The Lure

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window.

It swayed, bobbing leisurely from left to right, in a pattern that was almost hypnotic. An inexplicable calm washed through me despite my muscles being wound tight in adrenaline-fueled panic mere moments earlier. Already my brain was rationalizing why the gentle flicker of the candle flame soothed me.

Light. Safety. Warmth.

Those words repeated, a mantra in my frazzled mind. It was welcomed. Being able to string together an entire line of thought was more than I had been able to manage since I left my campsite behind at dusk. That felt like days ago, but it wasn’t. I knew it wasn’t. The sun hadn’t come back up yet. I blinked up at the stars.

It must be cloudy, I decided when I found no light blinking back. The candle swayed in my periphery. Insistent.

Sound returned all at once, the woods suddenly a cacophony of echoing noise. Twigs snapped behind me. A gentle call of my name in a voice that was familiar, but also not, sent ice down the length of my spine. I shivered, and the candle bobbed again.

Light. Safety. Warmth.

I sprinted forward, begging it would be for the last time that god forsaken night.

My feet felt heavy and clumsy as I ran, knocking together and crossing in a gait akin to that of a newborn deer. The wood of the old, dilapidated porch steps creaked under the muddy soles of my trampling hiking boots. I was almost there. Just a few more steps to the door. The toe of my boot caught the lip, sending me pitching forward gracelessly. My hands shot out, praying for something to steady me, to stop my fall and prolong the inevitable encroachment of the ceaseless dark things stalking me in the night pressing in behind me. The candle shifted again.

I fell forward, and through the cabin door. It was unlatched apparently. I thanked whatever entity had heard my desperation and found it worthy of an answer.

I slammed hard to the dust-coated floor of the cabin, kicking up a cloud of ancient dirt and leaves into the air around me. Instead of standing immediately, I laid there, panting. The floor was so old, the wood had rotted through, making the hardwood soft and spongy. It almost felt like the rich, dark soil of particularly fertile farmland.

It was a sudden realization that had me pushing myself off the ground. The sound outside had stopped entirely. It was as if the entire forest beyond the firmly latched door was holding its breath. Latched? When did that happen? I couldn’t have… Warmth washed over the darkened walls of the cabin. The candle danced just beyond a threshold deeper inside. I must have shut it on my way in, I thought and eagerly pushed any rationality out of my head on my way to get closer to the flame.

Light. Warmth. Safety.

As I stumbled forward through the dark with just the pinprick of orange candle flame to guide me, I found myself happy to ignore the scenery. The window, blazing with golden candlelight, lacked the solid dividing line of a window sill as if it had sprouted organically from the cabin wall itself. The glass glittered wetly like a massive eye staring, lidless, inward at me. The flame dipped and dived just behind the door frame. Must be this old style of architecture, my mind dismissed.

Light. Warmth. Safety.

I followed into that back room, letting the candle coax me further away from my exits. I stepped beyond the doorway, a doorway that was too natural a gap in the wall, not a harsh and clinical gap carved out by someone with a blueprint and a floorplan. It hung open and vacuous like the yawning entrance to a cave. A maw gaped in anticipation for its next meal. Icy fingers of dread started their trail down my spine and the candle swayed. The chill faded.

Light. Warmth. Safety.

My determined and blunt plodding crunched objects under my boots or sent them scattering and clattering against each other. The floor of this back room was covered in them and the warm light danced over their shapes. Once upon a time, I found the horrid grins of skulls menacing. I couldn’t understand why now, with a half dozen serenely smiling up at me and the swaying candle.

Light. Warmth. Safety.

The calm gripped me tightly, choking out my fear. I registered the presence of each red flag, but the dancing flame before me drained their saturation. Finally, I had found somewhere to safely rest. I would get up and find my way back to camp in the morning…

Light. Warmth. Safety.

I just needed to lie down. Rest would clear my head of the ever growing fog. I sank to the soft loam of the floor, curling up next to one of those reassuring smiles.

Light. Warmth. Safety.

I could sleep. I could sleep and the candle would keep watch over me. I hadn’t cared that it blinked out before I even hit the ground.

Light. Warmth. Safety.