Clara looked at the old countryside villa from the window of the taxi van that had picked her up from the airport and had transported her an hour to this secluded place.

She supposed most people might see an idyllic and charming vacation home. She saw ivy climbing up the sides of the house. She saw flowers growing around the house and in the extensive gardens. She saw pebbled pathways leading up to the house.

‘But,’ Clara thought as the van parked, ‘what if I fall on those pebbles?’

Clara got out of the van and got her bag out of the trunk. She waved goodbye to the driver. She felt a chill come over her as she watched him drive away. She was alone.

As Clara dragged her heavy bag to the door of the house, she wondered, ‘What if I made the wrong decision when I let Mal talk me into this trip? What if this is the worst decision I’ve ever made?”

As Clara walked into the house, all she saw made her feel very concerned. She saw a floor that was warped and uneven, stairs that were too steep, and a second floor full of creaky floorboards. She felt that the entire house was only moments from falling apart.

‘And what if it does?’ Clara wondered. ‘What if I can’t find anyone way out here in the middle of nowhere to fix it?’

Clara wished she had someone to talk to about her concerns, but she was all alone here. She had no cell service in the middle of nowhere. She had been advised that the house phone was broken. She had been advised that she would need to walk five miles to get into town.

‘What if I have an emergency?’ Clara wondered. ‘What if I choke on my dinner? Or sprain my ankle? Or just can’t find something that I need in this big house?’

Clara tried to enjoy her vacation. She tried to remind herself that all of her friends had recommended this and said that she would love it and that it would be the best vacation that she would ever had. But she continued to be plagued by a sense of unease. She continued to see potential threats and dangers everywhere she looked.

Clara kept thinking, ‘What if this was a terrible idea?’

And then, he showed up. He was a stranger with a shabby appearance and a gun. He was banging on the door and demanding to be let in.

Clara felt terrified. She ran to an interior room and locked herself in and hid until long after the banging stopped.

‘What if he was still there?’ Clara wondered, but eventually, she had to come out, and after she felt satisfied that he was gone, she thought, ‘But what if he comes back?’

Clara walked the five miles to town that day to hire a taxi. She hired it to take her back to the villa so that she could pack her bag. Then, she had the taxi take her to the airport. She flew home. She knew that she would never take a vacation alone again and would think twice before listening to Mal’s advice again too.