Sin Eater

1.

            The mountains were draped in a familiar shawl of misty rains. The foliage magnified by water droplets that clung desperately to every surface, making the town seem greener than possible. Pigeons hid in any crook they could cram themselves into, each house and shop coming alive as the birds cooed in displeasure.

Martin looked out of the coffee shop window, watching the world awash. The rain pooled in whatever rut and ditch it could find. The town residents were running around, sure this storm would be the next flood, an oddly common problem for being a mountain town.

"Not the best weather for a first date. Huh?" A woman with dark hair looked at him, her perfectly painted lips forming a coy smirk.

"I'd say it's the perfect weather," Martin returned her smile and leaned in, her hazel eyes sparkling. He had met Diana two weeks before at the book store. She had slid him her number and he had finally gained the nerve to call.

"So brash," Diana laughed, "This is a get to know you date."

Martin feigned offense, eyebrows raised over sage eyes, "What kind of man do you take me for? I'm nothing if not the poster man for chivalry."

"Oh yeah?" The woman rolled her eyes playfully, "Well, poster man, what do you do for a living?"

"We might as well grab the ticket now," Martin laughed, pretending to wave for a ticket. Diana smacked his arm. "I'm a writer, working on a novel but mostly just write for the newspaper, a sort of quasi-journalist."

"Really?" Diana's smile widened, "That's wonderful! I bet you get to meet all sorts interesting people."

"Not really. Not until tonight that is," Martin wriggled his eyebrows and received another playful smack from the woman, "What about you?"

"I teach at the elementary school," Diana shrugged, "I meet some crazy people too."

The couple laughed as the thunder crashed over them and lightning ripped through the sky. The lights flickered before going out completely, leaving the restaurant goers cast in the storm's gray shadow.

"Oohh," Diana shivered, worry overcoming her face as she looked out the large window, "My cat is going to be freaking out."

"Let me walk you home," Martin quickly stood and offered his hand to his date, she took it graciously and they headed to the door. Diana opened her umbrella and Martin followed suit, the two stepping out into the storm.

They walked in relative silence, listening to the battering of the rain and the thunder. The shops were dark from the power outage and the town was quiet. Curtains were being drawn and candles lit the small apartments and homes.

"Look!" Diana exclaimed, pointing to a single level house ahead of them. The house was had been weathered, paint chipping and roof sagging. The screen door was missing the actual screen, leaving behind an iron wrought skeleton guarding the front door.

"What?"

"Look on the screen door," Diana's voice was full of quiet enthusiasm. Someone had tied a plain red handkerchief around the handle and knotted it three times, "You know what that means, don't you writer boy?"

Martin shrugged, "Somebody is sick?"

"Shh," Diana shrunk into his side as they walked past the house, "It's for the sin eater."

"Oh you can't really believe that, can you?" Martin laughed.

"Of course I can! They say he comes in the night, cloaked entirely in black with nothing but a burlap sack of eating utensils," Diana had adopted a campfire whisper, "And then he eats a meal off the corpse! Devouring the sins of the person who died so their soul is absolved."

"What happens to the sin eater?" Martin asked, intrigued by passionate storytelling.

"He carries the weight of a thousand sins! Who knows what happens," Diana shrugged, "I bet he's be terrifying to meet. When he shows up you're not supposed to look him in the eyes, it brings a curse."

"Why do you think it's a 'he'." Martin joked, "You've never seen it, right?"

"It's obvious it's a man," Diana nodded solemnly, "My friend's aunt said that her cousin saw him once, peeked when she was just a kid."

Martin laughed, "Its fairy tales, but I love that you believe them."

"Oh it's true, I'll be waiting up all night to catch a glimpse of him."

They had finally arrived to her apartment. Diana leaned in and kissed Martin on the cheek causing the man to blush.

"This was fun," the woman smiled, looking at him through her eyelashes, "We should do it again, maybe on a sunny day."

"Any day you want," Martin bowed dramatically as she walked inside. After the door shut and he heard the locks slide in place, Martin turned on his heel and hurried away. The evening was upon them, the storm ushering in the dark night ahead. He passed the house with the red handkerchief, pausing briefly he memorized it. It would be a perfect place to write about, maybe the story of a young boy.