in one night of being stranded!

Rules:
Choose only 1 Prompt!
Stories-- Narrative or dialogue ... NO POETRY!
Word Count: 2000 words or fewer.
Give WC at the bottom of the story