The following work of flash fiction is in collaboration with my fellow blogger friend Jithin of PHOTRABLOGGER . The picture above is his creative photography which has inspired this FLASH FICTION CHAIN 4. Do check out his blog to read his adventures while travelling and some lovely photographs.
I am entrusted with the task of writing PART 1 of Flash Fiction chain 4 . So here goes… :
Character list :
1.Margaret or Maggy, a 19 year old girl , out to search for some truths.
2.Steve – The caretaker of the mansion , a man in his fifty’s
3.Robert– The house cook
4.Grandpa
PART 1
Shadows loomed large around the old mansion . There was an eerie silence around it. The tall coconut palms swayed violently in the evening breeze , as if mourning over their isolation . Layers of dust encrusted the peeling , once brightly colored walls and fissured window panes bordered the enormous framework of the house. The shut doors ambiguously creaked in sorrow of its disintegration .
Maggy stood there , eyeing the dilapidated remains of the huge house , a tiny speck of tear peering out from one corner of her eyes . A waft of a cold breeze caressed her cheeks and she felt a cold shudder trickle down her spine .. She took a deep breath and ventured forth , towards the rusty iron gates . It took her some time to open the lichen coated bolt and push open the gates .
‘I hope Steve is home …’ , Maggy thought to herself , as she knocked at the door , a little hesitatingly .
After knocking a few times , Maggy turned to leave when suddenly she heard footsteps behind the closed door . She turned around , as the door opened , only to be met by Steve, a tall , skinny old man , in his fifty’s (though Maggy always felt he was much older than that ! ) .
Steve inspected her through the rims of his spectacles and grinned all of a sudden , revealing a gold tooth , that gleamed from one corner of his mouth . Then , pushing the door aside with his gnarled fingers , he exclaimed , ‘Oh ..it is you Maggy..you are early…Come on in…’.
Then , lifting the luggage that Maggy had got along , he walked her into the living room of the sprawling mansion .
Maggy followed Steve’s bent figure , hobbling across the living room , and into a narrow corridor and then up a flight of rickety old stairs . The stairs creaked loudly at every single step . But other than that there was complete silence , the whole house seemed to be on a standstill…
Steve halted without warning , outside a room at the first landing . Having given himself the time to recuperate from the exhausting climb , he spoke with some strain in his voice , ‘This is the room I have prepared for you. Hope it meets your requirements’ .
After gauging Maggy’s reaction , he added , as an after thought , ‘I did think of allotting you, your grandpa’s room , because I know you would want that so much , but you see , no body visits that room much anymore. Ever since your grandpa’s mysterious disappearance , an year ago , his bedroom had been locked and secured to preserve all his valuable documents along with other things….Errr…I hope you understand dear…’
Maggy’s face suddenly lost all color and she became pensive . Then suddenly , she looked up at Steve , faking a smile , and replied , ‘It is alright..I know..I..’ , the lump in her throat refused to let her complete the sentence . But the tears that followed , conveyed her sentiments well .
Steve put a hand on her shoulder , trying to pacify her , but he knew how hurt grandpa’s little girl was .
It had been an year , yet Maggy had not been able to come in terms with the sudden tragedy that had befallen their family . Maggy was very close to her grandpa , and this was the first time since his disappearance that , she had managed to convince herself to visit his house .
But the purpose of her visit wasn’t merely to revive old memories… It was much more than that…She wanted some answers ……She was here for that..
It was ten in the night by the time Maggy finished with her sumptuous meal , prepared by Robert , the house cook .
Robert was a young man in his late twenties , who had been employed by Maggy’s grandpa , a few years ago . Once grandpa disappeared and was deemed dead , an year ago , Robert was asked to leave . But now that Maggy was here to stay , Steve had approached him to rejoin his post and to his surprise Robert had happily agreed….
At around five past eleven , Maggy finally retired to bed . As she lay there , staring at the ceiling , her mind a kaleidoscope of images and memories from the past , Maggy felt miserable … How much she loved grandpa and what a wonderful person he had been….where was he now…is he actually dead?…
With these thoughts , Maggy soon slipped into a deep slumber . But it was not for long….In the dead of the night a loud bloodcurdling scream reverberated through the rooms of the huge mansion…Maggy bolted upright in her bed , horrified.
Alarmed , and a little dazed from her sleep , she crept out of her bed and walked cautiously towards the direction of the sound……………
Whose scream was it….?Will Maggy find out the secret behind Grandpa’s disappearance…..? What secrets await her in her grandpa’s house…?Is her own life in danger now… ?
I’ve have been up to no good my head is swimming from all of this I don’t do well with compliments, I always thought of myself as myself, now it’s all of you who think I am……………….
Oh …!! I thought I was reading the screenplay of a horror movie :p
Perfect interpretation of the picture, and your theme would serve as a perfect catalyst for the others..!! Good work..!! 🙂
I say, you start writing screenplays for movies :p
Finally after more than a week of being unable to check on everybody’s posts, I really did missed out on plenty of happenings! You’ve set out such a brilliant Sweety! Hands down to the master word painter 😀
Hehe ! wow that is kind of cute too 😛 And would suit..you are an expert at sewing it all up together 😉 or ‘The weaver’ or even ‘The man at the spinning wheel’ 😀
Personally, I think the most difficult part of writing a story is the introduction or the beginning. There’s a lot of thinking going on and it present the challenge of luring and evoking a reader into getting hooked with the story and you have managed that! This is so ace:)
Thank you so much dear for your appreciation of my effort . But I did enjoy the fact that I had to begin the story…It has its share of responsibilities but the liberties one can take is also more . You get to choose your characters and mould them the way you want …So its a little of both … 😀
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I’ve have been up to no good my head is swimming from all of this I don’t do well with compliments, I always thought of myself as myself, now it’s all of you who think I am……………….
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Love the fast pace of your work. Such a blast to read this. Looking forward to reading more.
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Thank you so much..you must follow the other links …they are all very interesting 🙂
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Thanks for the tip. Yes, the titles sound cool. Will check out the links 😉
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My pleasure..happy reading 🙂
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Oh …!! I thought I was reading the screenplay of a horror movie :p
Perfect interpretation of the picture, and your theme would serve as a perfect catalyst for the others..!! Good work..!! 🙂
I say, you start writing screenplays for movies :p
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Thank you Samjoth but ‘I thought I was reading the screenplay’…was uncalled for exaggeration 😛 Glad that you enjoyed reading it , albeit a bit late 😉
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Ya I know, I am a bit late..!! The lazy kind, you see.!! 😛
I think the word “exaggeration” is itself an uncalled emotion..!! 😛
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Finally after more than a week of being unable to check on everybody’s posts, I really did missed out on plenty of happenings! You’ve set out such a brilliant Sweety! Hands down to the master word painter 😀
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Hehe !! I didn’t mean for you to reciprocate the appreciation 😉 But thank you…I like the expression “master word painter’ 😀
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You’re most welcome 😀 I think we should all have a nickname, Moses is called Papa Fiction, Ruth is Mama Fiction, you’re master word painter hehe
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Hehe !! that’s nice…I like my nick name then and what should yours be then..?? Mr magician !! or the illusionist ! May be we can have a vote 😛
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I was thinking of a more subtle one like “The Tailor” hehehe 😛
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Hehe ! wow that is kind of cute too 😛 And would suit..you are an expert at sewing it all up together 😉 or ‘The weaver’ or even ‘The man at the spinning wheel’ 😀
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The latter would be too long hehe. What do you think about having a name for our group? 😀
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Brilliant idea ! Any suggestions…??
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I can’t think of any yet hehe 🙂
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oh… 😦
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Tight, effortless read, lots of great images, can’t wait to read more
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Thank you so much for your visit and your kind words…I am glad you enjoyed it …My blogger friends will soon come out with its continuing parts 🙂
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part four is out! https://fictionlimbo.wordpress.com/2015/01/03/the-shadows-on-the-wall/
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ok..will check it out soon 😀
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Personally, I think the most difficult part of writing a story is the introduction or the beginning. There’s a lot of thinking going on and it present the challenge of luring and evoking a reader into getting hooked with the story and you have managed that! This is so ace:)
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Thank you so much dear for your appreciation of my effort . But I did enjoy the fact that I had to begin the story…It has its share of responsibilities but the liberties one can take is also more . You get to choose your characters and mould them the way you want …So its a little of both … 😀
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True! That’s the beauty of both sides of the coin. You gave the story such a back bone. It was a great start. Let’s see how it plays out. 😀
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very good start Sweety 🙂 perfect use of the pic.. 🙂
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Thanks Saya… Yes it is a great picture ..I had only to use a little imagination to get the story moving ..not much of a job 😉
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but it is a good setting 🙂
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I loved this! your description was first class! cant wait to read more….(and of course for my turn to contribute!) 🙂
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Thank you so much ! Haha ! me too cannot wait 😀
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Hehehe….:)
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Felt like I was right in the middle of it!
So well written and vivid! 😀
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Thank you so much Manvishah..so glad you liked it…looking forward to the next parts eagerly 🙂
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Such a vivid story. Drew me right in. Yes, the picture is lovely and the story is interesting:-)
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Thank you so much Sona…I am happy I was able to do some justice to the picture 🙂
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Wow! You kept me captivated throughr out the story. Your description is spot on. Can’t wait for the next part 🙂 Nothing like a good mystery
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Thank you so much Ameena for your lovely words of encouragement… Yes , I love mystery stories too ..Am equally curious about the next part 😀
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haha.. didn’t I tell you, you will love this one?! 😀 See the mysterious start!! This is going to be suspense thriller 😀 Great start 🙂
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Haha ! And you were so right 😛 thank you..glad you liked it 😀
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😀
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Still waiting for next part!
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Wow ! Great start…Here we move on to another mysterious world……of fantasy, suspense and thrill……very drscriptive and engrossing piece.
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Thank you so much dear for your motivating words… 😀
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