A Story a Day #27: H. H. Munro

March 9th, 2020

"The Open Window"

H. H. Munro (Saki)

A man moves to a new town and his sister gives him some letters to meet some new people. He arrives at a woman's house and is greeted by her niece. They sit and wait for her to come down. The niece apologizes for the open window because of the cold weather and explains that it is because her aunt's husband and two brothers went out hunting and never came back but she keeps it open for them thinking that they might. The aunt then comes down and also apologizes for the window and explains that they'll be returning soon. Not long after, the three men come back and the protagonist dashes off, scared from seeing them.

This was a very short story that accomplishes very much with very little. The most impressive aspect for me was that it retains its sense of mystery even beyond the end of it. It is completely possible that the men really did die and the aunt is deranged. It is also possible that the niece was playing a trick on the man by knowing that they really would return that night. Neither is really explained or favored which allows the reader to speculate on what really did happen during the story. It was an engaging and memorable read.