Axel's four-wheel-drive truck rumbled steadily up the narrow mountain road, its tires crunching against gravel and pine needles. The higher he went, the thicker the forest became.
Tall pines loomed over the path. The late afternoon light filtered through the branches, streaking the road in gold and shadow.
He drove without music, without distraction. Only the steady hum of the engine and the low rhythm of his own thoughts filled the silence.
The mountain behind his house had always been his place of solitude; no signal, no noise, no interruptions.
Yet today, he wasn't climbing it for peace.
When he reached the peak, a small wooden cabin appeared between the trees.
Hidden well from prying eyes, it stood quiet and unassuming, smoke curling from its chimney.
Axel parked his truck beside it and turned off the engine. The silence that followed was thick.
