A Story A Day. Story 328 of 365: Food.

Everything in that town was perfect. Naomi and Sam had chosen it as their first weekend out together, and they couldn't complain a bit. It was a town in the middle of the mountains, a stream passed through it, half a dozen of bridges crisscrossing over it. There was only one road in or out, and few cars made it that far. Still, the town was always full of tourists, and the local hotel never had vacancies. Everything was clean, and everyone was polite and helpful, apparently everyone stuck to the rules and there was no need of police. The town was small enough for that, but one would think that with so many tourists, some problems might arise at some time.  

Naomi felt as in a dream, she was in awe over how incredible everything was. If she could have designed her perfect village, it wouldn't have been half as good as the town was. And the food they were served, it was excellent! Tatiana really knew how to cook, she would need to ask her what kind of meat was she serving, she never had anything so fine. Sam didn't care much about any of that, he could appreciate the beauty of the surroundings, but what he appreciated most was Naomi's company, although deep inside he had the feeling that Naomi didn't care for him as much. 

One evening they were having dinner at the dinning hall at the hotel, as usual Tatiana walked by the table and asked them how everything was, and what were they plans for the following day. They replied saying that they were planning to hike to the waterfall and back the following day, and Tatiana offered to make some sandwiches for them to eat on the way. Naomi thought it was the perfect moment to ask her about the meat.  

-Incidentally, the meat you serve is delicious. But I can't quite tell which animal is it from, would you mind telling me? 

-Oh, dear. It's some kind of game you only find in these mountains. You wouldn't expect me to give up my secret like that, would you?- she winked at them before excusing herself. 

Sam and Naomi finished their dinner with a delicious apple pie, and went to their room. In the middle of the night, Naomi shook Sam awake. 

-Sam, Sam! Wake up!

-What happens?- he replied, still asleep. 

-There's something wrong. 

-Are you feeling unwell? 

-No, I'm okay. There's something wrong here. 

-You love this place! What could possibly be wrong?

-I think there's something bad going on, it is too perfect, and the way Tatiana replied when I asked her about the meat, it was really unsettling. 

-Honey, you're just being silly, there is nothing wrong. 

-If you think so you won't mind coming with me to the kitchen, will you?

Sam got out of the bed reluctanly, it was cold at night, and the bed was warm and comfortable. But he loved Naomi and if that had to help her feel better, so be it. They descended the stairs in silence, and crossed the hall into the dinning room. The door to the kitchen was on the other side of it, and they had to be careful not to stumble on the chairs and tables. It was a close call, but they finally made their way to the kitchen door. Naomi put her hand on it and pushed hesitatingly. The door squeaked, but gave way. Opening it as little as possible, they both entered the kitchen. It was clean and in order. The knives were all set one next to the other, shinning and freshly honed, the pots were drying over the sink, and the plates piled up on the shelves. The fridges and freezers took up a whole side. They were all new, almost out of the box. Naomi wondered what could be inside of them, what would be Tatiana's secret? She pulled open the door of one of the freezers and almost let out a scream. 

On the shelf in front of her rested a human leg, and behind it there were other clearly human body parts. Sam and Naomi stared at each other in terror, without saying a word they knew what they had to do next, run away from there as soon as possible, and tell as many people as they could. The lights went on, unexpectedly. They both turned around towards the kitchen door to find Tatiana and two of the waiters blocking it. 

-So, you wanted a quick bite?- the hotel owner asked sarcastically. 

-You're a monster! You've been feeding us human flesh! Wait until the town and the rest of the world hears about it!- Naomi shouted, shaking to her bones. 

-Dear, dear, you're so young, so innocent, so... tender. You're going to make an excellent steak tartare. You're not going to tell anyone, because you're never going to leave this kitchen again... whole. Even if you managed to escape and told someone in town, they would bring you back here, everyone in town knows about my meat obtention methods, what's more, they encorauge it. 

-I don't  believe you! They are all too nice to let you do what you please. 

-Are they? They sometimes provide me with the ingredients themselves. Don't look at me like that my dear, how exactly do you think they are able to keep the peace in town?