Late that afternoon as Walker and his two companions, Sophia and Wiley, continued on the King’s highway, the sky grew dark and thunder growled in the distance. Sophia watched anxiously along the road for traveler shelters and found one just in time, for the hard rain was coming up the valley. “Come on! Up there!” she said.

They ran up the path and stood under the porch roof while Sophia paused in the rain to look under a rock. She unlocked the door, and they charged in, laughing in relief. Lightning flashed and thunder cracked.

“Oh!” said Sophia, shaking off water. “I am so glad the King had his servants build these cabins. I’ve needed them a few times, when I got caught by night or bad weather.”

“Nobody minds if we stay here?” asked Walker, who was new to the Way. He put down his haversack and looked around.

“The King provides, “ she said, as sat on a bunk bed. She took off her shoes and socks and wiggled her toes. “He placed these shelters along the way. He is so good to us.”

Wiley grunted and plopped down on the other bunk. “This one’s not bad. But that’s not how it happened with me. The last one I stayed at was a waste.”

Sophia looked at him, incredulous. “What? How can that be?!”

“Tell us what happened,” said Walker, sitting in the rocking chair.

“Okay, well. I’m walking along this road and it’s getting dark, see? I can barely see the road. But I see one of these houses. I go up and knock on the door. No answer. No light, either. The door didn’t budge when I tried it. I went around back and saw a  stone firepit. There wasn’t any wood, so I looked around for branches I could burn, but it was too dark to see. I had a few crackers with me so I ate those. I lay down in the grass but didn’t sleep much. I was cold and there were things rustling in the grass. I was glad to get out of there the next morning. I didn’t think it was so great.”

Sophia stared at him. “But didn’t you find a list of instructions about the shelters in your bag? Didn’t someone at least tell you about them?”

“Well, some guy told me a bunch of stuff I had to do if I ever needed one but I figured I didn’t need “instructions”. I don’t need a bunch of rules. I live my way,” said Wiley.

Walker turned to Sophia, “Did you ever find one in the dark?”

Sophia said, “Yes. I pulled the instructions out of the King’s bag and it told me I would find the key under a rock that looks like a heart. I opened the door and went in. Next, I was supposed to find a full oil lamp three steps forward and one step to the left, and matches behind it. They were there and I lit the lamp. Then I was able to see the skinny wood door in the wall for the food pantry, where I got what I needed for supper. In a wooden trunk under the window were sleeping bags rolled up and I took one for the bunk. Across from the beds was a woodstove and alongside it was a box full of firewood and kindling. I had everything I needed.”

Walker stood up and looked around. He lit the lamp. He took wood and kindling and got a merry fire going so their damp clothes could dry. He found the well-stocked pantry and made supper for the three of them. Sophia rolled out the sleeping bags, and then, assured that Walker had supper under his control, she pulled out her sketchbook and sat before a mirror to draw a self-portrait. Wiley watched them and when he saw no one was watching him, he reached for Walker’s haversack.