The rickety old water tower leans away from the Moon toward the Wild Rose Gateway, as the river flows ferociously passed. The gathered storm clouds are starting to move away, revealing the eerie brightness of the dark night sky. Apart from the cascading waters all is calm and silent… this side of the Gateway, that is. On the other side, apparently, things are quite different… although no one has yet returned back to confirm this.
However, through all weathers, the rickety old water tower stands guard, appearing to intently listen through the Gateway. But what it hears is another mystery…
Darkened windows revealed nothing to come.
Darkened windows masked what was instore.
Darkened windows kept secrets hidden inside.
Darkened windows darkened in the darkness.
The open window didn’t look welcoming.
The room below held many secrets.
A few six word stories for Six Word Saturday… or the same story slightly rewritten six times. Seven, including the title. For Six Word Saturday, only the title needs to be six words long… the rest of the post can be as long or as short as we like! Good thing, really! Visit Debbie’s site to see more Six Words.
A few years ago as I wandered around a forest, I came across this chap. He has been featured on the blog before, but I think this is the first time he’s appeared square. Or in one, at least!
Posted for Becky’s Square Perspectives.
From midnight until the first glimmer of sunlight, the old clock only tocks. It ticks and tocks as normal during the daylight hours and up until midnight, but then it loses half of its rhythm. Also, equally as strange, between midnight and the first glimmer of sunlight, it only chimes once on the hour. For the rest of the day it chimes out the number of the hour. On the wall opposite to the clock, every night from midnight, a strange reflection as if from a window appears, and over by the corner, on the same wall, a smaller reflection reminiscent of nine smaller windows in a door shows up. There are no windows in this room, for it is an internal room. The door is on the wall opposite to the clock, but over by the other corner. And every now and then, between midnight and the first glimmer of sunlight, an echoey sound of a door can be heard opening and closing, followed by whispered voices or laughter.
The room is cold. Bitterly cold in winter, pleasantly so in summer. But on four certain nights of the year, the room feels warm between midnight and the first glimmer of sunlight. Tonight is one of those nights.
Who’s that knocking at the door?
Last night, late on, the doorbell rang. I don’t think any of the staff were on, actually, thinking about it I haven’t seen any of the staff for a while (I must look into that later!), so I had to trudge all the way to the door and answer it myself.
It can be quite a trek across the Foyer, but I made it in one piece this time. The door creaked open, and stood facing me were three people, two women and a man, who looked as thought they’d just arrived from a bygone age.
“Jinkies!” Said the bespectacled woman, “This place is huge, Is it haunted?”
The blond man standing next to her poked her in the ribs. “I apologise for my friend, she’s very inquisitive. No, we wonder if we could ask for your help?”
I told them it really depended on what help they needed, as I was in the Mansion by myself.
The man continued. “We’ve called at that crumbly old looking building right at the bottom of the lane and got no answer.”
“Ah,” I said, “That’d be Old Man Winters’ place. He’s gone away, I believe.”
“I see.” Said the man. “Our van has broken down just by the bend on the lane, and we think it just needs water to cool the engine down some. Could you please fill this bucket?” He pointed to a bucket on the ground between his legs
“Of course,” I replied, trying desperately to remember the way to the Kitchen. “By the bend you say? The dark bend by the gnarled old oak tree?”
“That’s the one, sir!” The man was very polite.
“It isn’t the best place to leave a vehicle unattended there.”
“Oh, no worries – we’ve split up, and left our friend and his dog there. They’re looking after things there.”
“If they aren’t eating all the midnight buffet that is!” The quiet redhead spoke.
“Step inside a moment,” I said waving them in. I’d decided to go to the Bathroom for the water, which was just up the Stairway and along the Landing. As I went up the stairs with the bucket, I noticed the lights flickering on and off again. “Stop it!” I whispered to the banister, hoping the message would somehow get through to its intended recipient and not the trio waiting by the door.
“Jinkies!” I heard the bespectacled young lady say again, just as I filled the bucket in the Bathroom. I then returned to the visitors with the full bucket.
“Thank you, sir!” the man said again. “Actually, is this place haunted?” He asked.
“Parts of it is,” I replied, “but not here in the Foyer. Why do you ask?”
“It’s just my friend here could have sworn the eyes in the portraits on the walls were moving.”
“Oh that!” I exclaimed. “Don’t worry about that – if it isn’t a trick of the light, it’s just a trick of the Mansion.”
I waved the trio off as they crossed the Courtyard, strangely running in a line for some reason, as they headed toward the Driveway that led onto the lane. I closed the door behind me as I walked back into the Mansion and back to the Living Room.
“You…! I said the Mansion. “Behave when we have guests! And there’s no need to roll your eyes”. I noticed one of the portraits on the wall doing that as I walked passed.
I didn’t even get their names, these out of time visitors, but they looked awfully familiar. I’ll have to check the door’s security camera footage to see if it caught a good picture of them.
——
If you don’t already know who the visitors were, click the peephole below to go to the recorded picture within the door’s security footage. Although the clues are all there…
Tom
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