At the end of the pier...

_{This was an entry for "Art Prompt Writing Contest #12" but it's 2 hours late, and a bit over 100 words over. Might as well post it though. I hope you like it.}

When my mother died last year, she left me the cabin by the lake up in Maine. We hadn't gone there in years.

My dad had died 3 years earlier. He had tried to get us to go a few times over the last few years, but my mom simply didn't want to go. There were too many memories.

Now, I stood in the open doorway to that old dusty rundown cabin, filled with so many memories, and a truck filled with tools and supplies behind me. I had to fix it up. I had to sell it. It was too much to just ignore it like my parents had. I don't know why they hadn't just sold it. I'm sure there must have been offers. It would be worth much more if I fixed it up first though.

I took my toolbox and put it down by the couple of stairs that led into the den. Perhaps it was a study or a family room. I don't even really know. There were a number of shelves on one wall, housing books to read when you were bored, and a number of games on another, and a fireplace that was shared with the living room on the other side of the wall, which was next to the kitchen and dining area.

All in all, it was a fairly big house. I'm sure it would fetch quite a bit on the open market. It even had it's own pier to put a boat.

_{Photo by @vaughndemont
It was used as inspiration for this story.}

That pier... It was beautiful. It was shared with a few other cabins in the area but it was on our land. We just had a rental agreement with the local community organization for its communal use. It went back years, to when the cabin was first built by my grandparents. They were rather wealthy. I don't really remember what he did. He owned some kind of canning business.

I pulled a tarp off an old chair in the den and dust flew everywhere. I practically coughed up a lung and sneezed out several lobes of my brain. I definitely wouldn't do that again. With winter not quite over with yet, I couldn't exactly just open up a window.

I went back out to my truck and grabbed the industrial vacuum I had brought with me and took it inside. This would take a while. I'd have to sweep every floor and vacuum everything. Shop vacs aren't exactly made for casual vacuuming. I was at least a lot more careful taking off the other tarps. I made sure to take them off carefully, then shake them off outside.

That first day was long but mostly boring. It consisted mostly of cleaning. I was at least smart enough to bring some blankets and sheets with me, and cleaned up one of the bedrooms first, at least enough to sleep in. There would be a lot of long days ahead of me.

I didn't sleep that well that night. I had a nightmare about when it happened. He was struggling. Gasping for air. He kept calling out for help. He was calling my name.

I woke up in a sweat, despite the house being pretty cold still. I did have a small heater, but it just meant I didn't freeze. I actually slept in a sweater and jeans.

I couldn't really get back to sleep after that. I must have fallen asleep at some point though because I woke up at 6:30 AM. I decided to just get up at that point though and got a kettle and some coffee out of a couple of boxes I had brought into the kitchen the day before.

The French press, along with my usual blend, brought a "bit of home" to the cabin. It was something I was used to every morning. The oatmeal wasn't exactly something I liked though. Especially without any butter.

I'd have to check if the fridge was working today, and see what I could pick up at the local store. It was practically as old as I was. In fact, it probably was older. It had that distance classic rounded look, with a latch. I took a sip of coffee, then set it down, and decided to plug in the fridge to see if it worked.

I half expected sparks to fly and something to blow up, but the fridge seemed to start up with a groan. The fan was rather loud and it seemed to be making funny noises but it was at least on. Now to see if it got anything cold. I got a few bottles of water from my cooler, and a six-pack of beer, missing a few, and put it in the fridge. With any luck, it would be cold by this afternoon.

I cleaned up the kitchen a bit while I had my morning coffee and wiped off the table, after removing the tarp, carefully, and lazily throwing it out the door, so I could eat my oatmeal. It was kinda gross. I preferred it with butter. I should have stolen a few packs from a diner or something.

All in all, the house was in a lot better shape than I thought it was. I got quite a pile of stuff to get rid of, but it didn't look like there would be that much to fix up. I loaded up the truck with stuff to take to the local town to try to sell or throw out and get an early dinner out.

The local antique shop was happy to take a few of the things I had. Though I'm sure they ripped me off. I at least was able to sell them, and had a bit more money to help fix up the house.

"You're the Clark boy from the house on the lake, aren't you?"

"Yes. How'd you know?"

"It's not that large of a town you know. I knew you when you were a boy. I had heard you were fixing up the old place to sell."

"Yeah. Just cleaning out a few things. I thought I would have to do a lot more work, but so far it looks like it's held up pretty well over the years."

"Well, that's good to hear. It's unfortunate you're going to sell the old place, but it's good that you're fixing it up. That house has been in your family for generations. Would be nice if you fixed it up and moved out here to stay. Your grandfather practically built this town."

"Well, there are a bit too many bad memories."

"Yes...your brother... That was an unfortunate incident."

"Well, I'll be going now. Know any good places to eat around here?"

"Maude's down the road is pretty much all there is, other than the diner."

"Any good?"

"It's the best in the town."

"I thought you just said it was pretty much the only place other than the diner?"

"That I did."

She smiled and I chucked a bit and thanked her for buying the pieces that she did from the old house. I wasn't exactly sure how easy it would be for her to sell them in this old town. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw her computer, opened up on a site showing a rather large price for something I just sold her for far less. I'm sure she'd do fine.

Maude's was a tiny place, with little lighting. The plates were clean and the food was warm, barely. The water was disgusting. Clearly, it wasn't filtered. The food was too salty as well. I was probably better off cooking for myself, whatever I could find at the store. I asked them to pack up what I didn't eat and stopped by the store before going back to the house.

The store was small but seemed to have enough things that I could probably get by. The owner was a pretty grumpy old man, that seemed to know who I was, just like the owner of the antique shop. I didn't really like the feeling of everyone knowing who I was when I didn't know who anyone was.

It was already getting dark by the time I got back to the house. I put a few things in the fridge, realized I hadn't cleaned out the cabinets yet, and left the majority of the things on the counter. I grabbed a cold beer from the fridge and headed to the study. Small favors. The fridge actually worked. I grabbed the small heater from the bedroom before heading into the din and plugged it into the wall.

With a pop, the electricity for the entire house went out. Guess there were some things that needed to be worked on. I didn't exactly know how to wire a house though.

I went down to the cellar and checked the fuse box. Thankfully there were a few extra there. I replaced one, and went back up to the den, where I made a fire, and sat down with one of the books. It was a story of an old man fishing down by a lake. I fell asleep in the chair and dreamed of him.

He was thrashing in the water, calling for help, screaming my name. I just stood there. I hated that little brat. He might have been my brother, but I hated him. He was always following me around and annoying me. I just stood there, and watched, as he thrashed, and then sank.

I woke up, and went to bed. I'd have to call an electrician in the morning.