Joren stomped through the front door, singing as he called out. “<I’m home, eomma!>”He kicked his boots off into the corner, making as much noise as possibly could.

Joren!” Kiki cheered from the top of the stairs. “<Out on lunch?>”

Joren paced upstairs. “Nope!” He gave her a kiss on the cheek as he passed by her. “<Finished my work early and the boss said I could bounce!>” He smiled back her way as he began to rummage through his things. “<On account of me being such a model employee and all.>” He beamed.

Kiki clasped her hands together and followed Joren into his room. “<Really! I’m so proud of you, I knew he knew you were a good worker!>” Kiki laughed as she patted him hard on the back.

“<Ah, eomma!>” He gasped as he dropped his things. “<Don’t be so clumsy!>” He chided her in an almost whisper. “<I swear.>”

Kiki laughed as she patted his back a little softer. “<Sorry adeul, apologies.>” She retorted. “<Here I thought clumsy people were the ones that dropped stuff.>”

Joren turned around and raised a finger. “<You know-!>” He began to retort.

Kiki stood wide-eyed innocent with her hands behind her back. “<What is it, Joren?>” She inquired, “<Are you moving out?>”

Joren’s brow slowly unfurrowed, “<No! Wouldn’t you like that?>” He joked, stuffing a fistful of batteries into his bag. “<I’ll be at the cabin this weekend.>”

She sat on the bed and watched him pack. “<Alone?>”

Joren tossed his clothes on top of everything else and zipped the bag shut. “<KC's coming too.>”

Kiki nodded. “<Oh of course, of course.>” She tilted her head. “<Are you going up together?>”

“Nope.” He smiled and threw his things over his shoulder. “<Gonna head up early to clean while she grabs some stuff.>”

Kiki gasped loudly. “<You better not be leaving the cabin a mess!>” She gave him a stern look. “<I built that place by hand and you’ll have hell to pay if critters start moving in-!>” Her gaze narrowed, the cabin was practically a second child to her.

Joren hopped back towards the bedroom door, raising his hands in defense. “<No, no. You misheard me!>”

Kiki crossed her arms. “<Is that so?>

Joren nodded quickly. “<Yeah, eomma.>” He continued to inch back. “<I mean I’ll clean up after ourselves. You know?>” He gave her a pleading smile.

She eyed him for a moment. “Oookay.” She rested easy. “<But if I ever find a mess up there->” She tried to elbow him as she brushed past. “<I’ll throw your key into the lake!>” He believed her.

Joren dodged her and bowed. “<Understood, eomma, I’ll see you Sunday!>” He took off down the stairs.

“<Sunday? You sure?”> She teased. “<Not Monday morning?>”

“<Yeah I gotta work Monday morning! Love you!>” He was already out the door before his mother could reply.

Kiki scurried down the stairs after him. “Wait! Wait!” She called out for him.

Joren had already found his way to the garage, blasting the radio as he started the engine.

Kiki appeared in the doorway. “<Joren you're not going to take the van are you?>”

“My car?” Joren laughed. “<I was planning on it.>”

“Joren!” Her voice began to take on a nagging tone. “<You don’t even drive that thing to work! How do you know it can make a cabin trip!>”

“<Because I bike to work, ma. Besides...>” He brushed off her complaints. “<I drive her all winter without a problem.>”

“<Joren don’t you want to take the Explorer? It’s a lot warmer and has a CD player.>” She tried to sway him. “<Take it. I don’t have any plans this weekend, I promise it’s fine.>”

Joren started the van and shook his head. “Nope.” He smiled back at her. “<She’s not missing a trip to the cabin if I can help it.>”

Kiki scoffed. “<Well when I find you frozen solid on the side of the road I won’t feel sorry for you!>”

“No, but KC will.” He chuckled.

Kiki had fallen silent, but her eyes darted back and forth as she looked for anything else to add. Finally she sighed. “<I love you, have a nice weekend adeul.>” She gave him a warm smile. “<Tell KC I said hi!>”

He backed out of the driveway and watched his mother fade out of sight in the rear view as he drove down the road. He turned onto Main Street and slapped in the cabin cassette for the drive down.

Meadows and grasslands turned into thick forests of aged firs and pines that were so thick it was near impossible to see within while traveling.

The cabin sat at the end of a peninsula on the east shore of Lake Dowland, only a moments walk away from the water. It was a private, isolated spot far away from anything, save for a few long-abandoned shacks in the woods nearby.

Joren always felt a little nostalgic on the drive down, especially when he was alone. He leaned over and began rummaging through his box of cassettes until he found an older tape with a handwritten label that had begun to yellow; ‘TS 89.'  It didn’t take long for Joren to envelop himself in emotions and memories associated with days gone by. The county’s scenery began to speed up to a blur and passed in an instant as Joren listened and sang along, perhaps in vain; he reached the cabin before side A ran out.

The stretch of road that wound up to the cabin was completely overgrown with bushes and branches scraped across the van as he pulled towards the cabin. As Joren drove up to the cabin, his headlights settled on the shore, cutting through the shade and giving him a perfect view of the lake.

Joren carried his things in through the side door and into the master bedroom, throwing them down at the foot of the bed to sort through after he finished cleaning up Joren and KC’s mess from the last trip. It wasn't as bad as Joren remembered, just a few cans to pick up, some dishes to clean, and a bit of trash to throw away, easy.

The entire place was tidy in an hour. Not clean enough to satisfy his mother, but enough for KC’s easy-to-please standards which was good enough for him. He sighed and plopped onto the recliner for a well deserved nap. After a brief moment of restless vulnerability Joren conked out for a quick nap, only to shortly be woken up by knocking at the front door. Of course, KC usually forgot her keys to the place.

Joren groaned and slowly rose from the couch. “I’m comin’ I’m comin’...” he groaned as the knocking persisted.

"Finally!" He cheered as he opened the back door, opening his arms to embrace KC, but quickly recoiled. A spindly, unfamiliar figure stood in front of him, obscured by a large cowled gown that dragged along the ground a few feet behind them.

A shock of panic raced through Joren's skull, but his ever present hospitality shone through. "C- can I uh...help you?" Joren's voice shook as he reluctantly greeted them.

The figure silently peered up at him from the cowl- they looked like a woman. Her unkempt hair and thick eyebrows contrasted with her frail, wan complexion. The stark contours of her face showed malnutrition. She didn't seem to pose any threat or malice towards Joren, if anything, she needed help.

Joren gasped and stepped closer to her. "A-Are you okay?"

Her lips moved in vain as she tried to speak, wincing with every attempt. She began to gesture towards the forest, herself, and finally her stomach.

He didn’t understand why she was there, but he could see she was starving. He couldn’t in good consciousness kick her out into the wild to fend for herself.

He stepped aside and gestured her inside. “Come in, come in…” She stumbled in past him into the living room and found a seat on the couch among the clutter.

“I’m sorry about the mess, I have to clean up--” He picked a few things up before walking into the kitchen. “Is soup okay? It’s all that’s here right now.”

She tried to answer him, but could only nod.

“Okay, perfect.” He smiled and turned on the stove. “It’ll be just a moment.”

Not fifteen minutes later she was already done with her second helping, getting ready to finish off the pot before Joren could finish cleaning up the kitchen. The sound of her spoon clanking against the bottom of her bowl was the only thing cutting through the thick, awkward silence.

After finishing she let out a long sigh and set the bowl down in front of her. “Thank you...” She whispered.

Joren turned around, taken aback by her first words.

“Oh!” He smiled and walked over to her. “It’s no problem at all, are you finished?”

She nodded, standing up to bring him her bowl.

“Oh no here, let me take that for you.” He grabbed the dish and returned to the sink to finish the tidying up. “Is there anything else I can get for you? Another drink or anything More...soup?”

She sat back down on the couch and politely shook her head. “No Joren, thank you very much...” He turned around to face the woman again, but before he could say anything else he was interrupted by a car door slamming outside.

“Hey J!” KC called out from the back of the cabin.”Could ya get the door for me? My hands are kinda full here.” She began knocked her against the door impatiently.

Joren jumped at the sudden rush of commotion outside and awkwardly excused himself from his guest. The second Joren opened the backdoor.

KC barreled inside. She narrowly avoided dropping the goods before slamming them down on the kitchen table. “Quite the bounty, huh?” She posed triumphantly.

Joren shut the back door and followed her back into the kitchen. “Actually we-” But before he could finish, KC noticed their guest and interrupted him. “Oh ‘scuse me, do we have a visitor?” She smiled and approached the woman. “I didn’t startle ya, did I?”

The stranger shook her head no and looked down into her lap, silent again.

KC tilted her head and looked back at Joren. “Not much of a talker huh?” She looked at Joren and then back at the woman. Joren stepped between the two of them.

“Actually, K--.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “She just showed up a bit ago in need of a meal and maybe a bed for the night.”

KC rubbed her chin and looked at the stranger, then back again at Joren. “Oh! I getcha, sounds good!”

Joren rubbed his brow and sighed. “But uh, if you don’t mind my asking..” He rubbed his arm. “Uh, who are you?"

The stranger hesitated for a moment, but answered. “Helga.” Her voice came out in a weak raspy tone.

“Helga..” Joren repeated to himself.

“Well you stiffs! Momma’s gonna start windin’ down now!” KC swung the refrigerator open and grabbed herself two cans of beer and made her merry way into the living room.

Joren stayed behind the kitchen to put the food away.

The stranger blinked and politely waved her hand to decline, prompting a laugh from KC.

“Oh, no, no these are both mine.” She plopped herself down onto the master armchair. “I figured you might still want company. Y’know, at least for a little bit.” She leaned back and grinned. “You don’t mind, do ya?”

Helga curiously watched as KC cracked open her beer. “Erm…” She muttered, taken aback by her almost immediate friendliness. “Okay.” She nodded. “Thank you.”

KC took a swig of her drink. “Oh c’mon it’s the least I could do yeah? You bein’ our guest and all.” KC quickly returned the gesture. “Nice to meetcha. You can call me KC!” She leaned back in her armchair.

Joren paused his cleaning, “I’m- Wait how did you-"

“Well welcome, Helga, to the cabin!” KC spoke over Joren. “Make yourself at home!” She lifted her can in a toast. “Eat what you want, drink what you want, whatever.” She took another drink and tossed the empty can aside as she reached for another.

"Thank you... KC."

Joren huffed and picked the can up and went back to cleaning as silence fell over the cabin.

“So...” KC finally spoke up, prompting Helga to look back at her. “What are you doing out here anyway? If you don’t mind my pryin’.”

Helga looked at Joren and then at KC for a moment. “Oh no, uh....” She whispered, prompting KC to lean forward. “A… A few days ago, my hou- my home was destroyed.” She frowned, staring down at her feet.

“What happened?” Joren spoke up. “If you don’t mind.”

Helga shook her head solemnly. “I went into town for supplies…” She looked past KC and out the window. “And when I returned almost everything was smashed to bits. Either someone blew it up or something... destroyed it." She began to tremble, overcome with grief.

Joren and KC’s expressions went sour.

“Well if you need a place to sleep…” Joren trailed off.

KC nodded. “Yeah, it ain’t a problem!”

Helga glanced back up at her hosts and put a hand on her cheek. “Well… Thank you.” She nodded. “Thank you.”

Joren gave her a smile. “Hey, it’s the very least we can do. I’m just glad we were here to let you in.”

KC gently patted his arm and gave him a look. “-Anyway, we shouldn’t be keeping you up so late, you look exhausted.” She gestured towards the hallway. “The guest room is on the right and the bathroom is at the end of the hall.”

Joren stepped into the hallway. “And don’t like, be afraid to get either of us, we’ll just be across the hall here. Unless you need anything else before I head to bed?”

“Oh, no, no…” Helga gave him a slight smile. “Thank you again…” KC waved at Joren as she took another sip of beer. “I’m gonna finish this one and help et our new friend, I'll meetcha in there, Jay.”

--

KC peeked her head inside the master bedroom. “Jay?” She whispered.

“You up?”

Joren stirred under the sheets and turned to KC. “Yeah, actually.” He sat up and leaned on his elbows. “All this stuff with Helga is making my mind race and stuff…”

“Oh yeah.” KC flipped the lights on and began to rummage through her things, making absolutely sure that she had everything for the weekend. “I just finished up chatting’ with her.” She sang quietly as she began to undress for bed.

Joren rolled over to face KC, his eyebrows raised curiously. “She spoke with you?” He leaned forward. “I only had a word or two with her...” he whispered. “Before you showed up, I mean.”

KC closed her eyes and chuckled to herself. “You’re not jealous I got her talkin’, are ya?” She gave Joren a shit eating grin.

Joren turned away from her and pulled their blankets up to his neck. “No, KC, I’m not.” He huffed playfully before glancing back at her. “I was going to say she…” He trailed off and shook his head. “Eh, we can talk about it tomorrow.”

“Yeah.” KC shrugged and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’m sure ya’ve had a long day and all that. Work and this.” She stretched and turned the lamp off.

“Yeah..” Joren mumbled, muscles relaxing as he exhaled deeply.

“I know how you are, don’t worry about her.” KC gently traced her fingers along his back, “We’ll figure out how we can help her tomorrow.”

Her words should have brought Joren comfort, but something was forming in the back of his mind. He didn’t know what but the feeling made him uneasy.

Could it be that simple?

“Yeah, I hope so.”