The Candle in the Window

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. Nestled uncomfortably between several large pine trees, the cabin’s appearance was dilapidated amidst the near lifeless trees and the crooked shadows they would cast. A worn out pathway overgrown with dense bushes and thorny vines led to a vague clearing that surrounded the cabin’s perimeter.

Edana had made her way from the lake to the cabin, battered and scratched by dormant widow makers and several branches littering what she perceived to be a trail through the woods. Her journey had been as long as it had been stressful, but was still far from over.

She was searching for her husband, Keegan, who had gone on a scouting trip in search of a place to build their new home. They had only been married for thirteen days before he left. He was confident in his quest, so he did not provide her with particular details of his plan. She knew he would be going into the woods, but did not have a map or any inclination as to where he would be specifically.

Keegan had gathered enough provisions for her to have while he planned to be away, as well as enough for himself for at least the three days he planned to be alone. Edana trusted his planning and was hopeful he would come back unscathed, with plans for their future together. He advised her not to come looking for him if he did not come back by the end of the third day. He told her to be patient and to have faith, he would be fine. It would be safer for her just to wait for him.

Little did she know, he would not return. The end of the third day grew into an eerie Summer night. She paced for hours in the barn they had been living in temporarily, eagerly anticipating him to come through the door. But the door never opened. The night grew darker as her eyelids grew heavier.

She kept reminding herself what Keegan told her. It will be safer for you to just wait for me.

Edana did her best to abide by his wishes. She knew how to live off the land and could manage by herself for as long as she needed, but every day that passed, she wondered: How much longer should I wait?

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into years. She had struggled with anxiety, depression and emotional turmoil that finally led her to the decision to go searching for Keegan.

Maybe he wanted to leave her, maybe he was in trouble. Either way, it was getting dangerous for her to stay in the barn any longer. On the eve of the three year anniversary he set out on his quest, she followed suit, and left the barn behind.

As she finally stumbled her way through the woods, she discovered the rundown cabin. The faint glimmer of a tiny light caught her eye. A candle burning in the window gave her hope. Luminescence from the moon lit up the cabin entryway, covered by a straw awning draped over the front. If the candle in the window and the moonlight were not enough to invite her in, rolling thunder in the distance would help her decide to investigate the cabin anyway. The way she saw it, the worst that would happen is she would stay dry for the night.

She did as she had been doing all along, putting one foot in front of the other, moving closer to what she believed she was to be her fate. Twigs snapped beneath her feet with every step. Thorns snapped away from her raggedy dress as she tore away to leave them behind. She had the feeling she was being watched, encouraging her to quicken her pace on the path.

Keegan could be in there. She thought to herself as she fixed her gaze on the window. Or maybe he had been here at one time. She regressed.

She finally cleared the bushes and the vines. No more twigs to step on as she stood just outside the cabin. The candle in the window seemed to burn more brightly than it had before, flickering wildly as she got closer. She let herself feel a sense of relief as she made her way around to the door.

Her cold fingers clutched the doorknob, twisting to unlatch it slowly. Her eyes darted from the top of the doorway, to the side and to the threshold, watching for anything that may pose a threat as she tried to enter. Lightning flashed overhead, causing her to look over her shoulder in time to catch movement beyond the trees just yards away.

She panicked and forced the door open quickly so she could rush inside. She did not notice the door knob on the far side of the cabin squeak as she positioned herself on the other side of the door, slamming it shut behind her where she flung herself back first, then sliding to the floor. Her heart was racing, but she was safely inside.

Thunder rocked the cabin with a tantrum, inciting her need to be cautious. She sat in front of the door trying to regain composure. She quickly realized the cabin was quiet and still. She looked around, absorbing as many details as she could in the dark. Beyond the figure of a table and single chair sat a wood stove. Then she glanced off to her left and made out a doorway, leading to the room with the candle in the window.

Just as she went to pick herself up off the floor, the door cracked open slowly. Her heart jumped as her body froze. “Keegan?” she struggled to say aloud.

Her instinct to move toward the door overpowered her fear. She put one foot in front of the other, just as she always had. The floor creaked loudly with each step she took, quickening her heartbeat. Her breathing became unsteady, but she moved toward the door anyway.

“Keegan?” She said again, trying to be more confident than the first time.

No answer again. Instead, a heavy thud erupted from the room.

She stopped in her tracks, frozen in place. “Who’s there?” She asked with panic in her voice.

Still no verbal answer. After several moments passed, another thud, like a sack of flour being dropped on the floor.

Edana’s hands were trembling, goosebumps covered her body as the hairs on her arms and back of her neck stood on end. Taking a deep breath, she unfroze and continued to move forward.

Rain began to spackle against the wooden rooftop. Lightning flashes speared through the trees outside, lighting the outline of the door through the window within the room on the other side of it. Seconds seemed like minutes as she edged closer to the room.

Yet another thud. More lighting followed by deep rolling thunder. The rain fell heavier and Edana did everything she could to muster enough courage to place her left hand on the doorway, the doorknob on the right side. Despite her heart pounding beneath her chest and her lungs inflating and deflating wildly enough to make her feel like she would pass out, she remembered all the time she had waited for Keegan to return to her. She reminded herself of all the emotional turmoil she had been through for the past three years. She remembered her husband and the journey she put herself on to find him again.

She scrunched her face as she swung the door open with her right hand, letting go of the doorway as she did so. At that very moment, there was no more rain. There was no more lightning or thunder. There was only dark silence.

Edana turned white as she fixed her eyes on the only object in the room: A shadowy figure hanging by a rope from the ceiling. The rope unraveled quietly, letting the body collapse to the ground, repeating the thud she heard before.

Her eyes welled with tears, looking at the lifeless body on the floor. After a moment, she remembered the candle in the window. The candle was there, but it was no longer lit. She decided to immerse herself fully in the situation. She took another step toward the body, just to see it vanish before her eyes. She paused, frowned in disbelief.

Am I imagining things? She questioned herself.

She looked up to see if the frayed rope was still hanging from the exposed rafter above. She saw that it was indeed hanging there, but instead of being frayed or broken in any way, it formed a complete noose. She turned her head to look out the window, only to be met by sheer darkness.

She needed to get out of the cabin. She turned back toward the door, but it slammed shut. What the hell is going on!?

She tried the knob, but it only twisted in place, squeaking as it had before when she first entered the cabin . The door felt like it weighed a ton. She tried frantically to open it, but to no avail. She pulled with all of her might, using her foot to push off the doorway. The door still would not budge.

Edana tried to collect herself and rationalize the situation. Okay, the door might be locked or jammed.

She looked around the empty room and thought of the window. That’s it! I can get out through the window!

She hurried over to the window, trying to open it. A half circle sash lock was firmly in place. Edana went to push the lever to undo it, but quickly retracted her hand. Sharp pain shot through her thumb, spurting blood as her thumb swelled.

“Ouch!” She exclaimed harshly. “Okay, I need to figure this out.”

She backed up against the wall adjacent to the window, slumping against it while wrapping her thumb with a fragment of her dress. She could feel her pulse through the hand clutching her bleeding thumb. She felt overwhelmed with sorrow. Her eyes shifted toward the window, staring out into a black nothing.

How am I supposed to get out of here? It’s like this cabin has taken me prisoner.

She realized how ridiculous that sounded.

It’s just glass, I can break out. She thought to herself as she tried to rationalize her way out.

She collected nerves, got up off the ground, and yanked another fragment from her dress. She squared up with the window, wrapping her good hand into a fist as she did so. She approached the window and released a heavy sigh, then inhaled sharply.

“Hah!” She belted loudly as she threw a jab into the window.

Everything went dark. The room fell silent once more. Some time passed, then a small flame began to grow atop the candle in the window. Edana was facing toward the outdoors. The only thing she could see was the reflection of a flame, swaying in the glass.

What is going on!? Why can’t…why can’t I move? She tried desperately to get away from the window, but she was fixed in the same spot, facing the woods. The more she fought, the more the light flickered in the window.

Seconds ticked by seamlessly, turning into dreadful minutes. Edana decided to stop struggling. She let her spirit fade with her confidence. Before she knew it, the reflection diminished into nothing.

Edana opened her eyes, weary of the darkness surrounding her. She sat up quickly from a near fetal position on the floor in front of the window. She looked down at her hand, still wrapped in her dress. It had stopped throbbing, so she unwrapped it.

“Oh…oh my…” She stammered in disbelief as she discovered her thumb had healed completely.

Nothing made sense to her at this point. She started to believe maybe she was in a dream. She pondered the possibility that she could be imagining everything.

If that’s the case, I’m just going to dream my way out of here.

She pushed herself up off the floor and waltzed over to the door again. Her hands reached for the knob again. Same as before, she twisted, but the door would not move.

Overtaken with instantaneous anger, she screamed, but no sound would leave her mouth. She tried screaming again, breathing heavily as panic took its hold. She tried pounding the door, but her fists would not create enough force to make a sound. She scurried back to the window to try to open it again, but her efforts failed as if she were not trying at all. She repeated this cycle for hours.

Darkness did not leave the room. She was sure the sun would have risen by now, but nothing outside the window would change. She was driving herself insane.

Time melted into the future. Any hope of escaping the cabin had long faded. Edana began accepting the fate as she paced the room, eyeing the noose still hanging from the rafter in the middle of the otherwise empty room.

Is this what happened to Keegan? She thought to herself.

She wanted to cry, but no tears would fall. Sorrow triumphed over her as she tiptoed enough to get her chin into the noose. With a final breath, she remembered her husband and thought of the life they were supposed to have. She thought of the struggle she endured over the years without him. She reminded herself of the journey through the woods that led her to the cabin. This was surely to be her fate.

This is it… She thought to herself as she closed her eyes.

She gave a final push off the ground, easier than she thought. She jumped upward and the rope invited her in as if it had been waiting for her the entire time.

There was no struggle, there was no shame. There was only darkness and silence.

***

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. Nestled uncomfortably between several large pine trees, the cabin’s appearance was dilapidated amidst the near lifeless trees and the crooked shadows they would cast. A worn out pathway overgrown with dense bushes and thorny vines led to a vague clearing that surrounded the cabin’s perimeter.

An explorer made his way toward the cabin, seeking refuge for the night. He had left his wife behind in search of a place to build a cabin just like this one. The faint glimmer of a tiny light caught his eye. A candle burning in the window made him believe someone already lived there, but he would attempt to burden them for the night anyway. Luminescence from the moon lit up the cabin entryway, covered by a straw awning draped over the front.

He allowed himself to feel some relief, he had been out for just over a day. Trudging through dense woods, prickly vines and overgrown bushes, he was rather fatigued. He made his way around the cabin to the front door. He went to raise his arm to knock on the door. It creaked open as he made contact.

“Hello?” He vocalized with an inquisitive tone.

No answer.

He peeked inside, looking for any sign of life he could. “Hello?” He verbalized again.

No answer still.

He decided to keep knocking as his foot breached the threshold. “I’m coming in, I just need a place to stay for the night.”

As he entered the cabin, he could only make out the outline of a table and a chair, then a wood stove along the wall on the other side. He went to shut the door but it slammed shut, evading his grasp in the process.

“What the…?” He said aloud, looking at the door with a puzzled face.

He thought maybe another door was open somewhere else in the cabin, forcing the door shut from suction. He turned back around to observe the interior. He noticed the door off to the left side of the cabin.

That must be the room that has the candle in the window. He wondered to himself.

He started toward the door, creaking along the floorboards with each step. His strides covered a considerable amount of ground quickly. By the time he took three steps, he was halfway between the front door and the door leading to the room.

His next stride seemed to trigger the door as it squeaked open ever so slightly. He stopped mid stride. The door did not open any more or any less.

“Hello?” He tried again, continuing his movement.

As he went to open the door, a thud inside the room made him rush in. His eyes were met with a familiar sight that brought tears to his eyes. He dropped to his knees, next to a woman with cuts and scrapes. Her right hand wrapped with a piece of cloth. A face he never expected to see in the cabin in the woods.

The candle in the window had gone out. The man closed his eyes with his lifeless woman in his arms. The door behind him slammed shut.

He sobbed, stroking her hair behind her ears. “Please, no…Edana.”

Surrounded by darkness, Keegan sat on the floor with Edana in his lap. He rocked back and forth, cradling her head in the crook of his arm. He let his eyes wonder upward at the ceiling where an exposed rafter held a perfectly tied noose. It was not frayed or broken in any way. Then he looked toward the window where darkness prevailed. The candle that had been lit upon his arrival, would now sit upon the window sill until someone else comes to discover the cabin in the woods.