It was a good thing no one saw what happened on the upper level of the third floor. God knows Timothy (known simply as "Tim") did not see it. And to be crystal clear, he'd say it again when questioned by family, "I did not cause any of the events that unfolded that weekend!" The event under scrutiny occurred at his uncle Horace's home upon invitation. Of course, Tim wasn't about to leave his entourage behind.
Being the first guest to arrive at Mount Haven didn't earn any extra amenities. To be sure, Uncle Horace did not believe in "overabundance". The invite itself served as a generous gesture. Or as Tim often corrected the family, Uncle was stingy. He couldn't blame him. Upkeep on that monstrosity must be ginormous.
The fact that word among the family spread that Uncle laid off a few household staff suggested that he wasn't as wealthy as he proclaimed these last couple years.
But begrudge Uncle his bragging rights, Tim would not participate in. The butt of the family jokes for decades, Uncle was soon embraced as a respectable member the day they witnessed him on national television. There he stood with pride holding the winning ticket to one of that year's multi-million dollar lottery draws.
Tim never had much to do with Uncle before he won the lottery. So, hanging out with him afterwards evoked an uneasy sense of hypocrisy.
He must admit, though, that he was curious how and on what Uncle splurged the millions since he fell into riches he didn't earn. Somehow, he knew that Uncle and his fortune would part ways, sooner or later.
So, he considered the invite before sooner or later was broadcast to all the family.
Accepting the kind gesture that weekend didn't seem as if he was schmoozing like the rest of my family who suddenly acknowledged Uncle even existed.
Did them no good anyway. Everyone in the family acknowledged that Uncle was cheap. His newly-found wealth didn't change that.
The mystery of his recent misfortunes must lay hidden in the massive mansion. Of that, they were certain.
The twins, Emily and Emilia, arrived next. Ecstatic, to say the least, they quickly unpacked their luggage, changed into alluring attire, then flirted down two flights of stairs in hopes of finding Tim for a quick tour. Engrossed in small talk, they delayed the tour.
Tim's best friend, Jesse finally arrived three hours before midnight. Surprising, the staff continued to service their needs, so all ate and drank heartily, then headed to the outdated theater room for fun and games.
The floorboards throughout responded to the heavy traffic by creaking something fierce. A definite sign that perhaps Uncle hadn't tended to the more serious repairs required.
The mansion was, after all, aged past a century and a half before he embraced its restored charm. Or so the real estate agent promoted heavily such restoration.
The only visible sign of attention lay in the manicured lawn with rows of intricate designs. The style of landscape Uncle thought impressive surrounded the three-story brick mansion, adding an arrogance to the otherwise dull facade showcasing ordinary windows with bland shutters.
After fun and games, while watching a classic horror movie, each retired.
An hour later, Tim strode over to the window. Pulling back the drapery, the pale crescent moon shone like a silvery claw in the night sky. It cast long shadows on the front lawn.
As he turned away, out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a red-colored object not readily identifiable streak across the ground. Returning to capture which direction the object headed, he noticed the tall granite statute move in unison with the figures that sat atop as if dancing.
Tim shook his head. Too much wine earlier in the night. The bedroom door creaking opened. Startled, he whirled around to see who would enter his room uninvited.
The effects of the wine began to disappear, but not in time to gather his thoughts nor slip on pants. He discarded them and ran out the door behind the unknown person as fast as he could, his long night shorts flapping.
Meanwhile, Emily and Emilia, lay across the bed engrossed in conversation and manicuring their nails and enjoying a pedicure. Suddenly, a loud thud interrupted as both turned toward the door.
Emily jumped from the bed and eased forward. Another loud thud turned her attention from the door. She froze as she glanced at Emilia wide eyed. Emilia joined her standing in the middle of the room.
They followed the sound of the noise.
"A dumb waiter? Who uses that contraption?" Emily stared blankly while grabbing Emilia's shirt.
Curious about the contraption still in use and who called the service, Emily slowly opened the small door panel.
A blood-curdling scream erupted as she flung her hands in the air, then placed them to cover her ears as she twirled, dancing around the decapitated head that sprung off the dumb waiter and landed on her newly polished toes.
Both girls screamed, then continued while darting from the room.
Tim's urge to run was stifled momentarily by the "where to" dilemma that handcuffed his feet. A fleeting thought slapped his face for not taking time to learn the layout of the mansion. It would have come in handy that second.
Jesse flinched for a moment as he witnessed the twins running toward him. Hands flailing in the air while attempting to speak, they grabbed his arms and pulled him forward as they all ran downstairs.
Finally catching up to Tim, they headed for the front door entrance. They had no idea the head was in front of them as they bolted out the door.
As they streaked across the front lawn, the large iridescent blob tumbled from the window on the top floor, rolled across the lawn, and disappeared somewhere onto the beautifully landscaped yard.
In total shock, not one of them thought to run like heck to their cars and get the hell out of there.
The authorities arrived promptly and afforded all the opportunity to remain there at such time the lead detective had a chance to elicit some semblance of the truth.
Coherent responses weren't immediately forthcoming.
It didn't make sense to be frightened. The deed was done. Gory, yes, but tolerable. Tim didn't know anyone at the mansion anyway. As long as his friends were accounted for, he was good.
Tim did suggest that perhaps authorities might interview a few of the disgruntled staff. Just a theory, he proposed.
The situation was dire and promised to last long into the night.
The aftermath, in all likelihood, would have landed the four of them in jail had not Uncle Horace arrived and vouched for his nephew.
For my Freestyle Collage No. 42, my theme is a haunting vacation experience. A relative of the homeowner, together with his guests experience an unusual first night at the home.
In preparing my theme, I located a lovely free-sourced photo of a castle with manicured grounds.
Source
To that image, I located several member contributions to the LIL. These images added a bit of fantasy and mystery to the scene.
For the twin ladies in the story, I discovered a lovely image. For the scene, all I needed was to duplicate the image and add a different color for one.
Source
Below are the additional images I included to complete my theme:
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Green Bridge by jean52Photos at Pixabay
Blue eye Contributed to the #LIL by @eve66
Evil hands Contributed to the #LIL by @eve66
Blue Water Contributed to the #LIL by @onyechi
Water drop Contributed to the #LIL by @quantumg
Tree portal Contributed to the #LIL by @eve66
Blue Angel Contributed to the #LIL by @eve66
Blue clouds Contributed to the #LIL by @seckorama
Pure Fractal entitled "Two Galls In Space" created by me in Apophysis
To blend all images for the scene, I uploaded them into Canva to take advantage of my Annual Pro Membership Subscription.
I first added a blue sky background to the blank canvas.
Next, I added the castle to finish the canvas and provide a full background by making the image transparent. That way, the sky could be detected.
The tree provided a portal that I placed the ladies image into.
I added the water drop image that resembled a blob tumbling from the top floor of the mansion, out the window, then rolling across the lawn.
Finally, the remaining images added the mystery to the scene.
Below is the completed project:
Thanks for your visit. I hope you liked my freestyle collage theme and short story.
CONTEST RULES
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
, which discusses public domain issues. The post offers valuable information on images for commercial use. Links are included to sources that offer public domain images and other images that are free for commercial uses. Using public domain pictures and free pictures for commercial use are requirements for all collages that are submitted as entries in the LMAC contest and the LMAC Image Library (LIL).
SOURCES:
a) JustClickindiva's Footer created in Canva utilizing its free background and images used with permission from discord admins.
b) Unless otherwise noted, all photos taken by me with my (i) Samsung Galaxy 10" Tablet, (ii) Samsung Phone, & (iii) FUJI FinePix S3380 - 14 Mega Pixels Digital Camera
c) Purple Butterfly part of purchased set of Spiritual Clip Art for my Personal Use
d) All Community logos, banners, page dividers used with permission of Discord Channel admins.
e) Ladies of Hive banner used with permission of and in accordance with the admin's guidelines
f) Thumbnail Image created by me in Canva.
g) "Flames." What is Apophysis 2.09. https://flam3.com/