Sunday, July 10, 2011

The barn

The first time I saw the old barn that was to serve as our garage I was intrigued by it. Built of limestone a long time ago, the ivy covered walls were beginning to crumble away. Inside; the enormous beams that supported the roof sported the scars of ancient generations of woodworm.

The barn really captured my imagination. Everyone that visited the house that summer was invited to look around my barn and write a short story about it by the beginning of September. What a mistake that was – my inspiration flew out of the window.

Sometimes on a hot day, I would just go into the cool barn and look at the walls. I loved their creamy yellow colour, no stone was the same size or shape and looking closely, I could make out the faint traces of fossils. At the far end was the timber frame of what once had been a doorway. The floor had been concreted years ago and was showing more signs of wear than the ancient walls! Still no inspiration came to me.

I discovered that under the village the remains of a network of tunnels had been found in recent years. Where had the blocked up doorway led to? What kind of lives did the people live who had called the barn their own in the past?

I never did write that short story about the barn. The people who came and went through the now blocked up doorway, carried their secrets away with them.

8 comments:

A Lady's Life said...

I love old barns and all the stories and secrets they contain.
Usually it is a sign of life and living. Even when it's old ,the smells
prevail upon you that yes...this is a good place to be.

Rosemary said...

Oooh - leftovers from the Underground movement during WWII??

The story will come when it's ready.

I follow you on ExposeYourBlog.

Don said...

Way cool! I bet the tunnels and the walled up door lead to adventures with WWII underground movement too!! Would love to know the history of it!

Don
http://exposeyourblog.com

JamieDedes said...

Nice story and your short story may come with time. :-)

Bronzi said...

I too love barns. My family is from Virginia and all of my relatives have old barns. For your story, you should check out the history and fine out if the barn is part of the old underground movement. Then you will be able to write your story and publish it. Come find me on my blog and I think I will do a couple of post on publishing to help you with your story. And my dear, you have just started the first part of your story. If you do publish your story. Do come by and let me know and let others know that I inspired you to do the story.

Mary Lou said...

I am the same way with old buildings. Dereted houses with blackberries growing through them...Barns with holes in the sides, I wonder what stories they could tell if only those old boards would talk. (We used trees, not stones to build our houses, and our OLDEST ones are only 200 years old!)

T - Another Geek Girl said...

Good lord girl. I just made way from Motley Crue and Poison to pop in and check up on you--yeah, they're still rockin' Made me feel like a kid again.

Popped into BE and holy crap! It's like watching an boat sink slowly... each day a little less.

Loved this story. The town where I lived in Germany had tunnel networks underground (what town in Europe doesn't, right?) An escape route that ran from the castle in all directions. We used to go up to the castle at night and just hang out, such an other-worldly vibe at night.

Man... if those old stone walls could talk, just imagine the stories they'd tell.

Yeah. I never wrote about it either. Sad, that fleeting inspiration.

Missed ya babe <3
Mwah!
T

Anji said...

But that was the story.....