Tuesday, February 8, 2011

The Attic


MAGPIE TALES
http://magpietales.blogspot.com/2011/02/mag-52.html
supplied the prompt

THE ATTIC

I grew up in a pleasant house on a pleasant street in a pleasant town. That just about covers the subject. Everything was bland; there is really nothing more to say about it. My parents were rather bland, too; the sort described as 'lovely people'. Dad was a Bank Clerk and Mum was your regular Stay-at-home Home-maker. I was an only child. It was 1950.  The street was Smith Street. Get the picture?

Well, you don't, actually, because I haven't mentioned my imagination. It was wild. I lived inside my brain more than I lived inside my body, if that makes sense. I read voraciously, and I created stories of my own. They galloped through my brain so fast that I never had time to write them down, but they sustained and energised me through the long, bland days.

I became fixated on the house over the road. The owners were totally unremarkable, like everyone else in our street; they 'kept themselves to themselves'. This was considered a virtue, for some reason. I only knew them as Mr and Mrs Sinclair. We only exchanged nods and the occasional time of day. They didn't interest me in the least.

But their attic window did. It was blacked-out, in contrast to the other windows, which were curtained normally. And the black was never removed. Every day I glanced up to see if, by chance, this was the day for Mrs Sinclair to throw open the window and give the room an airing. But she never did.

I started to take an interest in the attic when I was about five years old. I inhabited it with goblins, who crept out at night and played tricks on the neighbours. Later on, when I was nine or ten, I imagined a troop of Creatures From Outer Space living up there, ready to take-over the world!  Then, later, there were the romantic ideas...... a beautiful girl was imprisoned up there, only waiting for me to rescue her. In my teens, I have to admit that my imaginings became quite torrid! What if the Sinclairs were running a brothel! Over the years that attic was inhabited by a remarkable array of characters and situations. It was a hive of imagined activity, although it would be hard to find anything less exciting, in reality.

In due course, Real Life took charge of me. I left home, with a sense of relief and found the adventures I had been yearning for for so long. I lived in the city; I married; I had children; I travelled. The attic was forgotten.
Until today, when I opened my old hometown newspaper. And there was the headline..........
'Skeleton Discovered in Attic of Demolished House on Smith Street. Police Investigate.'.
*

23 comments:

Caty said...

oh my!

Maggie said...

OMG, I've got shivers. Awesome!!

Margaret Gosden said...

Yet another short, short story to your credit! Amazing!

Unknown said...

you see your hunches were correct

it's always the quiet ones who keep

to themselves

Deborah said...

Ooh ... very good.

Geoff Maritz said...

How about that. Same attic or a different one? Goeff.

Unknown said...

Love it. That house looks just like one in my little home town, which happened to be out library. love your style.
QMM

izzy said...

Our imagination serves us well, No?
Maybe she went up to air out the attic finally... Thanks!

Lyn said...

Chilling and funny..wonderful..thanks for the great ending!!

Shari said...

OMG! Very moving. Somehow I didn't see the ending coming. Makes you want to go back and run up the stairs and break down that door!

Louise said...

I love the way we can attach our imagination to things and create a whole new world. Brilliant.

Ann Grenier said...

Bravo-Love it!

Kristen Haskell said...

Was it alien or human?

Trellissimo said...

Nice twist!

Anonymous said...

This is an awesome piece of work! Love it! I too have always lived in my own head and I still do. It is a good way to be. The ending on this is priceless though. :o)

Lynn ... said...

Gotta' watch out for whose silent types! I loved this because I think everyone in their lives has a neighbor they're never REALLY 100% sure about. Creepy people everywhere!!! Love this!!

Kathe W. said...

oh you got me! Good one!

Kavita said...

Woowww!! What a thrill ride this was!! I guess old memories have a real funny way of creeping back at ya...don't they?!
The end was remarkable!! And now my imagination's running wild!! :))

Doctor FTSE said...

A lovely story told with panache!

Helen said...

Nice and spooky ... just the way I like my Magpies.

Alice Audrey said...

You mean your imagination didn't go far enough? Ah, the innocence of the 50's.

Grandma's Goulash said...

The story lulled any thoughts of the sinister - until that chilling ending. Well done.

~T~ said...

Ah hah! Great story.