Up Through The Thermals

Chapter Two

The following day he was awake by 5:30 without the alarm, so he got up, showered, made a cappuccino, and watched the news. He wasn't hungry and figured he could just pick up something along the way.

While driving, time seemed to fly as a lifetime of memories flooded his consciousness. Tyler debated in his mind about the many friends or lack of friends in his life until he realized he never had a lot of friends but did cherish the ones he had, admitting that since Wendy died, he had pretty much been on his own. Once he was off the freeway, the drive became much more peaceful. The two-lane mountain road was quiet and windy. He enjoyed passing through the occasional small towns along the way, thinking how he should have moved somewhere like this after Wendy died. He was also surprised to see the amount of roadkill along the way. Besides several squirrels, he also saw a raccoon, two possums, and one deer, but it looked like scavengers had already done away with the deer. He chuckled that he may be the only person that would make a mental note of how much roadkill he'd seen. He stopped three times along the road to put on a latex glove from the box he carried. Since he had learned to drive, he had kept gloves in his car for the occasions he would come across a dead animal on the road. If they were in the street, he would move them far enough to the side of the road that the vultures could clean it up safely. He had repeatedly seen where cars had killed the vultures while they were doing their best to rid the road of carrion. Initially, it drove Wendy a little crazy that he did it, but she eventually just took it in stride, hardly noticing.

It was about 11:45 when he noticed his GPS said he was only 12 miles from the cabin. He passed by a gas station with a small deli, so he turned around and returned. As he hadn't eaten, he stopped in and ordered a sandwich with chips and a coke.

He sat at a table outside and enjoyed the quiet, only interrupted now and then by a passing car. Looking skyward, he saw a turkey vulture's familiar flight pattern. As he continued to watch, he saw four more come from behind the trees and two more after that. As they moved into the sky above him, he counted eight flying in a kettle above him as he ate. As a kid, Tyler thought the vultures were always there to protect him. As he got older, he thought he would outgrow the vulture thing and that they would fade away like all those things we believe as children. But they never went away. Except for night and early morning or when the weather was terrible, Tyler found that almost anytime he looked to the sky, Vulture would be there. If not, Vulture would fly into view within minutes as long as he kept looking. He used to wonder if they were always there for anyone to see, but he'd just trained himself to look up? Or did they genuinely show up for him? Eventually, as an adult, he could not deny their constant presence, which continued to make him feel safe, cared for, and never alone.

The turn-off was well-marked with the address of the cabin. Tyler swung right onto a narrow dirt road which 45 seconds later opened into a small clearing. He could see the place off to the left. A Toyota Tacoma pickup was parked in front, but he didn't see anyone. Tyler got out of his car and walked around, taking in the view from the driveway. The cabin had a few steps up to the screened-in front porch, just big enough to hold a couple of rocking chairs and a table. There were trees everywhere except in front of the cabin where the road came in. Just as he noticed what looked like a trail going off into the woods about 100 feet down the way, he heard voices coming from around the back of the cabin.

"You must be Tyler?"

"Yes, that would be me," Tyler replied.

"Henry, Henry Sims." Henry reached out his hand. "Nice to meet you, and this is my wife, Elizabeth."

"It's great to meet you both. This place is just beautiful." Tyler answered, shaking both their hands. "How long have you had this?"

"My grandfather built this in 1920. I grew up coming here with my folks, and then my dad left it to me when he passed back in 1981. It hasn't changed much, but we have kept it up pretty well. There's still a hand pump for the water in the kitchen, but we did add a bathroom with a composting toilet and a shower. You'll need to start the generator to get the shower going. I'll show you all that."

"Well, that all sounds doable to me."

"Let me show you around."

"Honey, I'm going to take a little walk while you show Tyler the ropes," Elizabeth said as she started walking down the road.

"Okay, Hon."

Henry started up the steps. "Come on in, Tyler. I'll show you the cabin."

Tyler noticed the smell of years of woodsmoke on the walls, curtains, and rugs in this old cabin. He liked it.

"This is the living room. Here is the original rock fireplace Grandad put in. There is plenty of wood outback, so don't be shy. It can still get pretty cool here this time of year."

"Okay, thanks. Looks so nice and cozy. My late wife would have enjoyed sitting by the fire here."

"I'm sorry she couldn't be here. It must be a little tough. I'm really sorry for your loss."

"Oh, thanks, it's been a long time now, but….. anyway, um, so this must be the kitchen here."

"Yep, it's a little small, but it has everything you might need. You will have to heat water on the stove to wash the dishes, but the little hand pump there works well, and the water is pure and great for drinking. We still had the old cast iron wood stove when I was growing up, but we put in this propane stove about 20 years ago. I checked the tank outside, and you should have plenty of gas for six weeks."

"It's just the stove and lights that are propane?"

"And the water heater. You just need to light it an hour or so before you want to shower. I'll show you. It's outback on the side of the house. Sorry, we haven't got around to hooking the water heater up to the kitchen yet."

"No problem and the gas lights look like the ones I had in my old camp trailer."

"Yep, pretty much the same, I would guess. Just light a match and turn the knob."

Henry opened a couple of doors in the small hallway. "So here's the bathroom. Ever used one of these composting toilets before?"

"Yeah, actually, I did use one for about a week. Do you use peat moss?

"Yep, this one separates the urine, so if you just wanna piss outside, you won't need to empty this thing until you're ready to leave. Just remember to turn the crank each time you use it."

"Great! That works for me."

"Okay, and there is a shower here and also a shower head outside, right on the other side of this wall, if you want to shower out there.",

Henry pushed open the next door. "And then here is your bedroom. It's got a double bed, and there are a couple of fold-out cots in the closet, not that you'll need them."

"Perfect, really, this is great, Henry."

"Let me show you the water heater and generator. Need the generator to pump the water to the shower." They walked out a back door from the kitchen onto a small deck. Tyler noticed it was a lovely space, open with some Adirondack chairs and a picnic table. There was also a kettle-type barbecue under the overhang with the water heater and generator.

"It's pretty simple: just light the water heater maybe 45 minutes or an hour before you want to shower. When you are ready, just start up the generator. Starts real easy, and you're good to go. Want me to show you?"

While Henry showed Tyler how it all worked and how to light the water heater and start the generator, he could not get over how great this place was. If he weren't dying, he'd probably try to buy it.

"Well, I think that's about it for the house. There is a binder in the cabin on the coffee table with a lot of this stuff written up, where the closest phone is and grocery stores, cafes, all that kind of stuff."

"Well, Henry, I am very excited to get away from it all and spend some time here. I think it is perfect, just what I was looking for. I would like to see this small meadow if you have time."

"Oh yeah, of course. That is most likely where Elizabeth is right now. We have some nice chairs out there. The sunsets can be just amazing from up there."

"I'm just going to go find a tree before we go."

"Yeah, there are plenty of those. Take your time. I'll be out front."

After relieving himself, Tyler walked around to the cabin's front. He felt very positive about his plan and this place. It had such a sacred feeling to it. He thought that this was where he was meant to be.

"It's just beautiful, Henry! Can't wait to have some peace and quiet here."

"Well, there is plenty of that here, but you haven't even seen the greatest feature of this place. Here, follow me, Tyler."

After a short walk down the driveway, they came to that trail he had noticed earlier. It was a narrow trail through some trees and brush. As they started through the trees, he could immediately see that it was only about 30 feet long before it opened onto a meadow. The sun shone bright beyond the shade of the trees he was passing through.

"Wow, now that's a view!" Tyler said as he came through the trees. Looking across a small grassy meadow, it was as if you could see forever. A little smaller than half a football field, it dropped off to a view that just went for miles of hills, trees, and valleys. "This is just the most gorgeous view I have ever seen!"

"Yep, I certainly never tire of it. Before you ask why Grandad didn't build the cabin here?"

"Yeah, why didn't he?"

"Well," Henry laughed. "Everyone asks that. Grandad said a beautiful view needed to be earned, that if he built the cabin here with this view, it would just become kind of normal, ordinary, maybe even boring after a while. Although I don't think it could ever be boring myself, I understand what he meant. It never ceases to amaze me every time I come through these trees here and see this view, and I've done it at least a thousand times!" Henry started to walk toward his wife, Elizabeth, seated on a small deck a little distance away. "Hey, just take a walk around and check out the view. You can meet us over here when you are done."

"Oh yeah, thanks, Henry. I think I will. Oh, look, there are some turkey vultures way over there!" he said, pointing.

“Buzzards? Yeah, we see them flying by here all the time."

Usually, Tyler would correct anyone that referred to turkey vultures as buzzards but decided he would just let it go. He turned left and followed the tree line as it wrapped around the meadow. There were beautiful islands of tiny blue and yellow wildflowers here and there. At the end of the tree line, it turned very rocky and steep. He got out his phone and looked at the compass. He was standing at the southern point of the meadow, mainly facing west, which meant incredible sunsets. He walked along the western edge of the field, enjoying the vastness of the views. Although he could make out an occasional building here and there, it seemed very remote overall.

Tyler continued his walk along the meadow's edge until it brought him to the small deck Henry and Elizabeth had stretched themselves out on. "Well, this is beyond words here, Henry. Just beautiful. How much you want for it?" he asked with a laugh.

"Get in line. You certainly aren't the first person to ask that question. I think you are going to like it here. Glad to have you."

"Thanks, it's going to be the perfect getaway. Better than I could have imagined."

“Well, we have to get back down the mountain. Did you have any other questions?"

"No, not right now. I'll call you before I head up here just so you know I'm on my way, and if I have any questions, I'll ask you then."

Walking back through the trees, Tyler felt at home here. "Here, Tyler," Henry said, handing him a piece of paper. "This is the combination to the gate. We keep it locked when no one is here."

"Oh great, thanks!" As they approached the cabin, Tyler continued, "Well, Henry, Elizabeth, it was great meeting you two, and I am so excited to be able to make use of your beautiful space here."

"We are happy you found us, Tyler," Elizabeth said.

"Yes, you seem like a great guy Tyler. Hope you will come back for another stay sometime."

"I have the rent in cash, here in my car. Let me grab it, and that will take care of that." You can just email me a receipt." Tyler unlocked his car and grabbed the envelope of cash.

As Tyler hands the envelope to Henry, Henry takes it and points to a tree near the cabin. "And here is where you can find the key to the cabin when you get here," he says as he nears the tree. "It's in this little ceramic thing in the crook of the tree."

"Alright. I guess we are all set then. Thanks again for meeting me up here and showing me around. It's beautiful, and I will treat it with the utmost respect."

"I do not doubt that, Tyler."

"I'll Talk to you before I come up," Tyler says as he opens his car door and climbs into the driver's seat.

Tyler's reflection on his life continued on the drive home from the cabin, thinking back on his childhood, school, friends, and all the different jobs he'd had, his marriage. He'd certainly had his ups and downs, but overall it was a good life. The thought of ending it with months of chemotherapy just was not how he wanted to celebrate his life.

The following day, Tyler woke up and realized it would not be long, and he'd be waking up in that little cabin on the mountain. He knew he needed to get busy to get everything he needed to do done in the next week or so. His body was also starting to ache more and more. He was feeling strange minor aches he had not yet experienced, and he seemed to suffer from a loss of stamina.

After his cappuccino and a little breakfast, Tyler started going through his things. He had consciously downsized quite a bit when he moved from the bigger house down to this one. Not wanting to have a lot of useless stuff around, he felt terrific about that past decision.

Over the next week, Tyler would go through everything he owned. He picked up some boxes, and as he filled them, he put everything neatly in his little one-car garage. He had three piles; one was to give away, one to throw away, and one was for things he thought Ben or Jill or their kids might want.

On Tuesday, he stopped by Jim's office. Jim had clients with him, but as the papers were ready, Jim's secretary could assist him in getting everything signed, and he was out of the office quickly, which was okay with him.

Tyler stood in line at the bank, waiting his turn to approach the teller. It's my money, he thought to himself. I should be able to take as much of it as I want. He was worried they would ask too many questions. He just wanted to get the cash and leave.

"Hi," he said when it was his turn.

"Hello." the teller smiled. He'd been in her line a hundred times. "What can I do for you today?" she asked.

“Well, I'd like to withdraw $25,000 cash from my account, if possible."

"Okay, just a second. Let me get my manager."

The teller walked back into an office and returned a couple of minutes later with the manager.

"Hi Mr. Birch. How are you this afternoon?"

"I'm great, thanks. I just wanted to see if I could get some cash from my account."

"Of course. Why don't we return to my office, if you don't mind?"

"Sure, no problem."

Tyler followed the manager back to her office.

"That is a large withdrawal, especially in cash."

"Yes, I know that. Look, if it's a problem for you to come up with it right now, I can come back tomorrow and pick it up. I don't have to have it today," Tyler wanted to make this as easy for them as he could.

"Yes, well, I do appreciate that, and we can certainly do it that way. I am just a little curious. Have you considered using an Equity Line of Credit to borrow the money you need? You have had one with us in the past, and I see it has been paid off. You have excellent credit, Mr. Birch."

"Yes, I understand, and I appreciate the offer. I have, of course, looked at all my options with this, and my preference is to receive the $25,000 in cash."

"Okay, no problem. We can have it in the morning if that works for you."

"Perfect."

"Will two hundred and fifty $100.00 bills work for you?"

"That would be great. Thank you so much. I really do appreciate it."

Tyler was happy to return to his truck and work out that piece.

With only about a week to go before Tyler would be heading up to the cabin, he started thinking about everything he needed to do, which he realized was not that much. He pulled out the list he had made and saw that other than grocery shop for food, he needed only to pick up the money from the bank, pick up the gloves, tarp and bucket and take a load to the Goodwill. There was so little for him to throw away that it could all easily be put in that week's garbage.

He would also need to sit down and write three letters. He'd been composing them in his head for days, so he did not expect that to be a problem.