The Essence

The Essence...Never Close Your Eyes in the Nighttime Hours

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. As soon as she lit it, Gwen immediately blew it out, realizing she had made a tremendous mistake.

She quietly dropped to her knees and peered out the window, barely lifting her gaze above the bottom of the sash, hoping to remain hidden.

A slight breeze blew through the dark forest, gently lifting the branches, heavy with large summer leaves. Her eyes darted to and fro, stopping to squint in the distance for a moment or two as she scanned the perimeter. All at once, she realized she was holding her breath and let out a sigh of relief. The coast seemed clear.

Gwen turned and slunk down the wall, hugging her knees to her chest, cursing herself for making such a stupid mistake. But she understood her blunder resulted from her excitement at discovering the abandoned cabin.

Upon her quick and immediate inspection, she discovered well-stocked cabinets filled with boxes of candles, an oil lantern, and rows of dusty canned and dry goods. In her unbound enthusiasm she had let her guard down and lit the candle.

Her desire to use the candle to properly assess her situation and surroundings could have cost her dearly. She was fully aware of her stupidity and internally chastised herself. Using her trusted open-eyed mediation technique, she slowly calmed her heart rate and forgave her poor judgment.

She knew she must dare never to close her eyes in the nighttime hours.

You must understand that it has been months since she has had somewhere to hunker down for the night where she felt a semblance of safety. So, she felt so lucky! Not only could she rest easy tonight, but she would also have a decent meal.

From where she sat, the faint moonlight revealed that she was wearing a pair of knee-length plaid shorts, and a faded t-shirt with a big heart on the center. The old marketing phrase "Virginia is for Lovers" sprawled across the heart. Her feet were decked in shabby black Converse Chucks. All items standard-issue post-apocalyptic teenage apparel.

In the light glow, she recognized the shadows of furniture: maybe a table and chairs, possibly a bed or a couch, and perhaps a cozy chair? From the thick coating of dust on everything, she could tell she was alone, and no one had been there for years. While she did not sense any other life, or see footprints on the dusty floor, she thought it best to stay right where she was for the night.

Although she was forever cautious, she probably could have easily guessed that there would be no signs of life. It had been over three years since she had seen another human or animal. Other than the occasion shrew or salamander.

However, she had experienced The Essence more times than she would like to remember. So she was still circumspect of her surroundings.

That's what she finally settled on to refer to them, The Essence.

For the longest time, she struggled to find the words to describe them.

Until one day, she found a discarded Webster's Dictionary. As a way to pass the time, she slowly thumbed through the book. She came across the extended definition of Essence, and she knew, at once, they were a "group of properties of something without which it would not exist or be what it is." Further, she knew her relationship with them could be defined as the Esse. Or, "two traditions, each of whose esse is opposition to the central tenets of the other."

Gwen's position under the window offered the perfect vantage point:

1. a direct line of sight to the door
2. quick access to the window and
3. a clear view (at least in the dark) of the entire cabin

After sitting for a couple of hours, her legs had stiffened up and had fallen asleep, plus she needed to go to the bathroom. She figured since it was quiet for the past hour that it was safe to stretch her legs. Slowly, she stood and quietly tip-toed across the floor and went into the bathroom to relieve herself.

Overwhelmed by hunger and knowing the cabinets were packed she contemplated a snack. Perhaps, eating could help renew her strength and help keep her awake for the night. She lightly walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a couple of cans, one kidney beans, and the other peas. Instinctively, she reached for her Swiss army knife but paused. Maybe there was a can opener in the drawer?

Thankfully the drawer opened with ease.

"That's strange," she thought to herself.

The only items in the drawer were a can opener and a spoon. But hunger got the better of her, and she completely ignored the odd findings.

She used the can opener successfully on the cans but cut her index finger while slipping them open. Without thinking, she tried to turn on the faucet to rinse the blood. Quickly realizing that the water hadn't worked in years, she rushed to the bathroom, dripping blood on the floor along the way.

In her frenzy, and because it was dark, she failed to notice the droplets of blood fade from the sink and floor. It was like raindrops on a hot sidewalk in the middle of a sweltering summer day.

Emerging from the bathroom, finger wrapped in remnants of toilet paper, she grabbed the cans and spoon and returned to her vantage point under the window.

The food was delicious and felt like a feast. She was careful not to eat too much too fast and allowed her stomach to slowly adjust to its new rich contents.

Her head fell against the wall, and her eyes closed as she reveled in the delicious flavors. Immediately, her eyes popped open, realizing her mistake.

"Never close your eyes in the nighttime hours!" she scolded herself.

Setting the food aside, she sat cross-legged and let her eyes fully adjust and focus on the items in the cabin. Absentmindedly she twisted the signet ring on her pinky finger.

Scanning the room, she noticed there were quite a lot of pictures on the walls and fireplace mantle. Although she couldn't make out the images in the dark, she could tell the frames contained photographs, not artwork like landscapes or still lifes.

Shifting her position, drawing her knees back to her chest, she rested her elbows on her knees and chin in her hands, trying to stay awake. At that moment, she almost regretted eating so much, knowing the food could make her drowsy.

Despite her better judgment, Gwen stood up and walked around the cabin. In a desperate attempt to revive herself, she explored here and there, finding a pair of wire-framed glasses and a random shoe in a corner.

She turned her gaze to the photos on the mantlepiece. The people pictured were dressed in clothes from perhaps the early 1900s. Women wore long skirts and elaborate hats, and men wore dark three-piece suits. It was definitely not pioneer-era clothing, but not quite as fanciful as the roaring 20s.

Most of the images were faded, and it was dark, so she quickly glazed over most of them.

However, one photo in a rather ornate oval frame caught her attention.

"Mrs. Remensnyder?" Gwen whispered aloud, stunned.

Startled by the sound of her own voice, she thought, "Wow, this can't possibly be my childhood neighbor, Connie Remensnyder."

But, she had to admit the resemblance was uncanny. Intuitively, something seemed familiar about all the photos, but she quickly dismissed the inkling.

Sufficiently revived from her wanderings, Gwen resumed her post under the window. Focusing on nothing and everything, she noticed something extremely odd: she left no footsteps on the dusty floor.

Immediately, she felt her heart pounding. The cabin seemed to expand and shrink all at the same time. Her ears instantly perked up. She heard a sound rising from the forest. Instinctively, her head turned sharply to the left and right, searching for the source of the loud scratching on the cabin's porch.

As if on cue, there came a shrill tapping on the window like a key striking the glass. An iridescent glow filled the cabin. The Essence had arrived and they were descending. She quickly crept across the floor to escape, but a chair slid out from the table, blocking her path. She stood to run but tripped. Looking down she saw her shoelaces tied together. Kicking off her shoes, she made for the bathroom, but a nail caught her heel and she fell to the floor clutching her bleeding foot, reeling in pain.

The tapping grew louder, although she could see nothing outside the window. The scratching intensified. Suddenly she could hear the unmistakable whispers and knew The Essence had her surrounded.

She had escaped them on so many other occasions, but this time they had successfully trapped her. She cursed herself for letting down her guard for stupid cans of beans and peas!

Desperately twisting her pinky ring, she backed up towards to wall.

Cowering she whispered, "No, no, no, no, no."

She could not properly beg for her life as all words escaped her. She knew this was it.

But all at once...silence. The noises instantly stopped. The world was completely quiet. Had Gwen suddenly been stricken deaf or was it that all sound ceased to exist?

The iridescent glow suddenly sucked into itself and disappeared as if into a black hole.

Her chest heaved as she wheezed almost to the point of breathlessness.

In a last-ditch effort to save her life, she let out a guttural silent scream.

And then, Gwen was gone.

As she evaporated, so too did her impressions on the dusty floor. Once again, her blood faded from the floor. All traces of Gwen's existence slowly vanished.

Months later, on a beautiful fall afternoon, a weary traveler arrived at the cabin's steps. As she scanned the perimeter Cordelia, realized that the coast was clear. She reached for the doorknob and entered the cabin.

She thought, "This could be a safe place to hide tonight and elude The Essence."

As she slowly walked into the one-room cabin, she could tell by the thick coating of dust on everything that no one had been there for years.

Feeling relatively safe, Cordelia inspected the cabinets. To her surprise, she found them fully stocked with rows of dusty canned and boxed goods.

She reveled in her excellent luck! Not only would she be safe tonight, but she would also eat a decent meal. However, she knew she must only snack to avoid drowsiness, because she must never close her eyes in the nighttime hours.

With only a couple of hours of daylight left, she took advantage of the late evening glow to look around the cabin. As she wandered around, she noticed many pictures adorned the walls and fireplace mantle.

Her gaze was drawn to one faded black and with photo in a handsome rectangular frame, featuring a striking young woman. Cordelia ran her fingers across the glass to clear the dust.

The young woman was dressed in a long plaid skirt and a high-neck button-up shirt with a heart on the front. For a moment Cordelia thought her eyes deceived her because she could have sworn that the old marketing phrase "Virginia is for Lovers" was written across the heart. She shook her head, blinked, and the impression quickly faded. She chuckled to herself.

Cordelia continued to slowly walk around the cabin, noticing a pair of wire-rimmed glasses on the table and a random shoe in the corner. As she scanned the room her eye was drawn to a shiny glimmer on the floor under the window. She bent down and discovered it was a signet ring. Squinting she could just make out an initial. Was it a "G" or a "C?" It was too faded to tell for certain.

Feeling another bit of luck, she slipped it on her pinky and walked to the kitchen dreaming of what she was going to snack on for dinner. Maybe there would be Spaghettios. As she walked by the window she notice a candle and some matches on the sill.

“Awesome,” she thought. “At least I don’t have to spend the night in the dark.”