Cottage Fever

“Good morning, Alex. It’s good to see you’re alive and breathing. Do you have everything you need packed and ready to go?” Mira said to her 15-year-old son as he stumbled into the kitchen. “Yes, Mom,” he mumbled, tired from a late-night gaming session with his friends. “Great! Set it out by the entrance way,” Mira said. “Your father just went for gas, and you know he’ll be in a hurry to get on the road!”

Their family is going on their yearly, week-long, July cottage trip. Every year, Mira’s grandfather rents a cottage for his wife, his three kids, and all their grandchildren to spend the week on a lake together. They’ve always had the best time, and they’ve always lucked out with the weather. This year is no different; the forecast predicts sunny skies with temperatures reaching the mid-twenties!

“ELLIE,” Mira called out to her 11-year-old daughter. “YES MOM,” Ellie shouted back from their art room in the basement. “COME UP AND EAT YOUR BREAKFAST, WE’RE LEAVING IN 20 MINUTES,” said Mira. Within seconds, you could hear the footsteps running up the stairs. Ellie was the most excited out of everybody in her family. She LOVES swimming. If she could spend her entire life in the water, she would never set foot on land again. Her brother is less enthusiastic; the majority of his time is spent behind a PC playing video games with his friends. He’s been dreading a week without internet.

"YOUR FATHER'S HERE," Mira yelled out to her children. They packed up the vehicle and hit the road.

They were the first family to arrive; Mira's sister Julie was coming up later, and her brother Tom wasn't coming until the next day. "Hey there, kiddos!" Said Paul, Mira's father. "Grandpa!" Ellie screamed with joy as she ran for a hug. "Where's Grandma?" She said after a big hug. "She went to the store to pick up some fresh lemons," He replied. "YES! FRESH SQUEEZED LEMONADE!" Ellie couldn't contain the joy; every year they make homemade lemonade with their grandma.

"Alex, how's school going? Do you have a girlfriend yet?" Paul asked. Alex rolled his eyes and walked past his grandfather, too distracted by his phone to care. "He's a bundle of joy," Paul said to his daughter. "He's really been struggling lately; the other kids at school pick on him," Mira explained. "He's a good kid, but he spends too much time playing video games with people halfway around the world rather than spending time with the other kids in the neighbourhood." Said Jim, Mira's husband. "Is it just me, or is it getting cold out?" Mira asked. "It feels like the temperature just dropped 6 degrees," Jim replied. "It's supposed to warm up; the weatherman is calling for sunny skies and high temperatures. We'll be in the water for most of the weekend," Said Paul.

"I'm going to put my sweater on," Mira said 30 minutes later. "So much for high temperatures," Jim added. "GRANDMA'S HERE!!!" Ellie screamed with excitement, "...and she has snow on her car," She added in confusion. "What did you just say?" Her grandpa asked with a laugh. "There's no snow in July, stupid," Alex said. "Look," Ellie replied, "See for yourself."

Sure enough, her grandma's car was covered in snow. Her grandma came running inside, her whole body shivering and skin turning blue. "What the hell happened?" Jim asked as they covered her with blankets. "I don't know... it was warm when I left, and then it started snowing." Mira's mother, Meredith, said. "That's impossible; the weather is supposed to be hot," Said Paul in disbelief. Jim was shocked when he saw what was happening outside the window. "My God."

They all stood stunned, staring out at the snowflakes falling.

It wasn't just a small anomaly; it turned into a full-on blizzard in only a couple of hours. Luckily, the cottage was used for ice fishing, and in the winter, it uses a wood stove for heat. To prepare for the cold, Jim and Alex carried all the firewood inside. The family wasn’t prepared for this; the warmest clothes they brought were a few sweaters and some sweatpants. The family cuddled up in blankets around the wood stove when the phone started ringing.

Jim ran to answer it. "Hello... It's your sister Julie," he said, handing the phone to his wife. She grabbed it out of his hands. "Hello? Julie? Are you okay?" Mira said, concerned. Through the phone, she heard the crying voice of her sister talking extremely fast, "Mira! Oh my God, we were on our way up, and traffic got really bad, then it started to snow, and now we're stuck in a blizzard. I don't know what's happening. Did you make it okay? Is everybody safe? We can't see the road, and we don't have snow tires on, and the kids are crying. Jason is driving, but he's really stressed out. Is Mom there?? I want to talk to Mom, Mira, put Mom on the phone..."

"Julie, slow down. How far away are you?" Mira asked, on the verge of tears. By this time, Paul had rushed over and took the phone from his daughter. "Julie," he said before being cut off. "Dad, I'm scared. What is happening???" Fear filled her voice; the kids cried in the background as Jason, Julie's husband, tried to calm their fears and focus on keeping his car on the road. "Julie, listen to me, you're going to be okay. How far away are you?" Paul asked. "I don't know; we can't see anything." The phone connection cut out. Jason and Julie were hit by a semi-truck.

"Dad... is she okay?" Mira asked in tears. "I don't know," Paul replied, fighting back tears of his own. "We lost the phone connection."

"We have to help them," Mira exclaimed. "There's nothing we can do; the vehicles can't make it out of the driveway, and even if they did, we'd be putting ourselves in danger," Jim explained. "There's nothing we can do but pray," Paul stated. "I'll start dinner; the oven will help warm up the cottage," Meredith said. Then the hydro went out. "I guess that options out," Jim added.

They were lucky to have the wood stove and cooked their dinners with the heat from the fire.

Three days went by, and the blizzard didn't slow down. The cottage was surrounded by four feet of snow. The drifts began to cover the windows and block the doors. They rationed the food; it was enough to last for the week, and if they were careful, they could stretch it out longer. They didn't know how long they would be trapped there. By this point, everybody was miserable. Mixed emotions of fear, sadness, anger, grief, and disbelief ran through the family.

Four more days went by with off-and-on blizzard conditions; they had to dig their way out the front door and keep the ventilation clear around the house. The snow covered most of the windows, and the light sneaking through became a suffocating, bruised blue. Spending their time playing endless board games became exhausting, but they had nothing else to do.

Today was the day they were supposed to be going home. The food they had was only enough for the week, but they managed to ration enough to last a few more days, and with the cold weather, they were able to store their frozen food outside. The problem they have now is firewood; they don't have enough. Alex and Jim have been gathering it periodically when the snowfall and wind slow down, layering multiple sweaters to act as winter coats. Even with three sweaters, two layers of pants, two pairs of socks on their feet, socks and gloves on their hands, and shirts covering their face, spending more than fifteen minutes outside is cold enough to kill them. They come back with hypothermia.

Paul and Meredith were snowbirds; they would fly south every winter and spend their time in Florida. It's been years since they were exposed to this kind of weather, and that took a toll on their health.

Meredith was the first to go; she slept peacefully by the fire and never woke up. Jim didn't want Ellie to know, so they carried her into the bedroom. "What's wrong with Grandma?" Ellie asked, concerned about why she wouldn't wake up. "She's just sleeping, honey," Paul said with tears rolling down his cheeks. "She's dead, isn't she?" Ellie said before she started to cry herself. A day later, Paul joined her in an eternal rest.

Mira and Ellie sat in the living room grieving their loss. The blizzard picked up again, and the last log was burning; Jim had to go outside again. He didn't want Alex to come because it was too dangerous in the middle of a blizzard. After twenty minutes of waiting, Alex became agitated. "Something's wrong; he should've been back by now." Twenty minutes ago, Jim walked out into the blizzard and quickly became disoriented; he realized it was a terrible idea and began to turn back. He started unknowingly walking in circles, screaming, "ALEX! ALEX! CALL OUT TO ME! I'M COMING BACK! WHERE ARE YOU?" Fifteen feet away stood Alex at the door; he had just watched his dad vanish into the wall of snow blowing past. All he could hear was the wind that silenced his father's voice.

"I'm going to look for him." Alex insisted. Mira tried to stop him, but her son was stubborn. Alex walked out into the same peril as his father had. Mira and Ellie stayed by the fire and prayed the rosary.

Three hours passed with no sign of the boys. The fire was dying down. "Mom, what are we going to do?" Ellie asked in a hopeless voice.

Mira looked around; there were bookshelves, wooden chairs, and tables. She threw them in the fire and kept it going for the night. They wrapped themselves in all the blankets they could find.

The next day the sun came out, but the girls didn't know it. The windows were covered, and the room was pitch black. The carbon monoxide level in the house became deadly, and both the girls became lightheaded before going unconscious. The smoke still rose from the chimney, but all other ventilation was covered with snow.

The front door broke open. It was search and rescue. They took the girls and airlifted them south to a hospital. The boys were buried under the fifteen-foot-high drift in the front yard. The grandparents lay peacefully, deceased in their bedroom.

Then an alarm went off.

It was all a dream. Mira reached over to feel her husband's warm chest and held him as tight as she could. She got up and ran into her daughter's room, wrapped her in her arms. "Mommy, are you okay?" Ellie said, still half asleep. "I'm okay, sweetie; everything is perfect." She walked out and saw her son. “Good morning, Alex. It’s good to see you’re alive and breathing. Do you have everything you need packed and ready to go?”