The Old Barn

Fiction

A single leaf fluttered past the broken window. I stood there as raindrops fell from the roof and hit my jacket. Oh, the memories we used to have in this old barn house. Now it sits alone like a widow who lost their one true love.

I remember the day dad brought us here to the house. He was so excited. We had never had a “vacation” home. Most people in Alaska who can afford one consider a vacation home somewhere in Hawaii. So we were confused when he only took us an hour away from our house.

On long trips, my sister and I used to play who could spot the most unique plant. Finally, my dad parked and said we had to hike the rest of the way to the new house. So we grabbed our hiking bags, and we both took an extra one so our mom could hold our baby brother.

The hike took two miles, but it was worth it. We walked up to the red-painted barn restored on the inside to look more like a house. It sat alongside a river with a dock. Fishing was always my favorite thing, so to be that close to a body of water filled my heart. Dad had outdone himself.

Even mom seemed pleased, and she usually wasn’t one for the outdoors. So my sister and I put our things in our shared room and changed into swimsuits on that first day. Mom said we could play in the water, but we had to stay close and not go out too far.

We had so much fun that day, from frolicking in the water to me helping dad catch some fish for dinner that night. I had never slept so well in my life in a new place. After that day, we spent every summer in that place. We went so many times one summer, our mom had to make us stay home for two weeks.

Once dad got sick, he wanted to continue our tradition, and for a little, we kept going. But, eventually, in my junior year of high school, he was too weak to make the trip, so we stopped. After he passed, my mom tried to keep the tradition, but raising three kids on her own made it impossible. So for years, we never saw our little “vacation home.”

Mom passed a few weeks ago, and I found out she left this place to me. I told my children so many stories about this place. So now it’s my turn to fix it up to create those family memories that my dad gave us.

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