Free The Lady And The Lake by Diane Collier Page A

reached behind the passenger’s seat and grabbed her favorite CD. She slid it into the CD player and it began to play. Tiffany pushed on the brakes and put the car into drive. She drove off as the sun was setting, causing a reddish-orange hue in the sky.
    Her parents’ cabin was a distance from Boston. Todd Pond, which was located in Lincoln, was situated in the mountains. It was quiet, on the pond and tons of trees would be changing into colors of red, orange, yellow and brown. It would be late, not too late, but late in the evening when she would arrive at Todd Pond. As she drove, the city faded into suburb, which, in turn, faded into rural. More and more trees began lining the sides of the road as the four-lane road turned into two-way traffic road. On the sides of the rocks that came close to the road, mountain water poured out of the cracks in the boulders and rocks. She cracked the window. The air was crisp and swiftly chilling. The sun finally set in the west as the time passed quickly.
    Finally, she had arrived at the lake cabin. One thing she couldn’t understand was why they called it a lake cabin- it was built on a pond. She carried her things into the cabin. When she opened the door to the cabin, a stale, yet musty smell slapped her backwards. “Eeeewwww, that’s gross”, whispered Tiffany. She sat her things on the couch and turned around to go get the groceries that were in the back seat. The mountainous air was slightly freezing to the skin, turning it red with sting. As she walked, the darkness encompassed the surrounding area of the property. The trees twisted and swayed as the light breeze blew through them.
    Since Tiffany had stopped at this cute country diner on the way to the cabin, she didn’t have to cook anything for dinner when she got to the cabin. She sparked up a nice fire in the fireplace and sat on the couch in her bedtime clothes. As she sipped, she listened to the sound of the cabin. There was no noise, no fuss, not even a noise from the nighttime creatures that ventured out when the sun went down. Tiffany let the calmness of the coffee and the ambient heat and light, from the fireplace, wash over her. She was completely relaxed and calm.#
    The sun popped over the horizon of the east, pushing its rays through the windows of the cabin. The sun crawled up the couch and hit Tiffany directly in the eyes. She jolted awake and shielded her eyes from the rude sun. “Oh my god, really”, asked Tiffany aloud? She sat up, cursing the sun in her head. Tiffany pushed herself off the couch and headed into the kitchen to put on the coffee. She then, though still sleepy, headed to the bathroom to start her day. Fifteen minutes later, she strolled back into the kitchen to get a cup of fresh coffee, which her system and mind, demanded of her. Tiffany was wearing a thick, high collared, wool sweater, denim jeans and she put her hair into a ponytail. She walked out onto the deck, which was off the kitchen, and into the Saturday morning air. She inhaled deeply, taking in the, fresh, crisp, chilling air of the mountain. The deck was covered in fallen leaves as was the ground below her. The deck itself was a story above the ground. She walked up the railing and looked out over the lake or pond as it were, relaxingly.
    As she stood there, Tiffany took her foot and began kicking off some leaves that was on the deck, under her feet, to the ground below. Just then, off in the distance, she could hear the rustling of leaves, like someone was walking through the forest or a woodland creature was scurrying about. Suddenly, out of the corner of Tiffany’s eye, and out from the tree line, popped a mysterious man. He was covered with heavy clothing, jacket, jeans and a cap. She did a double-take in reaction when she saw him. “Wait, I've seen him somewhere before”, she thought in a whisper. He walked up to stand right under where Tiffany was standing above him. She gazed down upon him as he peered up at her.