Halloween Prompt 5

Day 5: Tale

The legend goes that there’s a cave that could grant any wish. However, people relied on it far too readily. Soon, the cave overflowed with the remnant desires of all who visited. These desires built up, and the cave began to change. It grew confused and peeked into the minds of people before they could even make a wish. It took their small desires and enhanced them to uncontrollable proportions. This reached a point when the nearby village was troubled by famine. People would go to the cave hoping to wish for food, only for the cave to latch onto their fear of hunger and make the wish for them.

Delicious food would appear in mid-air. It floated enticingly as the wonderful aromas intoxicated the travelers. Before they knew it, they would be fed this floating food. Their bodies readily tucked the calories away as fat. Their frames would bloat larger and rounder until they became too heavy to move. The cave was not done with them, though. Their fear of hunger was so great that the cave needed to ensure they never felt hungry again. That was how these travelers became permanent residents. Time passed, and more found the cave to become a permanent home. The feedings never ceased, and thus, they grew fatter and fatter. This naturally took up a tremendous amount of space. Thankfully, as much a living organism as it was a natural feature, the cave began to expand itself. Caverns were created and stretched deeper into the mountain, where it began. The largest fatties, who had become completely immobile, were transported there. The feedings continued, and they grew fatter and fatter. Eventually, their forms were so engulfed in their own blubber that they hardly resembled a human. These small offshoots of the cavern had to be expanded continuously, but they would also accumulate multiple residents. Their naked, formless bodies would squish together, the softness of their mass morphing and contouring amongst one another. It became impossible to distinguish where one ended, and another began in the dim light supplied to them.

Some curious guests could catch glimpses of these storage caverns. Some with reason still in their heads would run in terror at what they knew was an inevitable fate if they lingered and indulged…others leaped headfirst as they were eager to embrace flabby oblivion. That’s what this was, in a sense. To eat endlessly, remove themselves from humanity, and to let all their thoughts gradually vanish. The padded, fat-engulfed faces had glazed eyes that betrayed no idea of thought. However, there was no suffering to be had either. Some would see this place as a form of Heaven. Whether this place exists, I know not. Some who fled the cave might have escaped, albeit moderately encumbered by their new bulk. Upon hearing this tale, some would search for the cave. They might claim they want to see if it is real out of curiosity. I, however, see the hunger in their eyes. The yearning to see if a wish can be fulfilled. I merely advise arriving on a full stomach lest the cave thinks you’re another hungry traveler in need of salvation.