I thought I had life figured out—money, comfort, no hard work. Then my dad snapped. One moment, I was in my warm bed, the next, I was stranded in the mountains, dumped like a lost package. No phone signal. No way out. Just an old wooden house and a lesson I never saw coming.
I was sleeping soundly, wrapped in the warmth of my blankets, lost in some dream I wouldn’t remember, when suddenly—whoosh—the curtains flew open.
A sharp screech of metal against the rod, and then—BAM!
Sunlight exploded into the room like a spotlight, blinding me. It burned through my eyelids, yanking me straight out of sleep.
“What the—?” I groaned, flailing for my pillow to cover my face.
“Get up,” my dad’s voice boomed through the room, thick with disappointment.
I cracked one eye open, barely making out his silhouette against the blinding sun. His arms were crossed, his stance firm.
I groaned again, rubbing my eyes. “What the hell, Dad?”
“You sleep like a king,” he snapped. “Meanwhile, when I was your age, I was busting my ass working day and night. You think life is a joke, don’t you?”
I blinked hard, forcing myself upright. My dad’s lectures always came at full volume, even first thing in the morning.
“You get fired from jobs I hand to you,” he went on, his voice growing sharper. “You walk around like the world owes you something. And I’m sick of it.”
There it was—the same old speech. I could recite it by heart.
How he started with nothing. How he worked until his hands bled. How he built everything from the ground up. How I had no clue what real work was.
I yawned, stretching my arms above my head. “Dad, come on. Poor life isn’t for me. I was born to be rich.”
His nostrils flared.
I smirked, enjoying the reaction. “If you’d had money back then, you’d have been just like me.”
His jaw clenched so tight I thought his teeth might snap.
“You think so?” His voice was lower now, quieter. The dangerous kind of quiet.
I shrugged. “I know so.”
The air in the room shifted. My father took a slow step back, shaking his head like he’d finally made a decision.
“Fine,” he said, voice even. “You want to see how real men live? You’ll get your chance.”
I let out a dry laugh. “Oh yeah? And what, you’re gonna teach me some big, tough life lesson?”
He didn’t smile.
“No,” he said. His voice was calm now. Too calm. “He will.”
Something in my stomach twisted.
I should’ve known then—when my dad stopped yelling and got calm—that I was in real trouble.
The engine’s low rumble faded into the distance, swallowed by the endless stretch of trees. My dad’s car was already a blur through the dust cloud it kicked up.
“Dad!” I bolted forward, gravel crunching beneath my sneakers. “You can’t just leave me here!”
A single hand popped out the driver’s window, a lazy, almost mocking wave. “Follow the path. You’ll find the house.”
And just like that, he was gone.
I stood there, stunned, watching the dust settle. Silence wrapped around me, thick and absolute.
No cars, no voices, not even the hum of city life I was used to. Just the whisper of wind through the towering pines and the occasional chirp of some unseen bird.
I turned in a slow circle. Trees in every direction.
The road stretched behind me like a forgotten scar through the wilderness, but ahead—nothing. No signs, no houses. Just dirt, rocks, and roots twisted through the earth like veins.
I yanked out my phone. No service.
Of course.
I let out a sharp breath, muttering a string of curses under my breath. “Fantastic. Just fantastic.”
I started walking. The dirt path was uneven, winding through the trees like it had no real destination.
The sun beat down relentlessly, sweat prickling at my neck. I swatted at a mosquito. Then another.
Within minutes, they were everywhere, buzzing around my ears, biting my arms, my neck, my hands.
“Seriously?” I groaned, smacking one against my wrist.
My brand-new sneakers—pure white when I’d left the house this morning—were already coated in dust, their soles collecting mud and tiny pebbles.
Every few steps, I had to stop and shake them out.
An hour passed. Then another. My stomach twisted with hunger, and my throat felt dry as sandpaper.
The air smelled of damp earth and pine, but there was nothing remotely close to civilization.
Then, finally, the house appeared.
Tucked between the trees like it had been waiting for me, the wooden cabin looked ancient.
The walls were dark with age, the porch sagging slightly in the middle. The windows were small, their glass smudged with dust and streaks of rain.
I didn’t care how it looked. I stumbled forward, shoving open the door with more force than necessary. My backpack slid off my shoulder and hit the floor with a dull thud.
The first thing I noticed was the smell—warm, rich, real food. My stomach twisted again, sharper this time.
On the table sat a bowl of soup, fresh bread, thick slices of roasted meat, and a glass of what looked like homemade juice.
The steam curled up in delicate tendrils, carrying the scent of garlic, herbs, and something almost smoky.
I didn’t think. I just moved.
Collapsing into the chair, I grabbed a piece of bread and tore into it like a starved animal. The crust crunched between my teeth, warm and slightly chewy.
The soup—thick, golden, speckled with herbs—burned my tongue, but I didn’t care. I ate fast, shoveling food into my mouth, barely pausing to breathe.
Then, a voice.
“You didn’t even wash your hands.”
I choked, coughing as a chunk of bread caught in my throat. I spun around so fast the chair legs scraped against the wooden floor.
A man stood in the doorway.
Tall. Bearded. His face was carved with deep lines, like tree bark worn by time. His clothes were rough, faded with wear, his boots caked in dried mud.
He stood there, arms crossed, watching me with an expression that hovered between amusement and mild disappointment.
He looked like he belonged to this place. Like he was the mountain itself.
I swallowed hard. “Uh—I was hungry.”
He stepped inside, his boots heavy against the wood, and shook his head. “And you’re rude, too.”
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, suddenly feeling like a scolded kid. “Who are you?”
The old man let out a dry chuckle, the sound deep and gravelly. “That’s a better question, boy.”
He lowered himself into a chair across from me, resting his forearms on the table. “Who are you?”
I frowned. “My dad sent me here. Said you’d teach me something.”
The old man studied me for a long moment, then smirked.
“I can already tell this is going to be fun.”
