Fire
"A wanderer in the night, come sit with us, Father Frost is coming earlier than usual this year. Jascha fetch another bowl and a spoon, our new friend looks like he's been on the road for a long time and needs refreshment," the woman turns to a large, crackling campfire and stirs with a ladle in a copper kettle. The tempting scent of food lingers around the hiker's nose. Silently, the boy called Jascha hands a bowl to the woman. Steaming stew moves from the ladle to the small wooden bowl. "Sate yourselves friend, at this fire no one sits hungry," the woman speaks kindly, holding out the steaming bowl to the newcomer. With a grateful nod, the wanderer takes hold of the proffered food, greedily dipping his spoon into it. "Fire is something wonderful isn't it? A promise that it will protect you from the horrors of the dark night, a beacon of hope for lost wanderers like you. Its warmth caresses us lovingly when Father Frost wants to punish us with icy cold," the woman muses as she stokes the fire with a stick. The comforting warmth of the campfire slowly creeps into the frozen limbs of the wanderer. "You speak wisely," the wanderer speaks his first words, bits of fat and vegetables catching in his beard as he continues to greedily scarf down spoonful after spoonful of the stew. "Do I? You flatter me friend," the woman laughs and sits down next to the dining wanderer. Silently, the two watch the play of dancing flames. Only the occasional crackle of the fire interrupts the pleasant silence. "Do you know the true nature of fire?" the woman breathes into the hiker's ear. He looks incredulously at the still smiling woman and then down at himself. A dagger slides slowly from his belly. "Why?" he breathes in disbelief, his hands trying in vain to stop the leaking lifeblood. "Betrayal. All promises are just lies to gain your trust, to give you a false sense of safty. But as soon as you are careless and venture too close to the fire, the flames leap upon you and consume you skin and hair," she replies, still smiling as the wanderer's world sinks into darkness.