Friday, April 13th, 1877 – A story of fiction

We had another writer’s group this morning. I’m really enjoying this experience and learning a lot. Each meeting has a different subject that we write about. Today being Friday the 13th we used that as our subject. Friday the 13th is known for being an “unlucky” day but also for the Hollywood slasher movies (i.e. Friday the 13th, Halloween, etc.). I will admit I watched a few of them in my youth but I wouldn’t/couldn’t watch them now. Not my thing. We had 20 minutes to write our story. Not long but it is a great exercise.

Two people wrote about being unlucky on this day and two others wrote slasher stories. I went for more of a mystery.  Since I had already written a bit at our meeting I thought I would add to it and that would be today’s blog. So…here goes.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

On that fateful Friday, April 13th, 1877, the last tile was secured in the wine cellar of our home. Although the tile is the same as all the others so carefully arranged, this tile holds the secrets of long ago.

There have been stories told of strange happenings in the vineyard. Secret visitors in dark capes arriving on horseback in the dead of night.

Of tunnels being dug by workers who disappeared once the digging was done. Perhaps this was the only way to keep them silent.

Some stories speak of eerie sounds that were heard but could never be identified. Neither human nor animal.

Other stories suggested that some of the wine barrels held something other than wine. It is said that horse-drawn carts rode into the village at night. Both to deliver and pickup these strange barrels.

Perhaps one of the biggest mysteries of the vineyard is the identity of the skeleton in the village jail.

Oh there have been rumors…the tax man who came to collect but never left or the vineyard worker who threatened to tell the truths and had to be silenced.

You see…there is a lot of mystery here in the vineyard. Many have tried to solve these mysteries over the years.

But even though we know that behind the last tile placed there is documentation and proof of all of these mysteries…no one has been able to figure out just which tile was the last one placed.

The End.