Fiftysix - Seven Rue Page 0,120

to get someone’s attention, the more hope I lost.

There was no one inside.

I should’ve realized that due to the lack of lights inside.

Maybe they were already sleeping.

I knocked a few more times, then gave up and sighed.

In my case, a sigh meant blowing air out of my nose loudly.

Looking around, I decided that I couldn’t leave.

Not after finding a place to sleep, and I was sure this cabin had everything I needed.

Probably wouldn’t have any food, but at least a bed. Or a couch.

And if those things weren’t available either, I’d at least have a roof over my head and walls protecting me from wild animals around me.

I walked around the side of the cabin to make sure I was alone, and after peeking through the window into the dark living room, I lifted my fist, ready to slam it against the glass.

Stupid idea, Echo, I thought.

I needed my hands in case someone did appear and knew sign language.

That’s how I communicated since I was little.

My mother taught me, and then, in school, I had a special teacher just for me to help me communicate with other kids and adults.

My step-father didn’t know how to sign, and that added to the fact that he didn’t care about me or what I thought about things.

He decided for me, and there was nothing I could do.

I tried to write notes, but he ignored them.

Threw them into the trash the second he saw them, without ever reading them.

I turned around to look for a rock I could break the window with, and sure enough, I saw one that was big enough to use.

I picked it up and stepped back, then threw it against the glass.

The noise it made was loud enough to scare any animals away, and once I was sure there was no one inside, I picked the pieces of glass off the frame, then climbed in.

Once inside, I looked around with my flashlight.

I was standing in the living room, and the animal furs all over the walls and floor told me that I was in a hunter’s cabin.

Hunters were around often at this time of year, so maybe there was some food around.

And maybe, he’ll be back soon.

After taking in all of the three bedrooms and bathrooms, I moved over to the kitchen and started to open the cupboards.

There were enough plates and glasses to set the table for a family of six, and to my luck, there were also some cans in the cabinets.

Beans and ravioli.

I could live with that.

My hunger kicked in, and I didn’t really care about anyone coming in at this point, so I opened both cans and emptied them into a small pot to heat them up.

The stove worked as well.

There was for sure some guy living here a few weeks a year, but for now, it was my turn.

While the beans and ravioli heated up, I grabbed the thick, wool blanket off the couch and placed it over the broken window so the wind wouldn’t cool this place down even more.

I hung it over the curtain holder above the window, and to my luck, it covered up enough of what I broke.

Dinner wasn’t that good, but at least my stomach was full.

I even found pickles in the fridge, next to three cans of beer.

Beer wasn’t for me though, so water from the tap it was.

The owner of this cabin wouldn’t arrive this late at night, but I’d have to be up early in the morning in case he’d show up.

After cleaning up the pot I ate out of, I walked over to the small hallway where the bedroom doors were wide open.

Which one would I choose?

I looked inside all three of them, then picked the one in the middle.

It looked cozier than the others, and it was probably the one bedroom that was used most.

I had dirty clothes on and also inside my backpack, but again, I got lucky.

There were sweaters in the small drawer next to the bed, and I picked one out to sleep in.

After getting undressed, I looked to the bathroom and wondered if I should take a shower first.

Getting into bed clean would feel good, but then, using a stranger’s shower seemed weird.

Though…I was also in a stranger’s cabin, so why was I shying away from getting clean?

I stepped into the shower and rubbed all the dirt off my body with my hands, then used the shampoo which smelled like men’s shampoo and rubbed it all over me.

The water wasn’t running