Elizabeth's Bad Day

The soft feathers of a owl rustled in a nearby as it took off into a night flight Elizabeth jumped.

" Stupid bird" she muttered the cold of the snow really setting into her bones. Coming into the middle of nowhere Wyoming, being ankle deep in snow was the last place she wanted to be, yet thats where she found herself.

Walking for what felt like hours she was relieved to see an old small red barn in the distance. No sign of life from the outside but a welcomed shelter from the relentless snow that was swirling furiously around her. Walking had grown tiresome her legs had gone numb long ago. She stumbled into through the barn doors, shaking off snow she sighed at the darkness inside. Pulling her phone out of her pocket her cold fingers shook as she fumbled with the screen turning on her flashlight the moonlight no longer enough to illuminate her way through the darkness.

"Ah not completely useless " she chattered seeing she still had no bars of service. Looking around ; the barn had no animals only dustry tack hanging from the stalls and empty feeding troughs. Old hay littered the floor and a workbench sat untouched against a far wall, spotting a old oil lamp she grabbed it lighting it with a old box of matches, it wasn't a ideal heatsource but it was better than nothing she grimaced feeling the heat return to her fingertips. The barn was a small light in a day that felt full of darkness. The bad day started with her finding out her roommate had left and moved out without saying anything, skipping out on rent and leaving behind and a werid abundance of marigold flowers she supposedly loved and spent the entire summer planting after our landlord said no. Following that her boss informed her of her demotion to their Wyoming office for 90 days because she lost the companies black journal with sensitive information in a Uber. Her Uber that day had a crazy driver that kept sitting through the green lights and running the red. Leading her to obviously have only one desire get out of the car alive. This experience led her to drive herself to the airport for traveling to her office demotion , except to get to the airport you have to take a ferry which she missed , making her hasty decision Elizabeth decided to drive to Wyoming. A tear slid down her face reliving the day remembering how helpless she felt watching the ship in the horizon on the foggy waters making her sick to her sadly empty stomach. Sitting in the abandoned barn gave her serious dystopian vibes. Elizabeth laughed at the days unfortunate events thinking about her car broken down at least 3 miles away she got up deciding to investigate the barn more.

Finding a candle she used lit it setting it inside the window of the barn closet to the road, perhaps a passing driver would see it and stop. A dusty brown paper box sitting under the workbench caught her eye opening it she was surprised to find some old granola bars definitely too old to eat , some photos and a book called My Dream Date In Paris. The photos must of been from nearby because some featured the barn in its better days without peeling paint. The first photo showed the front of the barn with a abundance of pear trees full of fruit. Another had a little girl smiling with skates on a frozen pond , and the third photo was framed with nothing but a raging bull in the distance.

Elizabeths body sank as the exhaustion from the long and hard day made itself known. Ready to curl up sheltered from the snow she put everything back in the box and picked up a horse blanket and covered up leaning against the wall.

Elizabeth awoke to tires crunching the fresh snow and headlights streaming through the slats of wood that made up the barn. The sky outside was still mostly dark but light was beginning to fill the horizon. The candle in the window had burned down and out but the oil lamp was burning strong. Her heart picked up a moment as footsteps approached the barn , though she calmed herself with the knowledge that she needed and wanted help as she couldn't stay in the barn forever.

A deep voice filled the barn

"Anyone in here, if thats you car back there I can offer some help."

"Um, hi , yes I'm sorry if this is your barn it was just cold and help me how? " Elizabeth asked putting the blanket over a stall door neatly.

"Well Miss I reckon that your still cold and hungry. There's a 24/7 diner about 10 miles from here. Phone that you can use to call a tow truck and get your car to my shop." He offered proudly

"Well thats really convenient and super helpful , names Elizabeth" she said said offering her hand to his as she studied his tall figure. Dressed in all black it'd be hard to see him if it wasnt' for his headlights. Adam he said taking her hand.

"You won't regret the diner. Its owned by a old family friend. He survived a shark attack a few years ago still makes the best breakfast sandwiches and sliced chocolate cake you'll ever have though." he said confidently as he started his truck and left down the road.

The sky lightened and sun streaming through the trees as they drove made Elizabeth smile at the new day unfolding in front of her, giving her a relief from the bad day she just left behind. Glancing at Adam she decided being stranded in the middle of nowhere Wyoming might not be so bad after all.