08-12-24
I was part of a group of honored guests at some old woman's manor. The rather small manor, which was more of a cottage, was located just before the tree line of a wooded area. For a while, our stay in the manor was a rather nice one. Everything we needed or wanted was provided for by the old woman. She made the best food, and even taught us how to follow her recipes.
At some point, though, a lost wanderer showed up at the door. The old woman welcomed him as a guest, but pointed out to him that he was "not an honored guest". The wanderer accepted the condition and promised he would leave early in the morning. Come dinner time, however, the old woman became extremely hostile to the wanderer. Neither food nor drink were provided to him. The old woman demanded he stand next to the table and watch us eat and socialize. I felt bad about this, but felt it was not in my place to reach out to him. Nobody else in the group did either. The old woman was pleasant to us "honored guests" during the meal, and spoke of lively topics to us. Yet, she acted almost as if the wanderer did not exist.
Once the meal concluded, and the table was cleared, the old woman rushed out of the kitchen and forcefully dragged the wanderer to the table and laid him flat on the table with strength you would not expect from an old woman. She then produced a knife and began cutting away at his flesh. The wanderer's cries of agony and for help, or an explanation were all in vain. After a short while, the old woman stood him up, and dragged him out the back door of the manor. There, she executed him via an unknown method. All that was left of the wanderer was a floating hand that occasionally produced a scream. She placed the hand in one of many trapezoidal cages that were lined up behind the manor. It was impossible to tell which hand out of what seemed to be over twenty in the cage was the wanderer's. The hands were all gathered at the walls of the cages, reaching their fingers through the holes in an attempt to either escape or to enact revenge on the old woman responsible for their state.