Lift.
Breathe.
Drop.
Do not fight the axe.
Let gravity help.
Another log split.
Then another.
By the time the sun touched the ridge, a respectable pile stood beside the door.
The Mountain Woman carried wood inside.
Built a fire.
Smoke climbed properly.
Warmth spread.
She found flour.
Salt pork.
Lard.
A crock of questionable beans.
She ignored the beans.
Her trunk held a small packet of dried herbs.
Soon pork hissed in cast iron.
She mixed rough biscuits.
The cabin changed.
Not beautifully.
But immediately.
Firelight.
Food.
Heat.
Purpose.
The Mountain Man returned after dark.
Snowflakes clung to his coat.
He opened the door.
Then stopped.
His eyes went first to the fire.
Then the wood stacked beside it.
Then to the Mountain Woman.
She stood over the skillet.
Her blue dress was streaked with soot.
Apron filthy.
Hair escaping its pins.
Face red from heat.
The Mountain Man closed the door slowly.
“You split the wood.”
The Mountain Woman kept stirring.
“Yes.”
“The oak too.”
“The pine burns too fast.”
Silence.
She looked over.
The Mountain Man was staring.
Not at her size exactly.
At her.
The Mountain Woman pointed toward the table.
“Sit.”
He sat.
That almost made her smile.
She set down pork and biscuits.
The Mountain Man looked at the plate.
Then at her.
“Eat before it gets cold.”
He ate.
The first bite made him stop.
The Mountain Woman noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You stopped chewing.”
He resumed.
She folded her arms.
“Bad?”
“No.”
“Then?”
He swallowed.
“Good.”
The Mountain Woman nodded.
“Try not to sound devastated.”
He ate everything.
Then the extra biscuit.
Then another.
The Mountain Woman hid her satisfaction.
After supper, the practical problem arrived.
One bed.
She stared at it.
Then at him.
The Mountain Man noticed.
“You take it.”
“And you?”
“Floor.”
The Mountain Woman looked at the enormous man.
Then the floor.
“You’ll freeze.”
“No.”
“You expect me to sleep while you lie on boards?”
“Yes.”
“Ridiculous.”
The Mountain Man shrugged.
The Mountain Woman pointed.
“Bed is wide.”
He looked at her.
The silence changed.
Not romantic.