Conditional Reality

The stranger arrived at our door. I am a weary traveler, he said, and humbly ask for the favor of a simple meal and a night’s rest. He seemed like a decent sort so we invited him in. At dinner he told stories of his many travels. I have stayed in thousands of houses, he said, in each for only one night. I usually search out haunted houses. Ghosts appreciate my brevity and love my stories of other ghosts I have known. We leaned closer to the stranger. Tell us more, we said. Tell us all about our distant cousins.