Stay for a spell

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. Driving slowly down the winding, bumpy dirt road to the lakefront and his family cabin, Greg saw the candle in the window and a chill rose up his spine. Strange, he thought, Grandma didn't mention that someone bought the old Meyer cabin. Greg had never known the ancient Meyer cabin to be occupied; touching the crumbing porch and, for the more brazen, peeking in the dirty windows was the source of many a dare between him and his cousins growing up. The dim beams from the truck's headlights didn't offer enough light for him to see if there were any vehicles parked in the overgrown weeds of the dirt driveway.

It will be nice to have another family out here, he mused, will help the property values go up for everyone. I'll walk up tomorrow and introduce myself, he thought. Maybe Michelle will join me. He glanced at his girlfriend, Michelle, asleep in the passenger seat next to him, and sighed. This was the first time Greg had brought her to his family's lake cabin in the year they had been together, and he couldn't help but feel disappointed she was sleeping through the end of the drive, rather than taking in the eerie beauty of the woods at twilight.

Greg's mother's grandfather had built the family cabin himself when he was just a young man. Greg grew up spending long summer weekends at the cabin, swimming, kayaking and exploring the endless, dark woods, as had his mother and his grandmother before him. This was the first time he had been allowed the use of the cabin on his own, as an adult of 25 years old, and he was excited to share one of his favorite places with the woman he loved. Nervously, Greg patted the small box in his front pocket. I hope she says yes, he thought.

The truck continued to bounce loudly down the road, as the trees on either side closed in further and branches scraped against the driver's side. I don't remember the road being quite this narrow, thought Greg, straining to see through the increasing number of mosquitos hitting the windshield. Michelle startled awake beside him as the truck hit a particularly large bump and jerked hard to the right.

"What? Are we there? What was that?" she mumbled sleepily.

"I'm sorry baby," he responded, "the road is a bit of a mess but we are almost there. I'm glad you are awake so you can see the cabin!"

As they rounded the next turn Greg's family cabin came into view. The front porch was sagging more than he recalled; the woods seemed to have moved in closer to the cabin's walls and the lake with its small beach and remains of a long-ago dock seemed to have receded further into the distance. Greg stopped the truck and shut off the engine; the noise of insects and frogs filled his ears. Smiling at Michelle, Greg said "okay, let's get the bags inside first, then we can start a campfire on the beach."

Slowly Michelle climbed out of the truck and walked to the back to retrieve their bags. As she lowered the tailgate, a sudden rustling noise from the cabin's porch caught her attention. Looking up, she saw the hulking figure next to the front door. "Bear," she whispered, then again, a little louder and with a tremor in her voice "BEAR, honey, it's...."

Greg, backing up slowly to join her by the tailgate, interrupted her with quiet urgency, "Shhh, it's okay, just don't move. Don't move."

Greg watched as the large, lumbering form moved slowly off the porch and walked toward the woods. As he reached the nearest trees, the bear stopped and turned to look at the couple for a moment. He took a step forward, then paused and made a soft "oof" sound before turning and disappearing into the darkness.

"I don't feel good about this at all," Michelle stammered quickly, "Let's leave."

Greg put what he hoped was a reassuring arm around her waist and smiled slowly. "Honey, it's just a black bear. There are dozens of them around this lake. We saw them all the time when I was a kid. We leave them alone, they leave us alone."

Michelle was unconvinced. "Greg, I've told you I'm afraid of bears. I've had dreams about them since I was little, it always feels like they are coming for me. I can't believe you brought me out here without telling me this place is crawling with them."

Greg sighed. "Honey, I promise you, there is nothing dangerous about the bears up here. There are no grizzlies, just good ol' Minnesota black bears. They have plenty of food to eat, and it's too late in the summer for any of them to have really young cubs. I would never take you anyplace you could be in danger, I promise. And wait until you see inside the cabin and the beach, you are going to love this place and we are going to have the most romantic weekend. "

Michelle let out a deep sigh and gave him a small smile. "Okay, but let's get inside quickly."

Greg grabbed their overnight bags from the truck with one hand and gave his other hand to Michelle, pulling her close. "Let's get you inside. I will come back for the cooler and the food and you can open a bottle of wine for us."

The porch steps groaned under their feet as they moved toward the cabin door. Moths bounced off the dirty, dimly glowing light mounted next to the door. The screen hung loosely from the frame and had several large tears flapping loose; Greg hoped Michelle wouldn't notice those or the claw scratches on the front door. "Honey," he said quickly, "the key should be under that rock, right under the porch light, can you grab it?"

Michelle bent to pick up the large rock, sending several insects scuttling across the porch. She paused, "Babe? There's nothing under here. Do you not have a key?"

Greg frowned and bent to look. "That's where we've always kept it." He glanced at his watch. "It's a little after 9, probably too late to call Grandma. Let me give my mom a call."

As Greg pulled his cell phone from his pocket he noticed his battery was running low. He listened to the phone ring and watched Michelle place her back firmly against the cabin door and frown at the woods.

"Hello?" As always the warmth of his mom's voice was an immediate comfort. "Hi Mom! We made it to the cabin but the key isn't in the hiding spot."

"Greg, sweetie! I'm so glad you called. What does she think of the cabin? Have you asked her yet?"

"Mom, no, we just got here," Greg glanced at Michelle, who stood ridged, glaring at the woods. "Did you hear what I said? The key isn't under the rock, do you know where it is?"

"Oh honey you didn't get my message? Your Grandma was down there a week or so ago, she had someone look at replacing the dock. She forgot to put the key back after she locked up, and by the time she realized she had it she was almost back on the main road. It's taped inside the mailbox, back up near the county road."

"Whew, okay. I will drive back up there and get it," Greg said with relief. "Oh, and Mom, when did someone buy the Meyer place? I saw a candle burning in the front window when we drove in."

Greg's mom was quiet for a moment. "The old Meyer cabin? No one has had that place in years. I can't imagine anyone would want it, you'd have to sink so much into repairs and that place is creepy. When your grandma was little she used to go up there and visit Mrs. Meyer when Mr. Meyer was out fishing. That poor woman. My grandmother used to tell me stories about how badly Mrs. Meyer wanted children, but they were never able to have any. Your grandma would go up there to say hello, and Mrs. Meyer would tell her how pretty she was, how she looked just like the little girl she always wished she had, and that she should come in and 'stay for a spell' with her. She was a big baker, Mrs. Meyer, she made all of her own bread and lots of cookies and cakes, so of course Mom loved visiting her. Mrs. Meyer died when your grandma was maybe 12, and Mr. Meyer just disappeared. Most people assumed his grief was too much and that he went back east to his family," she paused. "But my grandfather....he loved folklore and ghost stories and would tell anyone who would listen that Mr. Meyer's grief transformed him into a bear. As a kid anytime I'd see bear tracks at the cabin my grandfather would tell me that Mr. Meyer was searching the woods, looking to kidnap a daughter for his wife. I was always terrified to go outside by myself once the sun went down."

Greg shivered at the memory of the large bear on the porch, but forced a laugh. "You've never told me that story." Greg could hear his mom smile over the phone. "Well, you and all the other kids were always so afraid of that place anyway, I thought I didn't need to make it any worse. Do you remember when your cousin Robbie got his leg stuck in the Meyers’ porch and how your Uncle Bill had to..."

Greg heard his phone's low battery alert beep in his ear and interrupted his mom. "Mom, I need to go, my battery is dying and I want to get the key so I can get Michelle inside; she's a little creeped out by this place. I will call you back in the morning, love you."

Greg leaned over and gave Michelle a quick hug. "The key is in the mailbox, back up by the main road. I'm going to drive up and get it, I will be back in soon."

Michelle grabbed Greg's hand. "Oh no, you're not leaving me here, I'm going with you."

Together they walked to the truck, but as he moved to open the driver's door Greg let out a groan. "Looks like that last rut in the road gave us a flat. I can change it tomorrow in the light, but I'm going to have to walk up to the mailbox, why don't you sit here in the truck and..."

Michelle cut him off quickly. "No, I already said you're not leaving me here. I will walk with you."

Greg smiled. "I'm glad for the company, let me just grab the flashlight out of the glove box," and with a teasing tone added "and why don't you put a few rocks in your pocket so you can defend me from your bear friend."

"That's not funny," snapped Michelle, but all the same she bent over and picked up a handful of rocks.

Greg shook the old bulky flashlight and turned it on. He was pleasantly surprised at how bright the beam was as he turned it up the hill toward the road, illuminating thousands of mosquitos and other nocturnal insects in search of food. The woods hummed with the movement of tiny wings. "Crap, I forgot to pack bug spray. Hopefully there's still some inside the cabin; I don't want to get eaten alive this weekend."

"Better eaten alive by bugs than a bear," Michelle said ruefully.

Greg took her hand and the two headed up the road, the chirping of crickets and humming of mosquitos filling the silence. He noticed how tensely she moved, glancing quickly at the woods looming on both sides of the road. "It's a short walk, maybe 10 minutes at the most. We will be back before you know it, and we can open the good wine when we get back."

She tried to smile, "Okay. Let's just hurry and get back. What all did your mom have to say?"

"She was telling me stories about the Meyer cabin. It's up the road a little ways and is the last property along the road before ours. I noticed when we drove past that there's someone staying in it again, which is nice. That place has been empty forever. My older cousins used to say it was haunted; I was always afraid to walk past it."

"Haunted?" Michelle laughed.

Greg jokingly put the flashlight under his face and made his voice deeper to sound frightening. "Well, according to Mom the Meyers lived there when my grandma was little, and had been there since before my great grandfather built our cabin. They desperately wanted children, Mrs. Meyer really wanted a daughter, but it wasn't meant to be. She died of a broken heart, and now he wanders the woods was a bear, seeking children to bring home to his heartbroken wife."

Michelle frowned. "That's not funny Greg."

Greg laughed. "Sweetie, c'mon. They've been dead since before I was born. Since before my mom was born. They were a nice couple who never had kids and then passed away. End of story. No one bought the cabin for years because it's so run down but now someone has and we can have some nice neighbors when we come up here." Greg smiled to himself, thinking of having a family with Michelle, and their kids playing with the neighbors' kids on the lake as he and his cousins had done.

A loud SNAP in the woods to his right starlted Greg. Michelle froze. "Oh my god what was that?"

Greg frowned but tried to sound calm. "Probably just a fox out looking for rabbits. There are lots of small animals out here, nothing to worry about. Hey, the moon is out and we have a nice view of the lake from up here, look." He took Michelle's shoulders and turned her around so she could see the moon shining off the lake. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Michelle smiled. "It is. And I'm glad to see some lights on the other side of the lake too, less lonely." Suddenly her face fell as she looked at the road leading back to the cabin. "Honey? Is this, this...this is the road we drove in on?"

Greg touched her hand "Yes, same road, you were asleep, but this is the only road to the cabin." Even in the dim light from the flashlight, Greg could see that Michelle's face had gone pale. "What's wrong, babe?"

Michelle stammered, "I, I have seen this road. I...in my bear dreams....they chase me and I'm running on this road...."

Greg wrapped his arms around her, "sweetie, they are just dreams, everything is..."

Michelle pushed him away. "No! This is not okay, nothing is okay!" She walked quickly ahead of him "we need to get the key and we need to get the car fixed and we need to get out of here!"

CRACK another branch snapped loudly in the woods, this time closer than before. As he hurried to catch up with her, Greg heard Michelle start to cry. "Honey," Greg pleaded, "I'm sorry, I'm SORRY just wait, please."

CRACK, CRACK.

Michelle's crying grew louder as Greg saw the Meyer cabin appear to their right. To his surprise, there were now candles in two more windows, and a soft glow from what appeared to be a porch light. Michelle saw the cabin too and pointed, her sobs stopping for a moment, and said "Look, someone is home there, maybe they can drive us up to the mailboxes."

Michelle started jogging toward the cabin, as Greg's phone rang. "Mom, hello?" he answered.

"Greg, honey I just talked to your Grandma. She said the Meyer place was completely deserted when she was out there the other day, no one is living there Greg, you should stay..." and the phone went dead.

SNAP. This time it sounded directly behind Greg. Michelle let out a shriek as she ran.

"Michelle!" Greg yelled as she ran up the steps to the cabin. "MICHELLE! Stop!" Panicked and confused he ran after her as the front door creaked open and she disappeared inside the old Meyer place. "MICHELLE!!!!!!" Climbing the first step, Greg slipped and felt the ring box fall from his pocket, as a large paw slapped the back of his head and he fell into the darkness.

Inside the cabin Michelle felt the warmth of what must be a fireplace, although she couldn't see any light other then a few candles along the walls. She could smell cookies baking and hear scratchy, old-timey music playing softly in the background. "Welcome sweetheart," said a soft voice. "Why don't you stay for a spell?" was the last thing she heard as the room went completely dark.