Despite the late hours, the town that was known amongst people under the name of 'Cherrytown' was as lively as ever. Nothing surprising, since it was that time of the day when people were slowly strolling under the lantern's lights and finishing their grocery purchases or just walking home after a tough day of work. However, not everyone was busy doing just that. In the small, family runned tavern there were still people looking for others to listen to their stories and rumors. The locale wasn't that eye-pleasing, outsiders would describe it as a shabby spot, however the atmosphere there was rather good if someone was in need of an audience and good beverages to sample. Prices were affordable, and most of the customers after the first visit came back not once nor twice, but fairly often whenever they had time.

"Have you ever heard about the Beast? People say that this creature is prowling near the forest and its lair hidden deep inside it. Many searched but no one lived to tell the tale. Always hungry, constantly looking for a new prey to devour. It wasn't always there, the terror came to this town a few years ago, although it's hard to pinpoint an exact date." Said the man in a mysterious voice, constantly glancing over his shoulder to check whether his drunken rambling had any listeners.

"Mister, I think you already had enough drinks, please stop embarrassing yourself and give me that bottle." I said while reaching for the almost empty glass bottle, even though not so long ago it was filled to the brim with honey colored liquid. "And besides, I was born here, I live here all my life, we see each other every day, since you easily break your vows and promises and come back each single day to get drunk once again. I obviously know the Beast. If you want to impress someone better try to do it in a place where you don't know its menu by heart. " The contempt hidden behind my kind smile was easily palpable, although the drunk wasn't in the best form, so he brushed it all off.

"My dear Ashlyn! Since I'm your loyal customer you should treat me with all the due respect I deserve. Don't you know thanks to whom your family is able to put food on your plates? Who always recommends this place to others?" 

Looks like today is one of those days when things won't end quietly. He must have had a tough day at work or maybe another quarrel with his wife. Nothing surprising, if I were his wife or someone in a relationship with such an unreliable partner I would definitely argue with them often too. I was only hoping that he wouldn't try to create a disturbance, since I wouldn't let it slide.

Father went away to discuss some matters about his new batch of items to sell and Larry said something before about going on a date. I'm pretty sure they won't be back so fast and because of that I'm the main caretaker of this tavern for the time being, since mother was feeling ill and decided to lay down for a while in her room.

I can't let my family down. I must show them that I'm a dependable young woman that they can rely on. If I made another mistake like I did in the past, I was worried that this time they wouldn't be able to forgive me. I was only eighteen, and yet I still managed to cause them a lot of pain during that time.

"Mister, I don't have time nor mood for humoring you. If you can't be a smart drinker, then leave. But pay before that." I warned him.

"Pshh, my dear, you act like you're working in the library, not the finest tavern in this whole town!" The second part of that sentence he screamed with all his might and saliva too. Gross. If this whole situation prolongs any longer the customers are going to leave, not pour into the building as maybe he's hoping to prove.

"I'm not going to repeat myself. Pay and leave."

At this point Brich, the drunk with whom I've been so busy talking to, decided to ignore my words altogether and started bothering other people. Seeing that I decided that it's long past time to be any generous with someone like that guy and casually broke the bottle right where his hand was placed moments ago. The likes of him only retreat after seeing that the other person is not going to be so easy to intimidate. He shuddered and wanted to say something more, but I heard my mother's voice behind me.

"What's happening? What seems to be the problem? Mister, are you not satisfied with our services?" She asked quickly, trying to grasp the situation. When she noticed the broken bottle she pursed her lips and looked sternly at him, in the way that only mothers can.

Thankfully, it looks like she heard the commotion and decided to come down right after I broke that bottle. She must've assumed that the drunk was the one responsible for this situation. If I were a second slower or she faster, I'd be found guilty. I was too careless and forgot that she was resting in her room on the second floor, located right above our tavern.

"Nothing serious, mother. Brich only had too much to drink as usual and decided that today is one of those days to make a fuss."

"I can see that. In that case, the only thing left to do is to apologize and pay what's due, Isn't that right?" She turned towards him.

The drunk lost all the prior vigor and simply reached inside his pocket and slid notes onto the countertop. Thankfully, it was enough money. Even though he's such a troublemaker he still has a well paid job and a smart wife that's keeping an eye on him and his drinking money.

After that he stood up, nodded his head to my mother and me and left.

"I guess he's coming back tomorrow for more." I laughed and sent a smile towards my mother, but she ignored my joke and started to clean up the tavern. For some reason recently she became so restless and paranoid. She would not leave me nor my brother alone for too long, even though we were at home or with our father. It worried me a little, she used to be the first to make jokes and laugh with others. Despite the bitter aftertaste of this whole situation, I helped her and we finished cleaning up pretty quickly.

The sun was long gone, the moon would come up sooner than later, so the entire place was quite empty in comparison to the crowds we used to have during earlier hours. There were only two men sitting in the corner and slowly sipping their beers. After half an hour or so they left too, but before that they tipped us generously. They must've liked the show. Or didn't like Brich and wanted him gone too. I was getting pretty tired after everything so I wanted to take a rest and maybe go to sleep or read something, but unexpectedly mother asked me a weird question "Where's Lawrence? Did he go somewhere with your father?"

"You mean Larry? He left a few hours ago to go on a date with Caroline, I think he'll be back soon. Or maybe tomorrow morning if they can't get enough of each other through the date. As for father, I thought you would know more. He didn't say much, but looks like he went once again to discuss some things about items he's going to sell during this season to his business partners."

"I see." I thought that would be the end of this conversation, but instead she took a short pause and continued questioning "I was wondering, what were you talking about with Brich? He seemed pretty agitated."

"Nothing much, really. After he got drunk he started spewing his usual nonsense but instead of complaining about his wife and job he targeted that imaginary thing supposedly hunting in the forest. Everyone knows that it's just another wild animal, probably a stray dog or something bigger, like a bear."

At those words Mother's entire approach changed, she became even more agitated and her hands started shaking.

"What did he say?"

"I already told you just a while ago, It wasn't anything I haven't heard about before."

"Ah... I see. I thought he said something weird, you know, since rumors started recently to become more violent and bloody about new victims."

Actually, I heard those hearsays too, since our clients often became chatty after drinking too much. Two people died last month, where originally it was one victim for a year or a half of it.

I understood her concerns and I wanted to reassure her that I'd be careful and everything was fine, but at that moment father came home, so I rushed to his side to hang his coat on the rack and ask about whether he was successful today. We chatted a while and I could hear mother bustling behind us, but before she could chim in into our conversation, Larry came back too. She was really curious about his date, so I intended to leave quietly and go to the floor to my room to sleep, but father stopped me and said,

"To be honest, I'm planning to go and try to sell a few things tomorrow too, since winter is coming very soon. But I forgot to bring those items from woodshed near the forest, would you be so kind as to go fetch them? I'm ashamed to send my daughter, especially at this hour, but don't worry, I will give you my flashlight and gun to keep you safe."

I didn't want to make my mother worry, but refusing my father after he was blatantly exhausted just didn't feel right. I agreed to go, since I wasn't scared of the dark nor was the woodshed that far away from the civilization. It wasn't even the first time he asked me to do something like this.

Although usually I had to go to quickly buy some missing ingredients for dinner or visit a neighbor and ask whether they would be up to a short game of poker. I don't remember when was the last time that someone went to that woodshed, but since I'd have something to protect myself I wasn't that worried about myself and after everyone seemed to go up to the second floor and rest, I quietly left home.