Sean Ryan - In Sickness and in Health

In Sickness and in Health
Hristo accepted the fact that his wife Nadia was a werewolf. He could have married a woman who was not a werewolf, but life was more adventurous this way. For a few predetermined days out of every month, she was not herself. She growled, she snapped, she seemed determine to ruin Hristo's life. After that it was back to normal, the Nadia he knew and loved. Their marriage quickly fell into a good routine. For 25 days in a row, Nadia was perfect, herself. And then for three days she went in the cage. It was a cage made for a large dog, in a corner of the cellar, and Nadia could fit in it if she stooped down. Nadia handed her clothes out through the grate, Hristo gave her three days' worth of water and dog food, locked the strong padlock, and left her to howl at the moon. Three days later, Hristo undid the padlock, helped the now-bruised Nadia out of the cage, slipped a robe around her shoulders, and made sure he had a nice meal waiting for her up in the kitchen. Hristo would fill Nadia in on what had happened in the world in the past three days. Some time during the meal Nadia would always try to convince Hristo that she was not a werewolf, that it was just PMS which gave her mood swings. And Hristo would always answer that life was more adventurous this way.