2
“Very well! This is an ancient tale of the Sioux who once called the very ground we sit on home. Once long ago there was a Sioux couple, the wife became pregnant with twins unbeknownst to either of them. When the husband left to go hunting he would tell his wife, ‘If any stranger comes while I am gone, do not look at him for any reason.’ He would make her promise every time which she did. One day an old man came to their lodge while the husband was away hunting. The wife, being a kind soul, let the man in to eat but would sit with her back to him fulfilling her promise. The old man ate his meal, thanked the woman and left. The old man returned every day thereafter. Finally on the fourth day curiosity got the best of the wife and she peeked at the stranger breaking her promise. She saw not an old man but a horrible ogre known to the Sioux as a Two-Face. She knew everyone who looked upon a Two-Face died. The wife fell over dead on the spot. The Two-Face then cut her up and ate her. He took one of the twins out of her body and threw it in the woods but he did not notice the other. The husband returned home the next day seeing the mutilated remains of his wife and he knew what had happened. Stricken with grief, the husband fell to his knees which is when he noticed his baby still alive. He held his son in his arms not knowing there was another out in the woods all alone. A wolf adopted the twin tossed in the woods raising him as her own. One day many years later the twins met instantly recognizing that they were brothers. The twin who had been raised by his father told his brother how their mother had been slaughtered and eaten by a Two-Face. The twin brothers vowed from that moment to avenge their mother. Together they had many adventures passed down in stories to this day but they never found the Two-Face who had killed their mother and separated them at birth. It is said their spirits roam these lands to this very day unable to rest until their mother is avenged. So if you come upon a stranger in these lands do not look upon him lest you become his next meal. A Two-Face, also known as Sharp Elbows, is said to have a normal face to pass undetected but another face so hideous all fall dead the moment they lay eyes upon it. So like your momma probably told you long ago… beware of strangers!"
The stranger began to laugh heartily, “Hey, Beware! I’m a stranger!" Both men laughed at that, “Now I must be off."
“Must you go? Please stay and keep warm by the fire."
The stranger stood, walked over to him extending his arm for a parting handshake. The men joined hands and the stranger bent down to say his goodbyes. The stranger strengthened his grip nearly crushing the hand he held leaning in close to the man’s ear.
“You really shouldn’t have cursed the gods." He whispered.
The stranger stood tossing back the hood of his parka revealing his face for the first time. The man’s eyes went wide in horror as his heart exploded. The stranger rolled up his sleeves revealing long, sharp spears of bone extending from his elbows. He used his sharp elbows to cut up the man eating some of the flesh raw while cooking other chunks over the fire.
“No one ever listens." The stranger said to the empty carcass then walked off into the darkness.
