There's nothing better to cap off a great morning than a long stay in a cottage with an angry giant, especially when you've eaten from his main source of food.
We tried to talk to the man, but no one dared open their mouths as the giant advanced toward us, his footsteps echoing on the wooden floorboards. He was a large man with a long beard covering his face, wearing blue winter clothes, heavy pants, and black boots. On his back, he carried an axe, and in his right hand, a bag...
A large bag, at least two feet across. Who knew what could be inside? Snakes, a head... or perhaps some tool he was going to use to kill us.
He stared at Rex. "What in the world are you doing in my cottage? And with my sweets?"
A tense silence stretched before Rex spoke, his gaze nervous but firm. "It was an accident, we were lost." The giant took another step forward and looked at me accusingly.
"Do you know how far I had to go to get that chocolate?"
"From the kitchen?" I suggested.
"No!" he shouted back. "The chocolate… I brought it from Lucierna, two hours by sled, in the middle of the mountains." He took a gold wrapper from the table; it was empty, although traces of cocoa could still be seen. "I guess it's too late to do anything now."
Ivy took a step forward. "Look, sir, we didn't know anyone lived here. Some guy, our guide, left us stranded without keys or anything."
"A guy? Short, bald, with a ridiculous mustache?"
"Yeah, that one," I agreed.
"I see… Robinson. Always shoving tourists in where they shouldn't."
June asked hopefully. "So you're not going to kick us out?"
The giant seemed to think for a moment. "If I wanted to kick you out, you'd be rolling in the snow by now."
"Thanks, I guess." At least it was good to know we weren't going to spend the night in the cold. Perhaps my friend's predictions were correct; perhaps the giant wasn't an old man who would chain us to the cellar, nor an evil mountain creature, though he didn't seem like the type of person who offered hot chocolate and told stories around a fireplace either. The man was certainly menacing. With his imposing figure, he probably hunted bears with his bare hands.
Anyway, anything was better than sleeping outside, and the giant's unexpected hospitality was a mystery.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"My name is Roberts Bram, and this is the Edelweiss Lodge, my home for over thirty years," he said, inviting us to sit at the table next to him, in front of the fireplace, and with a window overlooking the snowfall outside. "It's just me and this house. If you're wondering, I work as a lumberjack and take care of these lands."
"So, you designed this place?" June asked.
Bram chuckled. "No. My ancestor, an architect far more talented than I, built this back in the 1620s. It was intended as a farm for the family business, and for a few generations, it was a refuge for travelers, hunters, lumberjacks, and tourists who needed support or wanted to cross the mountains."
He looked at us intently. "Before you settle in, you'll need to sign a letter. Simple stuff—promise not to wreck the place and leave everything as you found it. Just as simple as that."
"Do we have a choice?" Rex and Ivy exchanged a look, hesitation thick in the air.
The giant's smile didn't reach his eyes. "Rules are rules around here. I don't want anything like what happened last winter to happen again. Some pranksters ended up burning down the lodge with fireworks to celebrate New Year's."
The giant pulled a folder from the pockets of his gigantic robe. I had a bad feeling about signing contracts. What's stopping us from being made his slaves by the giant? Or worse, using us to make a potion like in the storybooks. But this was better than sleeping outside, so I had no choice but to agree.
My friends didn't seem to like the idea either, some expressing their displeasure more than others. Rex was reluctant, his arms crossed. Ivy was thoughtful and looked at June, who didn't seem to mind at all. The first lesson you learn when invading a lumberjack's home is never to sign anything he gives you. However, none of us hesitated as we watched Mr. Bram slide a thick parchment.
Robert Bram, guardian, legitimate and only official owner of this alpine refuge—and everything in it, blankets, furniture, boots, and yes, even the chocolate—I agree to allow you to stay here, for now. In return, you promise not to steal or break any of my belongings, and most importantly, not to touch the chocolate.
You are also willing to participate in unplanned excursions, activities not listed in any tourist brochure, and places not shown on any map. Under no circumstances will I be responsible for accidents, injuries, etc, etc. Enjoy your stay at the Edelweiss Refuge.
Below, in small letters, was a sentence written in what appeared to be Polish. Since none of us spoke it, none of us could decipher what it was about. When we asked the giant, he just smiled and said, "You have nothing to worry about. It's just that I don't speak English well; I'm better at writing in Polish."
The more we read, the more absurd it all became. Unplanned excursions? Maybe to collect trees. Places not shown on any map? Maybe mountain maps hadn't been invented yet. Only when I got to the section marked "accidents and injuries" did I start to worry. What were we getting into?
This didn't sound like a letter of recommendation; it was all very strange, and those small letters…
"Unusual neighbors… that sounds like a bear in a hat," I said.
"Or worse," Ivy said. "Do you know what we're getting into?"
Rex looked at the giant. "This has to be some kind of joke."
June stepped forward and grabbed a pen from the desk. "I love surprises." Before we could do anything to stop her, she leaned over the sheet of paper and signed it in her signature cursive handwriting. Only when she turned around did she realize the three of us were staring at her. "Oh, they're exaggerating. It's just a contract… What could go wrong?"
Many things. None of us could have predicted all the things that happened that summer, but this moment was definitely one that started this chain of events.
Rex hesitated for a moment. He rubbed his hands together without looking at anyone, as if looking for an excuse not to sign, then he affirmed, "I hope this isn't an agreement to sell us into slavery in some medieval market. I'll take my share of the adventure."
"Absolutely not," Roberts said. "Unless you steal more chocolate."
Ivy was one of the last to sign. Like me, she seemed unsure about the letter, but she eventually signed it, though she kept glancing suspiciously at the giant, who didn't seem to notice, or if he had, showed no signs of having seen it. It didn't take long for me to sign as well.
I swore I saw a golden flash in the paper frame for a millisecond before it disappeared, but I convinced myself it must have been just an illusion. After all, what strange thing could happen in the safety of the mountains?
"Perfect, perfect," said the giant. "I'm glad you've reached an agreement. Now, welcome to the refuge. I'm sure you'll find this experience one you won't forget."
Something about the way he said it didn't give me a good feeling, but by the time I didn't know what it was. It was as if his hospitality was just an act. Perhaps I should have discussed this with the rest of the group, but none of us said a word.
"In the meantime," he continued, looking at us as if he were the hunter and we were his prey, "you can use the shelter's resources as you please. The coffee machines are on the counter; the oven is in the kitchen. If you want to go out and explore the surroundings, take the flashlight, although I'm not responsible for what might happen. Now then, it seems I've talked for too long, everyone go to bed!"
The cottage was incredibly large, that was the consensus we'd reached. Our bedroom—yes, you heard right, our bedrooms. They'd put the four of us in the same bedroom—on the other side of the bungalow. The idea of putting the four of us in the same room was, from my point of view, problematic.
I'm not saying this because I hate hearing Rex snoring, or because I hate bunks, but because it was a terrible idea. The four of us could easily escape through the square window at the far end of the wall, and no one would notice until dawn, unless the owner was spying on us, of course.
When we got to our room, we drew lots to choose where we'd sleep. I got the bottom left bunk, with Ivy on top. The advantage of sleeping downstairs was that I had a nightstand, and I was certain no spiders would bite me from above.
"Good night."
I couldn't sleep. I checked the clock; it was ten to eleven. It was dark outside, and judging by the strange lights coming from the wall, the northern lights were forming. Northern lights in the middle of Switzerland? We've seen stranger things that day.
Wait, lights from the wall? I actually looked, and the wall was actually glowing. What shocked me even more was that instead of dark wood, the wall was covered in snow. How was that possible? And it was glowing!
"Guys... guys... wake up," I said, getting out of bed.
Rex's sleepy voice half-mumbled, "If it means it's snowing... I know. We're in Switzerland."
"No. It's not that. The wall is glowing!"
"That's what happens when you swallow a pound of chocolate before going to sleep," Ivy mumbled in her sleep. I was sure she would never say such irrational things about me if she were awake.
"No, seriously! The wall… isn't wood anymore! It's… like snow. And it's shining," I tried to convince them, but they kept laughing at me. Meanwhile, the light began to concentrate in the center, forming a reindeer-like figure.
June spoke in a sleepy voice. "Sounds nice… let me dream about it instead."
"No, no, no… really! I think… I think I can see something inside… like lights moving."
"If it's a bear… let Bram take care of it," Rex said, or so I could gather, because he said something like, "Ifix vear, Vam tak ar of it."
"It's not a bear, Rex," I insisted. I couldn't believe anyone was believing me. No, I could believe it. Sometimes they were that stupid, especially when they were asleep. "It's like… like the wall was a portal or something."
Ivy sighed and sat up in bed, her golden hair shimmering in the night. "Okay… if I don't get up, I know you're not going to let me sleep."
June seemed interested too, because she sat up in bed. "Shining, what color?"
"Blue… but with green glimmers. At first I thought it was the northern lights… but… It's inside the room."
"Inside?" Rex sounded more alert, saying something coherent for the first time since I woke him up. The rest of them got out of their beds, sleepy and still in their pajamas. Ivy jumped out of the top bunk and put on her slippers. Rex had put on his black gloves for the cold, and June sat on the floor putting on her socks.
"Okay… This is weird. Very weird," Rex said through gritted teeth.
"I'm glad you realize," I muttered, grabbing my flashlight.
Ivy completely ignored us and moved toward the wall, as if nothing strange was happening. "Approach slowly."
"Slowly? This looks like an ad for...
"It's beautiful…" June smiled, "like ice lit from within." The wall seemed to pulse slightly. Specks of light moved within, like fireflies trapped in snow.
"Cold… but not like frozen wood. It's… smooth," Rex said, placing his hand on the surface of the ice.
"Smooth? A wall?" I said. "This is strange even by our standards."
Suddenly, the glow intensified, and the texture changed before our eyes, the wood completely melting and coalescing into translucent snow.
"Definitely not glow paint…" Ivy said, her eyes wide open.
"Not a dream."
The light flickered again, forming an irregular symbol on the surface, a circular shape crisscrossed by lines, like a map or a seal.
"Did you see that?" Ivy's voice echoed through the cabin, bouncing off the ice.
"Yeah, I don't like it at all," Rex commented.
I took a step forward. "I say we touch it."
"NO," Rex and Ivy shouted simultaneously, looking at me with a disapproving look, like a strict teacher would give to his students. Before I could say anything else, a chilly wind blew through the window, blowing out Ivy's candle. The symbol on the wall became much more distinct.
The wall opened. "I think we just found something Bram didn't want us to see."