Forlorn House

I have a fascination with derelict houses; places that were once homes but have long been left to decay. I began photographing a place I have named Forlorn House in 2019. My goal was to capture ita fading beauty in each of the four seasons. I was pleased to get an excellent shot in the fall of 2019. The winter of 2019-20 was warmer than usual. When there was light snow, I decided to wait for a better winter shot. To my utter disappointment, it did not snow again that winter. So, when I awoke in January of 2020 , to find it snowing hard, I decided to venture forth lest I miss another winter without a good shot.

I was a bit apprehensive about the driving conditions but, I took it slowly. I did slip and slide a little but stayed in control. The road on which Forlorn House is located is a back county road. In good weather there is light traffic at best but ,on this day I saw no other cars on the road until , at the bottom of a steep hill , I came upon a car in the ditch beside the road.

A young man was standing by the car looking worried. Of course, I stopped to ask if he was ok. He said that he was not injured but that his car was stuck. He confided that he was new in town and the one person he knew to call for help was not answering the phone.

I had found that I had a dilemma. As a female senior citizen, I was aware that taking a strange young man in one’s car on a deserted country road is not ideal. However, my heart prevailed over my head and I offered him a ride. He lived in the next town over and though conditions weren't the greatest and it was far out of my way, I agreed to drive him home.

During our trip which was slow and somewhat difficult, the young man told me that he had recently moved to be near his young daughter who lived in the area with her mother. It turned out that he was a nurse and had been on his way home after working a night shift. When we finally reached his neighborhood, he asked me for my name and phone number so he could call me later to be sure that I had made it home safely and to thank me properly. I graciously declined but said that if he would pay it forward, I would be more than amply thanked and that the universe that brought me to him would most certainly see me home safely.

I returned home along the same back road and was able to get a lovely shot of Forlorn House with a mantle of fresh white snow. When I arrive safely at my door, I thanked the universe for my safety, my beautiful picture and the opportunity to give a stranger a helping hand.