Day One - Hard to Come By...

You know how they say that when a person is close to death they see a bright light?  Well the light is undoubtedly bright, though it is not as white as one would expect, rather it is a purpley-pinkish color...  How did I get here?  Oh yes, the Centenial House.  Why oh why did I decide to be a traveling salesman?

The Centenial House looked innocuous enough, from the outside at least, the first sign of something... hinky... was when I rang the door bell.  Instead of the usual bells or chimes the sound that rang out was the caw-ing of crows.  I thought it odd, but didn't make much of it.

The elderly woman who answered the door was of the usual variety, those that have lemon-flavored candies and smell vaguely of mothballs.  "Hello madame, could I perchance interest you in a new steam iron?"

"Oh... I'm not sure.  Would you mind stepping in out of the cold and telling me more about it?"  she replied.

Being invited in was another sign of something being different.  Inside, the decor didn't match with the old lady.  She directed me to sit down and before I began to talk about the iron, offered me a cupcake.  To be polite I accepted.  I took a bite, it was quite good, I finished it before I realized I had.  I was halfway through my speech when I began to feel... unwell.  "Wh- what was in that cupcake?" I asked her.

The lady smiled and replied, "Arsenic."

My vision began to darken, "Why" I asked

She chuckled and answered, "Human hearts are sooo hard to come by nowadays..."

***

Okay finally have this typed and done.  Getting the picture was a hassle.  I'm not to sure how well I worked with the "dramatic monologue" bit, but in my defense I'm not particularly familiar with it.