A Cold Hike and Warm Cabin

Author’s Note: This is a continuation of Farren’s journey through a limbo world where everyone is trying to reach the peak of a mountain but have a rope tied to their ankle. Start here or with Part 1.

Farren’s teeth chattered as he hiked up the steep mountain. It was late afternoon, and as much as he wanted to keep hiking, Farren knew this was the time to stop traveling and make a fire. When he found a pleasant level area Farren began gathering sticks and branches for the fire. In his search, he noticed something peculiar laying under some of the damp leaves the mountain’s ground was covered in. At first, it looked like a stick, which is why it grabbed his attention. However, when he bent over and picked it up, and the rough but bendable texture was familiar in his hand.
It was a taut rope and only able to be lifted a few inches from the ground. It weaved in and out of the dense forest of the mountain. Farren looked up, judging the distance between his position and the peak.
The glimpses he could make of the ascent between the tree didn’t give him much information. Clouds obscured the top of the mountain and all he knew for sure was that he had a long climb in front of him. But it would still be shorter than the trip he took to circumnavigate the globe.
He pulled at the tight line, and it barely budged. It gently weaved between trees, and he considered following it. He’d suspected some people to be on the mountain, but he figured the odds of meeting them were slim.
Taking a thick stick from his pile, he shoved it into the ground as a marker. He planned to follow it in the morning. He was intrigued by the opportunity to talk to someone who’d made it this far.

Farren ran out of wood in the early hours of the morning. Unfortunately, the brisk morning air kept him from sleeping much after that happened. By the time the light of the sun began to peak over the horizon Farren’s teeth were chattering so hard he thought they’d chip each other. In an attempt to stay warm he cleaned up his camp and began to hike. However, this time instead of following the slope of the mountain he followed the rope he’d discovered yesterday.
The rope, lucky for him, wound its way gently up the mountain taking slow and winding paths instead of attacking the steep climb straight on. While following it through the dense forest occasionally his rope balls would get stuck between two trees. At first, Farren could budge them through, but after a day of travel like this, he found himself being more mindful of where he walked. As he climbed the trees only got thicker and he was glad he had all the rope he needed to navigate with near him, instead of being dragged a distance behind him.
The next morning Farren found a second rope intersecting with the first. After studying the paths of the lines, he realized that the first rope continued its trajectory while the second rope changed course to follow the first. He suspected someone following Farren’s cord would see the same pattern when he intersected with the first line.
Before the sun was so low that Farren would be too cold to travel he discovered that the pair of ropes intersected with a third. In this case, both the first and second rope adjusted their paths significantly to follow the third. The story the ropes told was clear to Farren, although the timeline was still unknown. Rope one traveled until it found the third rope then followed it in hopes of meeting someone. In the meantime, line two found rope one and followed it which eventually introduced it to rope three.
Continuing to follow the ropes his interest increased, and he was glad he wasn’t the only one curious about others who were successfully scaling the mountain.
As he went to bed next to a fire that battled the cold air of the night, Farren wondered if he would be the fourth person to climb to the top and if everyone took the same path. As he sat as close to the fire as possible without getting burned, he wondered why these people followed each other’s ropes and if he could find a more optimal path. As he fell asleep, the thing he dreamed about was what the gods had placed at the top of the mountain that was such a challenge to climb.
Farren only had to follow the three ropes for the morning before he found where they were leading him. By midday, the lines intersected with a less densely populated clearing. Stumps littered the open area, and Farren figured this meant a human made it. It didn’t take long for Farren to confirm this theory because in the center of the clearing was a small log cabin. Two of the three ropes led into the front door — the other one led around to the side. A plume of white smoke flowed from a stone chimney in the cabin and Farren imagined how warm it would be inside the wood house.

After Farren knocked on the door, a short woman with a kind face opened the door and looked at Farren. Her eyes were a light purple, and they opened wide in shock. “Heidi, come here. I thought it was strange Arnold would be knocking.”
Immediately a second woman was at the door. She looked younger than the first, and she gawked at Farren looking him up and down.
Not knowing what to do Farren said, “Hi,” but it sounded weak to his ears.
“Hello to you too. Come on in, you look like you’re freezing,” the woman named Heidi said to him.
Farren pulled on his rope in just the right way, and some slack let out enabling him to walk into the house. He didn’t need much considering the building was much more than 200 square feet. The house blanketed him in its warmth. Farren saw as he suspected, a small fire burning in a stone fireplace. The women gestured to a small table with three chairs.
“You can sit in Arnold’s since he’s out right now. I guess we’ll have to make another chair Heidi. I’m Esmeralda, and I was the second one here.”
Farren nodded his head wondering which rope she correlated to. Before he could ask, not sure how to phrase the question, Heidi set a small clay cup in front of him. It had a hot liquid steaming from it. He picked it up looking forward to a hot beverage to warm his stomach.
“I’m astonished that we didn’t hear you coming. You snuck right up on us. When I arrived, I was third,” Heidi added with pride, “Arnold and Es heard me coming a mile away. And by the time I was in the clearing they spent a lot of time helping me pull in enough slack to get me into the cabin. But not by much,” she tugged at the rope on her ankle by moving her leg back and forth. Judging the amount of line on the dirt floor, Farren didn’t think she could make it to the opposite wall from the door.
“Isn’t it funny how we all got stuck at the same place,” Esmerelda said looking at Farren with a dimpled smile.
About to give a response he took the drink he was sipping away from his lips. The liquid tasted mostly of water with a little bit of mint flavor that soothed the back of Farren’s throat.
“It’s good right?” Esmerelda asked, “Heidi makes it with some herbs we grow in the back.”
Before Farren could give an answer the door opened, and a man’s silhouette filled the doorway. He stepped inside and hung a stone ax on the wall. As he did this, he asked, “What on earth is with all that rope outside?” Once he’d secured the ax in its place, he saw Farren sitting at the table. Esmerelda and Heidi sat in their spots smiling with anticipation.
“Did you bring all that rope with you?” the newcomer asked Farren as he loomed over the table. The roof was only a few inches taller than his head as if it had been custom built for him.
“What are you talking about Arnold?” Esmerelda asked, but before the man had time to answer she said, “This is,” she paused, and Farren figured it was because he hadn’t gotten a chance to introduce himself to her. She settled on, “our new cabin mate. He only just got here a few minutes ago. He’s the fourth one to reach this high on the mountain!”
“Did either of you take a moment to look outside at what he brought with them?” He asked.
“He brought a rope behind him,” Heidi said unimpressed, “that’s not surprising considering…”
Arnold cut her off by holding up a hand. He opened the door and gesturing outside. The cold breeze came in and rustled the fire. “Go look for yourself. I can’t explain it.”
“Shut that it’s freezing out there,” Esmerelda said.
Arnold rolled his eyes in frustration and stepped out not shutting the door behind him. Then he reappeared having to enter sideways due to the two large rope balls under each arm.
“What on Earth?” Esmerelda said in shock.
Heidi was about to add her own opinion in, but Arnold spoke instead. “There’s a few dozen more out there. They’re all connected straight to him,” he pointed at the unnamed man who was sitting in his chair. “I think it’s time we let our new guest explain how he got here with this much rope. At the very least we should let him tell us his name.”
Not sure how to begin Farren took a sip of the minty drink in front of him as he tried to decide how to tactfully explain who he was and how he’d found himself on the mountain with this much rope. Unfortunately for Farren, he didn’t think these people were eager to have someone around who could so easily pass them on the mountain.

After Farren knocked on the door, a short woman with a kind face opened the door and looked at Farren. Her eyes were a light purple, and they opened wide in shock. “Heidi, come here. I thought it was strange Arnold would be knocking.”
Immediately a second woman was at the door. She looked younger than the first, and she gawked at Farren looking him up and down.
Not knowing what to do Farren said, “Hi,” but it sounded weak to his ears.
“Hello to you too. Come on in, you look like you’re freezing,” the woman named Heidi said to him.
Farren pulled on his rope in just the right way, and some slack let out enabling him to walk into the house. He didn’t need much considering the building was much more than 200 square feet. The house blanketed him in its warmth. Farren saw as he suspected, a small fire burning in a stone fireplace. The women gestured to a small table with three chairs.
“You can sit in Arnold’s since he’s out right now. I guess we’ll have to make another chair Heidi. I’m Esmeralda, and I was the second one here.”
Farren nodded his head wondering which rope she correlated to. Before he could ask, not sure how to phrase the question, Heidi set a small clay cup in front of him. It had a hot liquid steaming from it. He picked it up looking forward to a hot beverage to warm his stomach.
“I’m astonished that we didn’t hear you coming. You snuck right up on us. When I arrived, I was third,” Heidi added with pride, “Arnold and Es heard me coming a mile away. And by the time I was in the clearing they spent a lot of time helping me pull in enough slack to get me into the cabin. But not by much,” she tugged at the rope on her ankle by moving her leg back and forth. Judging the amount of line on the dirt floor, Farren didn’t think she could make it to the opposite wall from the door.
“Isn’t it funny how we all got stuck at the same place,” Esmerelda said looking at Farren with a dimpled smile.
About to give a response he took the drink he was sipping away from his lips. The liquid tasted mostly of water with a little bit of mint flavor that soothed the back of Farren’s throat.
“It’s good right?” Esmerelda asked, “Heidi makes it with some herbs we grow in the back.”
Before Farren could give an answer the door opened, and a man’s silhouette filled the doorway. He stepped inside and hung a stone ax on the wall. As he did this, he asked, “What on earth is with all that rope outside?” Once he’d secured the ax in its place, he saw Farren sitting at the table. Esmerelda and Heidi sat in their spots smiling with anticipation.
“Did you bring all that rope with you?” the newcomer asked Farren as he loomed over the table. The roof was only a few inches taller than his head as if it had been custom built for him.
“What are you talking about Arnold?” Esmerelda asked, but before the man had time to answer she said, “This is,” she paused, and Farren figured it was because he hadn’t gotten a chance to introduce himself to her. She settled on, “our new cabin mate. He only just got here a few minutes ago. He’s the fourth one to reach this high on the mountain!”
“Did either of you take a moment to look outside at what he brought with them?” He asked.
“He brought a rope behind him,” Heidi said unimpressed, “that’s not surprising considering…”
Arnold cut her off by holding up a hand. He opened the door and gesturing outside. The cold breeze came in and rustled the fire. “Go look for yourself. I can’t explain it.”
“Shut that it’s freezing out there,” Esmerelda said.
Arnold rolled his eyes in frustration and stepped out not shutting the door behind him. Then he reappeared having to enter sideways due to the two large rope balls under each arm.
“What on Earth?” Esmerelda said in shock.
Heidi was about to add her own opinion in, but Arnold spoke instead. “There’s a few dozen more out there. They’re all connected straight to him,” he pointed at the unnamed man who was sitting in his chair. “I think it’s time we let our new guest explain how he got here with this much rope. At the very least we should let him tell us his name.”
Not sure how to begin Farren took a sip of the minty drink in front of him as he tried to decide how to tactfully explain who he was and how he’d found himself on the mountain with this much rope. Unfortunately for Farren, he didn’t think these people were eager to have someone around who could so easily pass them on the mountain.