My Little Cabin

MY LITTLE CABIN

Every spring and at the end of the summer I would go up to my little cabin on the West fork of the Dolores River. I'd also fish there during elk and deer season after I had my meat for the winter. I loved those rainbows and cut throats. Hardly anything better for breakfast with soft scrambles.

Well, I had my possession limit and had eaten trout two or three times a day for a week now and had packed up to go back to Texas. That time of year the quakie aspen are just budding their leaves, the bees are starting to move, the birds are doing their mating things, the trout are lean, mean, hungry and the guy that leased my twenty five acres is moving his equipment in to start planting potatoes and whatever else he does.

Looking out the window of the cafe in Cortez as I had a little ham with my eggs for a change, I noticed a boy, maybe ten or twelve with a little girl that couldn't have been more than four or five. The little girl was holding the sack while the little boy would throw cans out of the dumpster and she would put them in the sack.

The waitress came by and I spoke up and asked her if she had noticed them. She said she had seen them for some time around town, but had never seen them with an adult and they'd run if anyone tried to approach them. Of course this bothered me so I finished, tipped the waitress, paid my bill and walked over to where they were. They were cornered in the alley with the dumpster. Tears immediately formed in the little girls eyes as she got a terrified look on her face and the
little boy started acting like he was going to run. I just had a feeling deep down something was wrong.

The farmer, Bob, that leased my place drove up with his, kind, gramma looking wife, Eva (Evie) They were going to eat too before going out to my place. They got out of their pickup and I winked at them as they walked up.

I said, "Evie, Bob, these are my friends and I'd like them to have breakfast with us. Bet they have a story to tell ." Evie caught on, took the little girls hand and we walked back across the street to the cafe.

The little girl still had the tears, but she had lost the scared look. Guess gramma Evie calmed her. I thought to myself, "Nothing like a gramma to calm a scared child."

They ordered and ate like it was their last meal. Evie was talking to the little girl and she was telling her that they were waiting for their mom to come back and get them.

The boy started talking and said their mom was in jail. Evie asked why and he told her that their mom had taken them to hide, but was caught and was in jail for taking them. Their father had been very abusive and beat them all the time so she was hiding. She had shown them a place near a roadside park on the edge of town where they could stay in a culvert near
the river where they would be able to bathe and wash.

They were from Denver and had only enough money to make it to Cortez. The mother had given them instructions to be careful and run if anyone tried to
catch them. Guess Evie didn't look like a catcher of kids.

I was kind of apprehensive about what to do, but finally I asked Evie and Bob if they would maybe stay at the cabin with them while checking out their story and letting them help, maybe hang around 'till they found out something.

Evie convinced them that they would be fine and could stay with them and no harm would come. She told them that they would go visit their mom and find out when she was going to get out and tell her where they were so she could get them later after the mess was cleared up.

Well, I went on back to Texas, but called every night to check on how things were going. Evie told me she and Bob had gone to visit the mom. She was a basket case worrying about her children, but when Evie told her what had transpired she was relieved. She was finally able to eat again knowing her children were in good hands and she told Evie that she had prayed
continually for the past two weeks or so for a sign that they were OK.

Evie said she still had visible signs of abuse, bruises on her arms and legs, a fading black eye and so gaunt from worry and not eating.

The weeks went on and the woman was appointed an attorney, but she would not divulge the whereabouts of the children. Meanwhile the kids were having a great time out there along the river, helping with things around the cabin, planting potatoes and eating good home cooked meals and really having a good experience. Evie had gotten them a few changes of clothes to make it easier to keep them washed up.

Their mom was released and contacted Bob and Evie. They picked her up and took her to the cabin where she stayed and helped into the summer. Occasionally she would make phone calls when they went to town to contact her relatives. She finally got word that she had custody, a restraining order against her husband and was safe.

Later Evie told me her divorce became final, she decided to stay in Cortez and a year or so later married a kind, wonderful guy that had an apple orchard and small ranch North of town where he raised a few horses and cows.

Bet those kids are having a great time for a change out there with the animals and a man that cares about them.

Reflections by Mark Crider

Story ID:	3413
Written by:	Mark Crider (bio, link, contact, other stories)
Organization:	Corpus Christi Coating & Machine Inc.
Location:	Delores Colorado U.S.A.
Year:	1974