Hey there people! OK in case you were wondering this is my version of the ending to the short story The Landlady by Roald Dahl. If you haven't read the story you should. Go to google and type in the landlady and click the first result! Its not very long so it wouldn't take anyone over a few min.s to read it!
This was an assignment a few months ago in my LA 9 class and I love it so much that I decided to put it here! So please tell me what you think and enjoy!
BTW this is my first time putting anything on this site so...ya. xD
Disclaimer(do i need one o these???) i don't own the landlady but i do own this ending!
Ignoring the weird looks the landlady gave him, he began wondering how could there have been no other guest here. Billy also began to wonder why she would need to keep a list of her guest's names if they lived right up stairs. Also why were they still here? After all this is just a bed and breakfast. If they were planning on living in Bath, wouldn't they have bought a house or an apartment? And why weren't they down here too. Didn't she say we have the place to ourselves? Why would she lie about that?
The longer Billy sat there, more and more questions seemed to pop up in his mind. Why did she stuff her pets? And what is with this tea? I've never tasted bitter almond flavor tea before. Maybe it's stale. Yes, that must be it.
"Well thank you for the tea. Now if you will excuse me I think I'll go and introduce myself to Mr. Mullholland and Mr. Temple." Billy told the landlady.
"All right, but don't be surprised if they don't talk much. They have been awfully quiet these past years."
"I'll keep that in mind. Good Night."
"Good Night my dear." She replied with a queer smile upon her face.
As Billy began walking up the stairs, he began feeling a little sick. He thought it was from all the traveling he did today. Instead of going straight to bed, he continued to Mr. Temple's room.
"Mr. Temple, sorry for disturbing you, but I wanted to introduce myself. May I come in? ? Are you there?"
Billy tested to see if the door was unlocked. It was.
"I hope you don't mind, but I'm coming in."
When Billy opened the door he saw a man lying in bed. Realizing that it was Mr. Temple sleeping, Billy left his room and made his way to Mr. Mullholland's room. While walking there he began to feel really dizzy. To keep himself from falling over, he put his hand on the wall. Only it wasn't a wall, but the door to Mr. Mullholland's room and it was open. Billy fell down, putting his face to the floor. When he looked up he saw Mr. Mullholland sitting in a chair. He looked so still and it seemed like he didn't even notice the fact that Billy had fallen into his room.
"I'm sorry Mr. Mullholland. I was feeling sick and leaned on your door for support. I didn't know it was open."
The man still hadn't seemed to notice Billy. Maybe he was blind or hard of hearing. Thinking that could be the reason, Billy got up to shake his hand. He didn't move. Was he asleep? Billy put a hand on Mr. Mullholland's shoulder only to jerk it back in surprise.
He was cold. Not just cold but freezing. And he didn't react at all. It was all coming together in Billy's head. The cheap prices, the stuffed animals, the weird tea, the names from the newspaper, the dead bodies, and the creepy landlady. The reason why no one has ever signed out was because she would kill them, and then stuff them. Just like what she did to her pets. He didn't notice at first how strange this lady might have been. He should have realized this when they were drinking the tea—the tea. The bitter taste. Why didn't he remember before? The bitter taste was there because there was poison in his tea. Billy realized he had to get out of here. He needed to find a doctor. Fast.
As Billy is leaving a figure gets in his way.
"Where are you going my dear?" the landlady asked.
Billy was trying his hardest to keep calm.
"Oh I noticed what a beautiful night it was. I thought I'd go for a walk."
"Well we can't have you do that now can we? You might ruin that handsome face of yours. Plus it's almost time."
"Time for what?" He could feel the poison gaining over his body. It was getting harder to stand, second by second.
"For me to finish my next masterpiece."
"I'm sure you'll be fine without me."
"Now that's where you're wrong. I need you. You wouldn't abandon a landlady in need would you? I've been alone for so long. For so very long. And don't you feel tired. You've had a very busy day. Why don't you lie down and go to sleep? If you want I could bring you some tea."
As she was saying this Billy was sinking lower and lower to the ground. Pain was all throughout his body and his breathing was becoming shallower, weaker. Her words were affecting him. Sleep? Getting rid of his pain seemed like such a good idea. Why fight it?
"Yes Mr. Weaver. Listen to your body. All you need to do is just relax. Once you do that all your pain will go away. You won't have to worry anymore. You can relax here with me…..forever."
With hearing that last word, Billy took his last breath and drifted off into his eternal slumber. Forever shall he stay at the landlady's bed and breakfast.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!
Please review! I love it when people tell me what they think about something i made. Whether its good or bad!