The Red Cabin

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

The battery on my phone was in the red, reminding me that I had just under 10% power left. The harsh white light of the screen deafened the darkness of the night, a shrill contrast that blinded me momentarily when I looked up from my phone, only to be greeted by the heavy blackness.

That’s when I noticed the burning candle. Peering through the cobweb stained window, the iridescent flame danced gently, almost taunting me and drawing me in. Something inside me nudged me in the direction of the cabin. The lonesome cabin at the end of our neighbourhood, after so much reflective time, had discovered the company of the trees and wildflowers that inched their way comfortably around its edges.

Play the part - you’re brave and nothing can harm you.

Instinctively, I headed towards the cabin. I didn’t turn back. I didn’t have to. The street was always empty at this time so I knew that no one would catch me trespassing the abandoned property.

My hands shook as I quietly wrangled with the door knob. It was unlocked. I didn’t realise I was holding my breath until I was inside and let out a heavy sigh. I waited for my eyes to adjust to the new darkness as I looked around me, trying to decipher what to do next.

That’s when I heard her voice. If I wasn’t standing so still, I would have missed her eerie whispering tune wafting down from the stairs. My limbs suddenly felt heavy as I stood paralysed in fear as her voice sung louder. A melancholy, opera tune of disjointed notes strung together as her voice rose and grew and enveloped me.

‘Mirrors shattered when I’m passing

Blood red glass comes crashing

Running, running…. mama’s right there

If only I stayed, we’re all going nowhere’

It was almost mechanical, the way I carried myself up the stairs, drawing closer to her hauntingly beautiful voice. My heart was pounding so hard and fast it was hammering through my eardrums. I steadied myself as I reached the top, staring ahead at the closed door across from me where her voice bounced around the cabin walls.

***

‘Darling, breakfast is ready’!

I awoke to the smell of slightly burnt, roasted coffee beans and the chirpy voice of my mother. She was in one of her better moods because her latest boyfriend had been staying over for the past month or so. She was playing the part of the perfect mother and housewife. A facade of plastered smiles and heavily doused floral perfume masking the dark and empty days where she would lock herself in her room for hours and day on end, refusing to face the reality that father left her for another family with children of their own.

I always played along. I felt like an actress performing in a theatre packed with an audience eagerly following along our every move and storyline. It was also the few times where I felt seen and heard. A planted kiss to the forehead, a warm meal and an overly enthusiastic conversation followed, asking how I was doing at school, and who the new third-grade teacher was.

What my pretend audience, or her latest string of boyfriends didn’t see however, were the long and tormenting nights where I would sit on my hardened mattress in the dark, blocking out my mum’s wails of anguish. Shattered glass and broken picture frames exploded as she lashed out at whatever was close to her.

‘Where are you going darling…?’

***

‘Blood red glass comes crashing…’

Noticing the oversized door knob with its gaping key hole, I leaned in, hoping to catch a glimpse of the lady and her haunting voice.

There she was, hunched over, her silky black hair sprawled over her back and shoulders as she leaned closer to the piano keys, pressing each key with such force and precision as the notes complimented her melancholy tune in one perfect harmony. I could only see her side profile, and I noticed how frail she looked, almost sinking into the seat as her thin arms danced up and down the piano.

I felt drawn to her. There was something mesmerising, as though we’ve met before. I just couldn’t shake the feeling that I’ve seen her somewhere.

Suddenly her voice dropped and she stopped. She paused, momentarily, frozen for a few seconds, almost regaining consciousness and then swung her body towards the door, locking her eyes into mine.

My blood ran cold and the only sound that escaped my mouth was a hoarse gasp. Her eyes pierced right through me; except they were smouldering red, like pools of blood.

I finally regained movement in my lower body and backed away from the door. My heart was churning and my throat was choked up from my fear.

‘Running, running…. mama’s right there…’

She had started again.

Was it all a delusion?

What was I doing alone in here?

I inched closer to the door once more. My hands were shaking uncontrollably and I started to feel light-headed.

Edging closer and closer to the door knob, I pressed my face against the cold, hard brass door.

I was surprised to see nothing but redness. Cloaked in red with specks of black.

A piercing scream erupted from the inside of the cabin.

A few minutes later I realised the scream was coming from me.

She was staring back through the keyhole. Right on the other side of that door, her glaring red eyes fixed on me.

‘Running, running…. mama’s right there…’ a raspy whisper, her eyes burning into my soul.

***

‘Where are you going darling?’

I looked down at my mother who was sprawled next to our piano, her tousled, greasy black hair accentuating her sunken cheekbones features and striking eyes.

Shards of glass splattered the entire room, mixing with the dry and fresh blood of my mother.

I raised the blade over my head once more and closed my eyes as mother’s wails dug into my bones.

Her once hazel eyes filled with blood as she tried to form a sentence. She desperately flung her arms around, like a hopeless bird who was falling from its nest.

'Play the part - you’re brave and nothing can harm you.'

I was doing what mother taught me best.

It was the performance of my life, and everyone was going to be there to see my show. I just had to play the part of a perfect daughter. Nothing else in this world mattered.

These four walls of the lonesome cabin were unrecognisable. What was once my childhood home, felt more like an abandoned museum of foreign memories.

All those years of neglect and abuse left me feeling displaced. I couldn't tell what was real and what was a figment of my imagination.

I promised myself this was going to be the last time I returned.

I reached for my phone hidden deep in my coat pocket.

Black screen. Flat battery.

The familiar metallic smell burned through my nostrils as I started feeling light-headed. Peering back at the room once more, and for the last time, I stared at mother, her eyes frozen in a red pool. Lifeless.

No one would notice.

I looked back, and there it was, reassuring me that all was well. A candle burned in the window.