The Hole

“God help us, the hole was a mistake.”

We first used the hole after sickness swept through the village. “Into the hole” became a common refrain. A horrid pit of human mush. Soon we were using it for those who prayed on villagers: murderers, thieves, and degenerates. Initially we executed them before the hole, then the hole became the execution. 

Yesterday, young Hilde stood in the street, weeping. Her father went into the hole. I thought of my own dear boy and laid a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes looked beyond me. The villagers stared at us.

God help us, the hole was a mistake.