The lamp in the upstairs hallway cast a long red shadow up the wall, and the stairs creaked as Jessica entered the foyer.
A full moon actually threw blades of silver light through the panes of glass above the front door—not enough to illuminate the area, only enough to emphasize its gloom.
The cabin had never felt more forbidding. She both dreaded and looked forward to the next afternoon. Jessica looked forward to it because, during the night, his mind conjured up all kinds of dreadful scenarios, not that he needed much imagination given the many empty rooms that the substantial cabin had. She also dreaded it in equal measure because the cooling component had broken down, and the summertime heat made it impossible to stay in the house, and for someone who could not leave the cabin yet, it felt like a punishment. Jessica had quickly observed the decline in indoor air quality about a fortnight ago however had no way of contacting the cooling company to repair the temperature control system. His iPhone had found its way to the bottom of the pool, and his nearest neighbor was two miles away. With the plaster on his leg, he could not drive and was home alone. A honking motorcar woke him up, and his brother showed up. She immediately contacted a cooling serviceman. When the cooling expert arrived for heating and air conditioning service, Jessica’s brother had gone into town and gotten his new iPhone. Jessica was relieved that all it took was replacing the air filter and comprehensive air conditioning system service, and his air conditioner came to life. She could not have been happier with the heating and air conditioning running and his brother keeping his dealer. The cooling specialist told him that the air conditioning system setup had the latest cooling technology and, therefore, was easier to manage through correct service.