by Nowick Gray
Morning
light grew slowly from the drizzling fog outside, through cabin windows misty white as a cocoon. Faron and I were
still wrapped tightly in each other's arms, under our cozy quilt. Suze still slept snug in her bed, and Matt stirred
slightly from his upper bunk.
We lingered long in bed, watching our breath hover in the air, enjoying the peace of the special time and place. I was unconscious of the dreams I'd had; I was only aware of Faron warmly breathing beside me, and I savored to the last that exquisite touch of our bodies together. Suze moved in soon enough to make it a threesome-a crowd, actually, but idyllic in its own way. Then Matt bent his tousled head down from his bunk to greet us with a hoarse but cheery "Good morning."
"Morning," said Faron.
"Hi--hi--hi," was Suze's high-pitched, staccato salutation.
"Did you sleep well?" I asked.
"Not too bad," Matt responded, "after that crashing of wood outside. I thought it might be a bear. Did you hear it?"
"Yes," I said, "and I thought of going out to see what it was, but decided I'd be better off behind that cabin door." It was only as I said this that I remembered my dreams.
I chose not to speak of them, as I had already set my sights on the return journey and wanted to proceed with our plans with a general feeling of confidence. I told myself that if we all survived such a night, we could certainly survive the day ahead.
There was nothing to do then but plunge out of the covers and into cold clothes. Matt and I briskly bustled about, making breakfast, while Faron dressed Suze and then started packing.
Breakfast was dried fruit, porridge, nuts, and leftover soup. We savored it as a feast. I knew from Faron's glowing silence that we still bathed in the wonder of our renewed connection. Matt and even Suze seemed also to be chewing in a reflective spirit, honoring the occasion.
But then there was time only to write our regards to the cabin and the mountains in the logbook, stuff packs full once again and head off to our separate destinations. It was decided that I would first accompany Faron, with Suze on my shoulders, to the end of the top ridge where their descent began.
We stood there holding one another for many long, blissful moments in the gray, icy drizzle, saying good-bye, our wet cheeks pressed warmly together. With visibility no more than three feet, turning my family loose was like sending them off into the void. The final bliss of our parting now became painful, and I wondered--not for the last time--if we were being foolish and blind to ignore the weather.
Faron caught my mood and reassured me, gamely taking her familar role: "If you guys made it up okay on your side without any trail at all, then I should be all right finding my way down." I wasn't sure if she believed what she was saying, this time, or if she was just trying to make it easy for me.
"Maybe I should go down farther with you, till you're on the actual trail."
"No, that's all right, really. It might take us a long time to find it, or we might find it a long ways down. Matt would start to worry, and you might get lost on the way back up, like I did yesterday. I think we'll be fine. But thanks."
"Well, okay. I'm sure you'll recognize the way you came up, once you find it."
One more kiss, and they vanished into the mists; and I trudged back to the cabin to begin the descent on the other side of the mountain.
Detour inside Cabin 
, or...
