Chapter Two

 

Elena and Ríona sat together on the big couch – while Ríona sat in the rocker. They had utilized their own hankies to wipe away the perspiration from their temples.

Not just had the young ladies finished storing their stuff, they'd likewise finished tidying up the lodge. They predominantly cleared the floors, and emptied the kitchen's bin. They needed to ensure the cabin is unblemished, before they needed to head back home.

“I'm exhausted," started Elena, "I need to asleep for the remainder of today."

“Don't fall asleep, yet – there’s still heaps of cool stuff we can do,” said Ríona.

Elena arched her brow and grinned enchantingly. “Like, you and I have a great time?”

Zofia went cherry embarrassed, and she let out a low squeaking noise. She covered her mouth with both of her hands, and she immediately took a gander at Ríona.

“No! No! No,” sang Ríona, as she laughed anxiously. She shifted back and forth between taking a gander at Elena and Zofia. “We could like go for climbs, go apple picking, and stuff that way. Elena, I'm kinda not prepared for that sort of stuff, you know?”

“Well, apple picking,” Elena started, “we could do that, above all, I need food.”

Ríona checked her watch. “All things considered, it is drawing near to dinner time...” She took a gander at her companions. “... Do you want to help us prepare dinner?”

Zofia removed her hands from her mouth. She nodded and grinned excitedly.

The three young ladies got up and headed straight for the kitchen.

 

#

 

The kitchen of the lodge was quite comfortable: there was a refrigerator in here, various cabinets, and there were bunches of pots, dish and plates.

The young ladies checked the cutlery drawers, and were stunned to see they were full.

“I'm guessing the previous guests forgot to take their stuff,” said Elena.

“Most of it hasn’t been used, though – they probably got food away from a nearby town, or something,” added Ríona, “Ah, well, let’s hope they don’t mind us using it.”

Zofia said nothing. Instead, she focused on sorting out the ingredients for the chopping board. Now and again, she looked at her sister and best friend, and she smiled at them.

The young ladies heated up some water and did some hacking. When the spaghetti and Bolognese was done, they took their plates to the dining area.

 

#

 

The dining area was adjacent to the living room. There was a round table in here, blue striped wallpaper – like in the living room – and a soft carpet. This room had a beautiful view of the forest as well. Once again, like all the other rooms, the dining room was hardly used.

The girls sat in a circle – with their spaghetti dinners and their orange juice. Elena, however, was the odd one out – as she had her knife in the right hand, and fork in the other.

The ladies ate with contentment, and every once in a while, they smiled at one another.

When they were done, they started having a conversation among themselves.

“So this is going to sound strange,” Elena said, “but what happened to the others?”

Zofia looked at her with concern, and she looked at Ríona for her approval.

Ríona kept her gaze fixed on Elena, and she simply knitted her brow.

Elena continued, “When I packed up, I found a change of clothes in the closet – and most of the clothes hadn't been worn yet.”

“I get you,” added Ríona. “That's what happened to me, too. Also, when I checked my bed – it’s one of those you can store stuff in here – I found a shit ton of B-movies.”

“B-movies,” Zofia whispered. She looked at Elena. “Like the kind you like?”

Elena grinned. “Probably... I’m hoping they’re the kind that was once banned. I swear, every time I hear the government ban a movie, I want to watch it more than ever!”

“Getting back on topic,” Ríona started, “why would the previous people leave their stuff here? I mean, they'd probably miss their clothes and their VHS tapes, wouldn't they?”

Elena shrugged. “Perhaps they were anxious to go home or something...”

“... Or something awful happened,” Zofia squeaked, “like in a horror movie.”

Elena laid a gentle hand on Zofia's shoulder. “Nothing bad happened to them, otherwise they would’ve reported it in the papers,” she said, soothingly. “Besides, horror films are bogus! We live in the real world, where monsters and such aren’t real!”

Zofia smiled sweetly at her big sister, and she returned the embrace. “Thank you.”

“Anyway, our best bet is to not get rid of the stuff, in case the previous tenants come back here,” added Ríona. “Who knows? We could get together and make new friends.”

Elena grinned, as she thought, ‘Meeting new friends? Or meet some new sex buddies?"

Zofia looked at Elena's salacious smile, and knew she was thinking about something perverted.

“So do you want to help us clean the dishes," asked Ríona. “I don’t mind helping you ladies cook, but I do mind if I do all of the cleaning by myself.”

“Okay, Mommy, Zofia and I are going to help you clean up,” Elena joked.

Elena took her hand from her sister's shoulder and rose slowly.

Zofia nodded and smiled. She arose and collected her plate and empty glass.

 

#

 

The women were in the kitchen, wearing rubber gloves and doing the dishes. The three of them hummed as they cleaned – however, Zofia’s humming was too quiet to hear.

“So what are everybody's plans for today," said Ríona, with a big smile on her face.

Elena grinned. “Well, I'll experiment with the sex toys I've brought with me."

Zofia flinched, while holding the dry plates with her striped cloth.

“Or you can come and pick apples with me," said Ríona. “Don't get me wrong, your idea sounds like fun, but I've heard that the woods have the brightest apples in the country."

“Okay, I'll go pick some apples,” grumbled Elena. “But sometime this week, I want to have some fun with my sex toys – it’s been ages since some hunk has shagged me senseless.”

Ríona sighed, "Is that what you plan to do all summer?"

“Yep, beats being bored as fuck,” said Elena. “And what about, Ray; any plans?”

“Me? I want to get some side-projects done as quickly as possible,” said Ríona.

“Oh, and that sounds really, really, boring,” Elena groaned. “This is our holiday! None of us should be working, ladies; we need to relax and play hard!”

Zofia and Ríona laughed at Elena's comment, and shook their heads a bit.

Ríona looked at Zofia with a smirk. “And what are you going to do, chick?”

Zofia shrugged with a faint smile and murmured, “Art?”

Ríona beamed, “Cool, what do you have in mind?”

Once more, Zofia shrugged her shoulders and hummed.

Just then, Elena gasped hard, and squealed, “I know what you can do, sis!”

Zofia and Ríona looked at Elena, with their delicate eyebrows somewhat arched.

“Um, Elena, just to remind you – Zofia is not as adventurous as you,” Ríona said.

Zofia’s face reddened a little, and she briefly averted eye contact with both.

“No, I don't mean that,” Elena grumbled, “I mean a project idea!”

Zofia stopped blushing, and she now looked at her sister with a curious smile.

Elena continued, “Sis, I’ve found this really weird symbol in the basement – it’s beyond the puppet room – and it sort of looks like a demon eye with flower petals. It looks partially unfinished. I know a certain art girl who loves to finish art pieces.

Zofia beamed, “Sure. I’ll get right on it when you go apple picking.”

Elena squealed with delight. She took off her gloves and left the kitchen.

Zofia put the last plate on the draining board and looked at Ríona for approval.

Ríona smiled. “Yes, Zofia, you can leave the kitchen because you’re finished.”

“Thank you,” squeaked Zofia. She smiled at Ríona and she took off her rubber gloves.

Zofia carefully put the gloves back in their drawer, before she left the kitchen.

Ríona finally finished the cleaning, and she drained the sink of its water.

Afterwards, Ríona removed her rubber gloves, and put them in their drawer.

Yet, she didn’t leave the kitchen straight away. Ríona had a weird nagging feeling.