Cabin on the Cliff
By Samantha Tate
Tay strode from the bathroom with her hair still wet, having just finished her long soak in the bathtub overlooking the woods. She sprawled out on the sofa and listened to the only two sounds she cared to hear: the crackling logs in the fireplace and Cruze’s muffled laughter as he embarked on some mysterious childhood adventure. She breathed easy, allowing her eyes to roam the room.
The multi-functional wall standing between the entrance corridor and the living area served as their storage container and finally, finally, everything was tucked away in an organized manner. Glancing past it, she lost herself in the unobstructed view of the lake through the patio doors.
And then there he was, tottering past the door with a familiar look of determination on his face. “Harry?” Tay called, keeping a close watch on their toddler.
“I see him!” Harry replied. He sat perched at the highest point of the house, a small sitting area ringed with black railings. He turned his attention towards the controller in his hands and, looking at the video feed, expertly piloted the drone down to Cruze’s level.
The laughter that erupted assured both parents that Cruze was fully enraptured with the drone, and like a carrot on a string, he would follow it anywhere.
Wordlessly working in tandem, Harry maneuvered the drone towards the patio door while Tay opened it up. Cruze grinned as his mother picked him up, and Harry piloted the drone away, his job complete.
They rendezvoused at the bottom of the wooden stairs, and made their way to the lowest level of the house.
They stepped out into the brisk evening air, past stacks of freshly-chopped firewood, and settled around the firepit.
Harry threw a few more logs onto the coals that were still smoldering from the night before, and as the afternoon sun sank beneath the trees.
The family sat around the fire, watching the last rays of sunlight glint off the water that lapped against the shore of their dream home.