The rustic cabin sits amongst the endless trees. In its age it has become part of the landscape. Most of the paint has peeled off the sides to expose old wood beams, vines grow along the bottom, and strong roots surround the cabin in anticipation of one day reclaiming that space. The pipes are noisy, the electricity is unreliable in even the most calm rain showers, the creek of the floorboards could wake the dead, and the only form of air conditioning was to open yet another window. The weather of years gone by has worn away at the cabin, giving it so many imperfections, so many scars, but this is how she likes it. She has not always been treated well by time and must now face her own scars, but like the cabin, she too is mendable. Both are capable of being saved with help from the other.
She helps the cabin by making small repairs. Home repair had never been something that she was interested in but it wasn't too far off from tinkering so she picked up the skills quite fast. While she worked on replacing windowpanes that had cracked from violent storms over the years, she would imagine a past for the cabin. It became a vivid vision of a family who spent their summers at the cabin; parents, grandparents, sons, daughters, cousins, aunts, uncles, dogs, cats. This cabin was passed down for three generations, only to have life get in the way. The last generation moved away for one reason or another and took the easy way out by selling it to the bank. The bank has no use for a cabin and so let the land sit, increasing in value until someone wanted the land, until she came along. She hoped to restore it to its former glory, as a place where love and laughter flourishes.
The cabin repays Helena by just existing amongst the trees on the shore of an isolated lake. It is her space. She needed something for just her after things went bad with Nate. It didn't happen right after Myka left but over time. They tried to make it work but Myka's words ate away at her. Eventually, Helena was able to admit that she was kidding herself to think that she wasn't using Nate and Adelaide as some coping mechanism for dealing with her past. It was like a comfort blanket that was just an illusion. At the same time though, she couldn't go back to the warehouse, not until she was ready. That's what the cabin was helping her with. It was giving her the time on her own and the space from the warehouse to figure out who she was. She needed time to get comfortable with her past and her current situation in this time before she'd be able to snag, bag, and tag again. The cabin provided shelter for her in more ways than one and allowed her to take her time. They were the perfect pair.
Now she lay in the hammock. On her left side sat the cabin a short walk away, its porch lights the only thing illuminating the underside of the tree canopy. On her other side was the still lake. In her arms was the only person that ever came to visit, the only person that understands her, the only person that she has come to love in this modern world.
By the time that she had left Nate and found the cabin, Myka was already sick. She may have never known had Pete not called her late one night. They both knew that Myka would never call Helena because of how things ended between them at Nate's house. Pete would never admit it to her face, but she could tell by the tone of his voice that he was happy things with Nate didn't work out. Pete knew that Myka needed Helena more than anyone else, even himself.
She didn't hesitate to call Myka. They talked over the phone for nearly an eternity. Never once did the topic of whether or not they were a couple come up. Each knew their feelings for the other and they weren't going to dance around it any longer. If Christina's death and Myka's illness had taught Helena anything, it was that time was finite. They cared for each other, they were a couple now, and there was no need to discuss it.
For the first while, she would pick Myka up down the road from the B&B. She found it stressful to face her warehouse family because they found it difficult to understand why she wouldn't just come back to the warehouse. But as Myka's condition worsened, only Myka's wellbeing mattered to her and everyone at the B&B. Helena now drives up to the B&B and goes inside to get Myka. While she helps Myka to the car, Pete carries out Myka's bags. Pete hugs her and tells her to take care of Myka, to call if anything happens. Helena nods and they exchange a look of trust that they both love and would do anything for Myka.
Now she lies here in the hammock holding Myka tightly in her arms, as they've spent many nights before. The lake is beautifully still, softly illuminated by the reflection of the crescent moon that hung high in the star filled sky. There are not many night time sounds out here, only the sound of leaves rustling in the warm breeze, a loon's call in the distance, lake water quietly lapping against the shore, and Myka's heavy breathing.
Myka has been asleep for a while. Myka is becoming quite weak so they spend a lot of time lounging or lying around now. The cancer was more aggressive than first anticipated and her body didn't react favourably to the treatments. Now the treatments were just putting off the inevitable. At first Helena did mind that they couldn't do much together, she desperately wanted to make up for lost time with Myka, to do all the things they had missed out on. But now, she's not sure how much time Myka will have left with her. The love of Helena's life is wasting away in her arms and there's nothing that her brilliant mind can do to fix save her love. So she pushes away what they've missed out on, and just lives with her Myka, here in the now. It is now that they are together, that they have each other.
If she could stop time, right now, lying here with the love of her life in this hammock, on this perfect night, she would. But, she can't.