There was the acid reflux and allergic reaction to casein. A cartilage-deficient left knee and pinched muscles in the small of her back. Karen Rainey was a wreck. But a sacrifice had to be made. Bills don't much care if one's body has turned against her. Karen had no choice but to climb aboard the bus every morning that took her to her job at the Clairmont Motor Lodge just off the interstate. Housekeeping was hard but necessary work. Karen knew of no one who didn't like fresh linens. What Karen liked, especially well, was her one-bedroom apartment and hoped she wouldn't get kicked out. Hand to mouth was how she'd describe her life if pressed to do so. Otherwise, she watched and waited for the signs that would lead her on a different course. One that included a beachfront villa and sunset cocktails by the sea. That had been Karen's dream ever since she could remember, so she was astonished when she began travelling to forests and log cabins in her sleep. These nightly sojourns were definitely signs, but Karen didn't know how to read them. It frightened her not to be able to see the sky. Besides, tree sap made her break out in hives. She discovered this one summer at church camp. Lucky thing Karen lived her life far from any forested areas. Her skin had enough to contend with from constant contact with detergent and bleach.
Sleep, deep restful sleep, eluded Karen. She traipsed through the woods when she would have preferred to slip into a nice comfy oblivion. In her dreams, Karen always came upon a quaint cottage with its front door and windows wide open. Come in, come in the trees whispered. She usually woke up with a jolt just as she entered the cabin. Last night, however, she went in search of a ladder. She found one propped against a tall cedar behind the little house. She reached a hand inside the apron she wore over her camisole and shorts. Karen didn't know why this time it was so important, be she needed to place above the doorway of the cottage the shiny red apple she'd pulled from her pocket. As she climbed the rickety rungs of the old wooden ladder, the top of the door got further away from reach as it stretched toward the shaded forest canopy. A funhouse of sorts, only heights were no fun at all for Karen. She hung on and continued to climb. Karen looked down only once. Once was all it took. The cabin was gone, replaced by a caldera filled with bubbles that popped on the surface and steam that hissed. The smell of sulfur filled the air. In bare feet and flimsy nightclothes, Karen quickened the pace of her ascent. She couldn't climb down. She had to reach the top with her ruby red prize and gain entrance into the unknown space that taunted her.
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