Home for rent

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. I was driving down the long dark driveway, when I noticed a flickering light coming from the bush cabin. I paused for few seconds wondering if someone was in my newly rented cabin. I had only been in there for three days. But kept going and parked my car close to the front door.

I see the light still on inside the cabin in the window. I investigate to find the large white candle that was always there, with a bright flame burning. I walk towards it and a cold gust of wind blows over the flame and puts it out. By now I am a bit frightened, and rush to turn on the lights. I look around, and think maybe it was nothing really. So I walk to the car quickly to get my groceries out of the car to start cooking dinner.

I moved in here to find some healing solitude time. To get away from it all and figure out what I really want to do in life. This cabin in the bush seemed to be the perfect place. It was isolated and remote, in Central Queensland Australia. Only a small convinience store, twenty minutes drive to get there. It had the basic groceries there to survive living out here.

I then proceed to make my dinner for the night, when I hear noises on the roof. Long scratchy squeaky sounds, maybe it is some kind of animals. Suddenly I see huge pink tailed rats through the dusty kitchen window. There was about a dozen off them, jumping off the roof, like they were chased off. They were running away from the cabin into the dark moonless night. I was frightened by this, my heart was pounding.

To see if I could calm myself down, I grabbed my torch and went outside to see if I could find out what was going on. I stood back and tried to shine the light on the roof. Looks like nothing there anymore. I shine my torch around the outside of the house, and seems normal. So I think I should just go and finish cooking as I am really hungry now.

I am casually walking towards my front door, when I bump into a long cold black hanging thing from the edge of the roof. I let out a huge scream, panic struck my pounding heart. I jump backwards, I fumble with the torch trying to turn it on fast. What was that? I shine my torch up to the spot that touched my head. I shriek out even louder again. Oh my goodness, It was enourmous, long and blacker than the night. Thoughts of serpents and anacondas hit my mind.

So I run backwards a bit into the dark night, as I was too scared to go past this creature back into the cabin. I hold up my torch high to see up on the roof. There was at least two of those gigantic snakes. Rolling all over the roof, maybe they are fighting. Those rats must have been running from them. What was I to do now?

I decide to sit in my car, thank goodness I did not lock it. I will wait for them to move on, as I was super freaked out to go past them. Trying to look out my car windows at the black serpents, I could only see whip like movements. They were really moving, I could hear noises on the old tin roof now.

I sit waiting, safe in my car, looking up at the sky. A few stars, dark night, suddendly I jump and scream. I see eyes looking at me about a metre away from my car. I think what now? Immediately I shine the light towards the eyes. Huge kangaroos, about six of them. Their eyes pierce mine, we all stare at each other. They look around, then back at me, they start shaking their heads. I am in a state of confusion about everything tonight. Then loud thuds on the ground as these huge animals jump away fast. I wonder if they were trying to tell me something. My mind was racing with all sorts of crazy thoughts.

I try to calm myself down with some deep breathing techniques I learnt awhile ago. Calm my thoughts, and decide to try get back into the cabin to eat some dinner. It sounds like the action on the roof has subsided somewhat. I cautiously get out of my car, torch shining the way, and silently creeping back to the front door. I hear a scurrying, rustling, wierd noise. I look around and jump, heart pounding again. It was five metre lizard. It looked like a mini dragon, and it was racing towards me.

I run for my life, heart racing, I got in the cabin and slammed the door shut. Is this really the life for me? All alone in the middle of no where. But then, the candle in the window lit up again, even bigger and brighter than before. I now hear loud howling, sounds like dingos, I wonder how many there are. This place is alive tonight. My mind goes back to the candle, how did it light up?

Suddendly there is isolated gusts of wind circling around everywhere, but the candle is not going out. It is shining brighter, and the howling wind is starting to sound like voices. I hear words like, leave now, go away, be gone. Noises start getting louder everywhere, inside and outside. I feel I am losing my mind. I notice handfulls of creepy looking spiders crawling out of the wooden walls. Is this place cursed?

Then the brightly lit candle looks like it is flaming towards the roof. Oh no, as I was thinking of how to put the candle fire out, swirling wind with dry leaves start blowing into the cabin. I am trembling with fear now. I walk around in circles, hands on my head, trying to think. There is chaos all over the place.

As I was in a state of total terror, trying to breathe, and think, the noise was deafening me. Suddenly, it all stopped. The wind and voices stopped. The candle went out, no creatures in sight. Just like that, nothing, just an eiry silent sound. Not even the sound of trees rustling I noticed. All I could hear in my head now was the echoing words telling me to leave now, go away, be gone.

With that last thought in my head, I thought I have had enough of solitude. Am I healed, or mad now? I am going to heed the warning, and leave, and also do not want to experience anything like that again.

I quickly pack up my things, throw them roughly in my car, and drive of into the night. It was a two hour drive, almost midnight, I knock on a friends door and asked to stay the night. She looked at me puzzled, smiled and said, yes of course. We will talk in the morning.

I wake up with the sun shining through the curtains. I feel good and rested. I feel healed. Then my bedroom door opens, and I see my daughter and her family walk in. They say to me they are happy to see me awake, I see them all smiling. They look like they are about to cry.

I am confused and tell them what happened, and ask where my friend was. They look puzzled, and tell me I was in an accident, and bumped my head. I have been sleeping for about three days now. I was really confused now. Was it all a dream? But it was so vivid. My emotions from my experience felt real.

Maybe I was in a parallel universe, and it was real, or was it?