His eyes fluttering open, Norbert stared up at the ceiling, taken in the stone structure above him. Hearing a fire crackling in a heath to the side, Norbert closed his eyes, breathing as he processed the strange ceiling above him.
Remembering what had happened before, surrounded by creatures of blackness, Norbert bolted up.
"The grand warrior is finally awoken from their slumber." A crackling voice from the side, near the fire, echoed around Norbert's room.
Sitting up, propping himself on his arm, Norbert looked to the occupant, the voice matching that of the old lady who stared back at him. Her grey, almost silver hair, thinning with age as she knitted something, Norbert now hearing the clacking of needles against each other.
Norbert looked forward, twisting his body around as he removed the covers. Leaning forward, picking them off the ground, Norbert placed them back on the bed. Stepping forward, Norbert passed by the heath and the old lady before walking towards the door.
Norbert's hand resting on the handle started to push when the old lady's voice once more came out of her, "Best to wait inside." She said.
Norbert took his hand off the door, stepping backwards, hearing them rattle in its hinges. Turning around, Norbert looked inside the hut, seeing if he could sit somewhere. Looking about the single-room cabin, a kitchen off to the side, no table to be seen, and the only pieces of furniture were the bed Norbert was on before, the rocking chair the old lady sat in, and the wooden cabinets in the kitchen.
Walking towards the fire, Norbert crouched, his sword angling itself so as not to be in the way. Warming up his hands, Norbert spoke, staring into the fire, "Don't have many guests up here?" Norbert asked as he stood back up, looking over the old lady, stepping backwards towards the bed.
The lady continued to track him with her eyes as she continued clicking the knitting needles together. Staring at the mess on the bed he made with the covers, Norbert picked them up, placing them together as he folded them up, swiping his hands over the sheets to smooth out the wrinkles. Picking up the pillow, Norbert fluffed it upwards before placing it back in its position. The pillow slightly deflated as it settled.
Facing back, seeing the old lady still staring at him, the needles clacking away like a clock. Looking down at what she was knitting, Norbert saw a simple cloth patch. The simple brown yarn forms into a rectangle. Norbert wondered what the woman could be making.
Following the ball of yarn, Norbert saw it go into a basket by the side, the ball slowly spinning around as she picked up more and more. Norbert took off his sword, resting it on the bed as he sat down, flicking his feet back and forth on the floor, watching them break the light, the shadows falling through.
"Can you be so kind as to get a glass of water for me?" The old lady asked.
"Of course, granny," Norbert responded in kind. Standing up, Norbert heard the old woman chuckle at his comment, thinking he heard her say, "Nobody has dared to call me that in a long time."
Norbert sensed apprehension at what had just slipped from his mouth. Heading towards the cabinet, Norbert looked around, opening one up after another. I found plates, glasses of wine, champagne flutes, and shot glasses. I was surprised at the amount. It was all clear; not a single drop of air imperfection it.
Plates and cutlery were found, intricate patterns that Norbert glossed over with his finger, feeling it rise and fall underneath it. Looking from one to the next, it depicts scenes from nature, mountains and forests, fish jumping out of rivers and vines wrapping around the edges.
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The most surprising thing was that the tallest cupboard was filled with books. I saw them have splatters of food, mould growing off the spines, and funguses everywhere. Taken aback by the sight of the otherwise clean cabin he found himself in.
Quickly closing it off, Norbert breathed while leaning over the sink, wanting to remove the smell from his nose before he threw up in front of the owner of this place. Knowing doing so wouldn't be a wise move.
Seeing the last cupboard, Norbert opened it over the sink, revealing the cups he was looking for. Taking two out, Norbert stood over the sink, trying to find a tap. Changing his vision, Norbert saw the two magic circles in their normal position as he would expect, one for hot, the other for cold.
Turning to the granny, Norbert asked, "Can you use the taps? These gadgets don't work too well for me?" He asked her.
Placing both cups on the sink, Norbert turned around after not hearing a response. Seeing the old lady sipping from one of the cups, she sighed in relief as the liquid went down her throat. Turning and going back to the sink, Norbert saw only one cup filled with water.
Staring at the cup, his reflection looking back at him, Norbert carefully took it, raising it to his lips, letting a slight amount trickle down. He felt the ice-cold water. He felt lips, shocking his throat, feeling it travel downwards before losing it in his stomach.
His feet moving by themselves, Norbert heard the clacking resounding around the cabin again as his body hit the mattress. Feeling the covers underneath him, the old lady's water was on the side as she continued knitting.
Not wanting to disturb the strange woman, still coming to grips with how it was possible to move that quickly, Norbert found an oddity. There were no windows or blinds in the cabin he found himself in. There is no way of seeing the outside world. The only way out is through the door.
Eyes casting over the floor, Norbert confirmed no trap door was cut out of the floorboards. They turned to the old lady, who no longer looked at her knitting but back at Norbert, her eyes piercing into Norbert, almost begging him to ask any question and get the ball rolling.
Norbert just smiled in response, not wanting to go into the whims of the strange woman. Placing the glass on the floor, Norbert went over to the cupboards, wanting to have something to do while he waited that wasn't talking with the woman.
Finding the books again, Norbert held back his horror as he looked at the condition. He looked through the books, trailing his finger just over them as he read the titles, not wanting to touch and that he didn't need to. Stopping on one in the middle, the one in the best condition compared to the others.
Tilting his head to the side, Norbert read what it had, nodding to understand what was on there, reading aloud instinctually. Norbert broke the constant rhythm the knitting needles created.
"To the Moons and Back." Thumbing the top, Norbert turned it around and looked at the cover. They depicted two moons crashing into each other. A line is going around both celestial bodies. Bringing it closer to his face, Norbert was sure a ship was creating the line.
Opening it up, Norbert headed back to the bed, sitting in his position as he turned to the first page. Being careful not to damage the Yellow Pages, Norbert started to read, starting with chapter one.
Reading through the first chapter, something has changed in the air. Keeping his finger in the book as he closed it as a marker, Norbert looked up, dawning on what had changed.
Gone was the constant clicking. The old lady now admired her work as she held it up for herself to see. Norbert looked at the piece of fabric, the monotonous brown going back and forth in a constant pattern.
The two's eyes met as she opened her mouth, taking the victory of speech from before. "Enjoyed it?" She asked.
Norbert looked down at the book, remembering how he said the title before. Norbert said, "Seems similar to another, er, I've read. But it's only the start, so who knows where it will go." Norbert said, keeping it as non-judgemental as possible, not wanting to annoy or offend the owner of the strange cabin.
The old lady nods. "It is a tad generic, but still an interesting read nonetheless. Was quite hard for me to procure it, even in that condition." The lady said.
Having a strange look, Norbert flipped it to the start, thumbing through the preface until he found the page "Don't understand why. Only came out in 1990," Norbert said. "A bit old, but nothing to explain the current condition," Norbert said.
As he closed the book, Norbert felt jaws clamp around him, the covers he was sitting on seeming to wrap themselves around Norbert, stopping him from moving. Looking up at the old lady, the creases of age on her face changing from kindness to harshness, gone was the loving old grandma he first thought of her, morphing into a bitter older woman.
As Norbert stared there, the old lady just stared back at him, reminding Norbert of the story of the witch using the gingerbread house to lure her prey inside.
"So this is what Hansel felt like," Norbert said to himself.