Tuesday Tales 2021-10- 19 bare

It’s time for Tuesday Tales, with authors writing excerpts based on word or picture prompts. The word prompt this week is bare. My snippet is from a cozy mystery. Visit all the talented authors of Tuesday Tales.

Party noises came from the house, while the water in the fountain splashed and gurgled. I doubted our approach had been overheard. Pulling Debra behind the stonework, I peeked around it to see what the mysterious figure was doing. Due to repairs, Opal didn’t allow anyone but workers up on the balcony. I frowned. In fact, she kept that wing locked, so how did the person even get out there? Was it one of the party guests? From the pale moon and dim outside light, I couldn’t exactly see the person but could see his distorted shadow leaning and moving as if fiddling with something.

Hearing Debra’s indrawn breath in readiness to speak, I turned toward her with a finger to my lips. She pressed hers together with a look of disapproval, and I looked around again. I could see him now, as well as his shadow. In fact it looked like two shadows, because the figure appeared to be dressed all in black. Even his head was covered. Something about his appearance made me think of a monochromatic Deadpool. Surely a guest hadn’t worn a superhero costume to an Edwardian ball. It definitely wasn’t the help fetching something for his mistress or a lost party guest searching for a bathroom. The man, if it was a man, held a square object in his hands, close to his eyes as if squinting to read or see a detail. Smaller than a breadbox floated in my head.

“Who is it?” Debra whispered, a slight tremble in her voice.

I whispered close to her ear, “Can’t tell. Stay here, and don’t let him see you. I’m going to try and get closer.” Slipping off my shoes, I moved with bare feet over the tile and then onto the plush grass toward the gazebo. My damn dress rustled with every step, and I slowed down and more or less crept. Reaching the latticed edge, I crouched down and slipped around it toward the part facing the balcony.

I craned my neck and peered toward the figure. With his feet wrapped around the column, he shimmied down hand over hand like a large monkey. Reaching the railing of the first level, he perched for a fleeting moment, his feet curved trapeze artist style. Then he plopped to the ground and ran straight toward the gazebo—and me.

I hope you enjoyed the snippet based on the word prompt bare. Thanks for stopping by. Check out the other authors at Tuesday Tales.

Cheers & Happy Reading!

Flossie Benton Rogers, Conjuring the Magic with Spirited Stories

All rights reserved, copyright @ 2021 Flossie Benton Rogers