The forest green SUV slowly drove down the paved, tree lined road as it approached the camp. The Andersons, a family of four, were situated in the car with the mother, Sarah, in the front passenger seat and the father, Doug, driving. In the backseat was sixteen year old Nate and his brother, Eric, younger by a year seated next to him. Nate looked out the window, lost in his own world while Eric sulked and had his face locked on his phone.
"Hey, we're nearly there. You boys excited?" asked Sarah.
Nate looked over to his Mom and smiled. "Yeah, I am."
"Why are we going to this stupid camp anyway? I bet they don't even have Wi-Fi..." complained Eric.
"Because it's important we do things together as a family," replied Sarah.
"And because we need to get you out of your bedroom and into the sunlight, like a normal kid," sniped Doug. Sarah shot him a glare. Nate just rolled his eyes and continued to look out his window. Best not to engage in such petty squabbling, he thought.
The Andersons were a fractured family, each existing more as four individuals than as one cohesive whole. Sarah thought maybe a family vacation together might help renew those ties, but she worried it might be too late. She also worried that she did not marry well. She knew Doug was unhappy with his life but she did not know how to help. Her sons were also troubled, she knew this as well. Eric retreated into his video games, which he played constantly online with friends while Nate similarly retreated into his fantasies of movies and comic books. She hoped this vacation would be a transformative one, but would have no idea how much it would be.
The car pulled up to the first cabin that had a large, hand carved sign reading main office hanging over the Porch railing. Doug parked the car and went inside, instructing the others to just wait there. The other three family members sat in the car and waited. Sarah turned around to face the two boys.
"Almost there." She gave them a reassuring grin.
"Yup, we sure are," replied Nate. Eric just let out a short grunt and kept playing his game.
Sarah turned back around and started thinking. Had she made the right choices in her life, she wondered. She loved her boys dearly and wouldn't trade them for the world, but she was less sure about the man she married.
Meanwhile, Nate sat in the backseat slipping back into his fantasy world. He was a huge horror and fantasy buff. For this wooded locale, he was dreaming up a land besieged by monsters, werewolves in particular, running about picking off innocent campers they saw as intruders on their land. He imagined himself as one of those campers attacked by one of the werewolves, now cursed to become one. He smiled to himself, lost in the fantasy.
"What are you thinking about, honey?" Sarah had caught Nate smiling to himself.
"Oh, just excited to see what our cabin looks like."
"I think you'll like it," replied Sarah.
Doug returned to the car, keys in hand. He fastened his seat belt and put the car in reverse. They backed out of the small parking lot and continued on their way to their cabin. After a short drive, they arrived at the mid-sized, three bedroom log cabin. The car parked in front of the cabin and the family of four climbed out. Doug led the way as they walked up the few short steps to the covered porch that ran the length of the front of the house. Doug unlocked the front door and they walked in, greeted by a large, two story living room with a river rock fireplace. To their left was a door that led to one of the bedrooms and a staircase that led to a balcony that overlooked the living room and let to the other two bedrooms. Towards the back was the kitchen and dining area. Nate was impressed with the look of the cabin and headed upstairs to scope out the bedrooms.
Sarah nudged Eric to follow Nate. Eric let out a sigh and followed his brother upstairs. Sarah looked to her husband.
"Well?"
"It's nice," replied Doug. He then went back outside to start unloading the car. Sarah took it in for another moment and then turned to follow.
"Boys, come on and help unload the car," she called out behind her.