The Strange Routine
Every morning, at exactly the same hour, an elderly woman appeared at the small butcher shop on the corner.
She was short, stooped, dressed in a faded coat, and pulled behind her an old squeaky cart.
“As usual — forty kilos of beef,” she would whisper softly, placing a neat stack of bills on the counter.
The young butcher always hesitated before preparing her order. Forty kilos — every single day. It was too much for one household. Maybe she ran a canteen, or had a large family, he thought. But day after day, week after week, her order never changed.
She barely spoke, avoided eye contact, and insisted on carrying the heavy bags herself. There was also something strange about her — a metallic smell clinging to her coat, like iron and decay.
Soon, the entire marketplace began whispering.
“Maybe she’s feeding her son’s family,” one vendor said.
“No, no — stray dogs,” another replied.
Someone even joked that she ran a secret restaurant.
The Butcher’s Curiosity
The butcher didn’t believe the gossip, but curiosity grew stronger each day. Finally, one snowy evening, he decided to follow her.
He waited until she left the shop, locked the door, and trailed her from a distance. The woman walked slowly but with purpose, dragging her cart through the cold streets. She passed the edge of town, crossed the abandoned industrial area, and disappeared into a crumbling factory long left to ruin.
Twenty minutes later, she came out empty-handed. The next day, it happened again.
The Shocking Discovery
On the third day, unable to resist any longer, the butcher followed her inside.
The air was thick, heavy, and smelled of something wild. Somewhere deeper in the building, he heard strange, muffled growls. Carefully, he crept closer and peered through a crack in the wall — and froze.
Behind rusted bars stood four enormous lions. Their golden eyes glowed in the dim light, bones scattered across the floor.