Chapter 11
The SUV bounced heavily over the washboard gravel before coming to a stop in a small, overgrown clearing. Ahead of them stood the cabin. It looked smaller, greyer, and far more fragile than Alejandro remembered from the hazy recollections of his twenties. The cedar siding had weathered to a deep charcoal gray, the front porch steps sagged dangerously to the left, and the tin roof was dotted with patches of rust. A thick blanket of pine needles covered the clearing, untouched except for the tracks of deer and small woodland animals. Alejandro turned off the engine, killing the low rumble of the SUV. The silence of the northern woods rushed in immediately—vast, heavy, and absolute, broken only by the distant rustling of wind through the upper branches of the pines. "Stay here," Alejandro instructed gently, looking back at Maya, who peered out the window with wide, apprehensive eyes. "I just want to check the perimeter." He pushed open the car door and stepped out onto the damp earth, the familiar scent of pine sap and wet soil filling his lungs. He walked up the sagging wooden steps, the wood groaning in protest beneath his heavy boots. The front door was unlocked, held shut only by a warped wooden latch. He pushed it open. The interior was dim, smelling of dust, damp wood, and old memories. A cast-iron woodstove sat in the center of the single room, cold and choked with gray ash. An unmade cot occupied one corner, covered in a moth-eaten plaid blanket. On a small wooden table beside the bed sat a collection of empty medicine bottles, a chipped ceramic mug, and a small, leather-bound sketchbook. Alejandro crossed the room slowly, his boots crunching on the dusty floorboards. He reached out and picked up the sketchbook, his hands trembling as he flipped open the cover. Inside were dozens of charcoal sketches—portraits of trees, rough drafts of landscapes, and, on the very last page, a remarkably detailed sketch of his own face, drawn from memory with sharp, forgiving lines. A wave of profound, suffocating grief crashed over him, leaving him breathless in the empty room.
