Elias walked over to the small table by the window and picked up a leather-bound journal. He opened it to the first page and began to read. As he turned the pages, the forest outside seemed to fade away, replaced by the words of a man who had found peace in the solitude of the woods.
He turned the handle and the door swung open with a slow, agonizing groan. The interior was dim and smelled of woodsmoke and old books. A layer of dust covered everything, but the cabin felt lived-in, as if its owner had only stepped out for a moment. ED4F2E8F-54B4-45BA-A242-AF05CF11D39B.jpeg
The forest was silent, save for the occasional rustle of a squirrel or the distant cry of a hawk. The trees grew closer together as he went deeper, their branches interlacing overhead to form a natural canopy that blocked out most of the daylight. The mist swirled around him, clinging to his clothes and chilling him to the bone. Elias walked over to the small table by