Cabin of Castigation

In a small, remote cabin,
Illuminated by candlelight,
Resides a solitary man
Trying to sleep away a stormy night.

Outside, rain pours,
Thunder booms, and lightning streaks.
Every gust of wind causes the old cabin to creak.

The man’s neck is sore.
His body aches.
He hopes for the pain to ease by morning,
For his sanity’s sake.

He lies and pictures a beautiful dawn.
Exhausted, he releases a weary yawn.
In little time, he falls asleep,
But not even an hour elapses
Before he is roused from his dreams.

From outside the cabin emanates the shrill sound
Of a woman’s scream.

He leaps out of bed and runs to the door.
Peering out, he sees only fog settling in
As rain still pours.

He shouts and asks if someone needs aid
When the screaming abruptly fades.

Confounded and scared, he hollers once more.
A minute passes with no response.

He slams and locks the door before walking back to his bed.
He’s suddenly overcome with a sense of dread.

More thunder booms, another bolt of lightning streaks.
Behind the man, the floorboards begin to creak,
And the cabin is instantly permeated by a putrefying reek.

He turns once more and finds himself staring at a woman falling into decay,
Covered in soil and slowly advancing his way.

Cornered and trapped, he cowers in fear.
He asks her what it is she wants from him here.

She whispers his name and replies, “Retribution.
For a year ago, you killed me,
And you needed to end the lies you’d sewn.”

He pleads for forgiveness.
She simply whispers, “No,”
Before grabbing him by the neck
And watching him as his life goes…

In a small cabin illuminated by candlelight
Resides a solitary man,
Perpetually forced to nesciently repeat
His final stormy night.