The people carried their Virgen
in solemn procession through the isolated mountain village, the priest celebrated
Mass, and then it was fiesta time. An
enthusiastic band played, smiling adults wove the formal sequences of centuries-old
dances, and joyful children shrieked and played.
Later, Consuela presided over vast pans of paella, Jorge
distributed liberal quantities of vino, and
the mayor lit fireworks. They partied feverishly until moonrise, when suddenly there
was nothing but silence.
The solitary hiker hoping for beer and tapas found only ghost-haunted streets, a pan rusted to holes, and bunting draped like icicles over a frozen
plaza.
This second picture is the photo prompt from Rochelle's blog -http://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/
where you will find a link to more 100-word stories
Oof...creepy...
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought a volcano went off and incinerated everything, but you said "frozen plaza" which makes me wonder....was this a celebration to keep certain gods happy and it didn't work out?
You could be right, TCR - one can't always explain ghosts!
ReplyDeleteVery atmospheric. I liked this.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sandra.
DeleteGreat contrast between the festivities at the start and the scene through the hiker's eyes
ReplyDeletethanks Siobhan - I hope the hiker had his own supplies to get him home!
DeleteCelebrations in a ghost town maybe. What a wonderful slice of life you captured, I find myself hankering for some paella now :-)
ReplyDeleteReal paella cooked in the open - you can't beat it!
DeleteNice contrast between the happy build-up and the abrupt ending. I like that you ended it the way you did, rather than just having them be gone. I've got a yen of paella now, too.
ReplyDeletejanet
Thank you Janet - can you imagine being that lone hiker?
ReplyDeleteDear Lizy,
ReplyDeleteThis has a delightfully hollow ring to it. Great contrasts.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks Rochelle - that bunting and the empty streets made the story for me!
DeleteI almost thought that they had celebrated so hard that the village was just sleeping... But it could have been ghosts as well. Coming to deserted villages has happened to me as well.
ReplyDeleteEerie feeling, isn't it? Even just a ruined house has a similar effect.
DeleteIt's the ultimate in ghost towns. Cool.
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by Alice.
DeleteI'm wondering what would have happened if the lone hiker had arrived before moon-rise. Would he have disappeared along with them? It's probably a good thing he came in the daylight. Good ghost story. Well written.
ReplyDeleteOoh - possibilities abound! Thanks PSJoshi.
DeleteA bit of a nightmare for the traveller. Or a time warp. Whatever, great bit of spookiness.
ReplyDeleteCheers Patrick. I think I imagined a time-warp when I wrote it, but I can't remember now! Time has faded the memory.
DeleteHow scary!Loved the haunted festivities idea -good for the traveler that he missed them by a whisker ;-) A cool story :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you Atreyee - the hiker was lucky, wasn't he.
DeleteLiz, I'm trying to leave a compliment on your story, but it won't publish. I'll try this 2 more times, if it doesn't publish - I give up - but your story is GOOD! Nan :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for persevering, Nan - you made it eventually!
DeleteWell done! I definitely felt the ghosts.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anon - perhaps next time you visit you'll leave your name so I can thank you properly?
Delete