You're not Dreaming

High up on a hill stood a large hotel. It was built to look like a log cabin, but being a hotel, it was much larger and was well insulated on the inside. The internal heating and breathtaking views made it the perfect refuge from Norway's inhospitable winters. It would have been the perfect hotel, but sadly, construction finished at the wrong time. Lua trudged through the snow up to the doors of the hotel. They were locked with a lock and chain but Lua hadn't climbed all that way just to be stopped by some lock. She heaved a rusted axe from her hiking bag. It had seen better days but so had the lock by the time the axe had finished with it. Lua tied the broken chain to her belt and opened the doors to the hotel. The warm air hit her like a wall. After closing the doors behind her, she took her bag off of her tired back. Though the air was warmer, the power was not on. Lua knew it wouldn't be. She had been staring at it from below for weeks and there was no sign of life. Power wasn't an issue. The real question was, "Is there food?" With the axe in her hand, Lua went from cupboard to cupboard, searching for food. She suddenly stopped and stared at the inside of one of the cupboards. "Herregud!" She exclaimed. The cupboard was stocked full of off-brand oreos. They must have been fully packed just before the hotel was all locked up. Lua grabbed one off the shelf, ripped the packaging and shoved about five of them into her mouth. She closed her eyes as she chewed and swallowed. She hadn't eaten anything but rye and raw barley for the past week and a half. The more doors she opened, the more food she found. Her hike up a snowy mountain in -28°c weather was worth it. The -8°c air that filled the hotel was warm in comparison. Thanks to the temperature, even the food stored in the freezers was still fresh. Lua came back to her hiking frame and pulled out her phone. It had been turned off since she last charged it since she knew how spotty the signal was, even at the best times. "Hvor er det?" She asked herself as she scrolled through her phone. "Rått!" She exclaimed as she found the song she wanted to play. Just as she said that, a mouse came scurrying out from one of the cupboards. "Å!" She shouted. The mouse stopped dead in its tracks and stared up at her. Lua stared back at it. "Hallo? Kan jeg hjelpe deg?" She asked the mouse. It had been a long few months since she last saw another person. Talking to animals and plants had kept her somewhat sane. The mouse sat down and started eating a piece of potato chip that it had found. It wasn't even slightly scared of her. Lua was taken aback. "Okay, Mus," she said, stuffing her mouth with oreos. It seemed to her that they had both taken the hike all the way up there just for some food. The mouse scurried off back into the cupboard and returned with another potato chip. It sat down in the same place and continued eating. Lua frowned in puzzlement as she watched the mouse eating. She didn't know quite what to do. She wasn't scared of it but she didn't feel like having it crawling on her or biting her. The mouse stood on its hind legs and sniffed towards Lua. "Vil du ha oreos?" She asked the little mouse. The mouse crawled towards her nervously and sniffed some more in her direction. "Værsågod," Lua said as she placed an oreo on the ground. The mouse scurried towards it, took hold of it and began dragging it along. Lua watched for a while but realised just how tired she was now that she had filled up on oreos. She lifted her bag up and went towards one of the hallways. Lua was completely alone but she still felt the urge to call out "Hallo?" Just to hear her own voice bounce back. Lua arrived at Suite 2A where she decided she'd spend the night. She dropped her bag onto the floor beside the bed and removed her outerwear. The power was out so there was no sense trying to shower. "Jeg skal gjøre det i morgen," she yawned. She flopped face first onto a soft white pillow and fell deep asleep, dreaming of oreos and that strange mouse.