The Butcher

 

Cold. Cocky. Arrogant. These three words come to mind when the people of this tiny city think of the man in the dark gray suit.  The city is tiny not because of the size of the land but because of the number of people who live there or better yet are stuck there.

People may not leave, but visitors do arrive. The man in the gray suit is the owner of the only butcher shop in town. People always wonder why he cuts up meat in a suit; it must be very uncomfortable but he wears it proudly. No one has ever seen whether his closet is filled with the same color and the same style suit for he wears it from Sunday to Sunday. He keeps his life locked up tightly.

He is feared by the townspeople, but the visitors are attracted to him instantaneously. He is charming to all genders and knows how to converse. He has the gift the gift of gap some would say, but he can´t fool the townsfolk.

The latest person to visit the town was a well-known baker. You see, to the man in the gray suit it was extremely important to know the visitor's best trait. It could have been anything - singing, carpentry, dancing, writing, and in this case, it was baking.

After the visitor got to know the visitor, he would challenge them to a duel. It had nothing to do with weapons, in this case it will be a bake-off.  The visitor could choose the theme, a time was set, and the match would take place.

Baking would be to make a cake; a constellation of planets, the sky, the universe. They would have four hours to do so. The visiting baker felt confident that this match would be a piece of cake. He had actually won a contest with the same theme. He had this.

The bake-off took place in an arena. The two bakers would be divided by a wall that would be removed to reveal the cakes; however, the bleachers were filled with local residents, instead of cheering looking worried and in total silence. A bell rang pots and pans were being used; ovens were preheated; the game was on. Tension filled the air. It was so thick that you could cut through it with a knife.

The four hours flew by. The bell rang once again. The bakers raised their hands and each cake was ready for the great reveal. The wall between them was lowered as if magically - a door opened on the ground and down it went.

The visitor´s cake was beautiful. Nine tiers where there was a planet on each one and all the tiers were yellow and orange representing the sun. It was simply breathtaking and so well executed. The work of a sweet genius.

The man in the gray suit was impressed with the visitor´s baking skills; however, his work was still to surprise everyone. Although his planets seemed to be thrown on a tray, when he clapped his hands each planet cake raised and started to rotate around the huge sun which was also floating in midair. The spectators were roared and cheered.

Once again, the man and the gray suit had won the challenge. He escorted the visitor to his butcher shop and the visitor was never seen again.

On the very next day when the man in the gray suit opened his shop fresh meat was displayed in the window. There was a sign that read “Sweet Meat! Come and get it!”.

February 1, 2022 (based on a dream)

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