Writing for Fun
March 2018
A Mystery - Diane Silverston
No one really knew when or where the rumour started but the story had been told over the years and, just like Chinese whispers, it had been changed here and there. So no one really knew which parts were the original tale, which were true and which were wild imaginations of furtive minds. It was repeated from one generation to another and passed down through the families. It was the mystery of the village.
Then suddenly one day a stranger moved into the Old Rectory. A removal van was seen outside and furniture carried in. No one had heard about this happening, which was unusual for the small village, normally everyone quickly heard the news. No one had expected the Old Rectory to be habited again but it had happened.
This event caused great discussions in the street, in the shop and church and behind closed doors.
Who was the stranger? Why had they moved in? Did they know the story about the house?
The following Sunday the stranger appeared at the morning service in the ancient village church. Those there were amazed. She had sat in the pew which had remained empty for the last 20 years. The pew that had previously been reserved for the family of the Old Rectory.
The present vicar was shaken but he carried on with the service. He had been the Vicar here for about 10 years and lived in the Vicarage of the next village. A modern building with all the mod cons, no stuffy dark rooms, attics or basements for him. Surrounded by a neat well-kept garden rather than the wilderness and overgrown Rectory garden.
After the service the parishioners stood outside and watched as She walked casually down the main street to her new home. Then they scurried away to tell others what had occurred. Who was She? Why had She moved to the village? Why to the Old Rectory? After 20 years of being empty it couldn't be a very pleasant abode.
Each morning She came out, walked to the church, spoke to no one, walked around the grounds, looking, searching, what for? People started to watch her, speculating, whispering, it was all very strange. No one knew anything about her, except She was always well dressed, walked in a careful but meaningful way, spoke to no one, never went into the shop or Post Office.
After a few weeks someone noticed that new flowers were regularly put on the small grave right in the remote corner of the churchyard. There had never been flowers there before. Who was leaving them on the grave? The headstone said 'MARY'. Most people had never noticed before. The date showed it had been there for 50 years.
Everyone was talking about it.
One of the older ladies in the village told her friends that she thought that grave was connected to the mystery of the village. She remembered when she was a young mother about 30 years old, there had been a young maid at the rectory who had suddenly died, it wasn't clear if she had died of a serious illness or killed herself, there was a lot of talk at the time. The Rector of the time had been in office for many years and well respected but people still talked about the situation. About 10 years later the Rector's wife had died and as his children had already left home, he lived there on his own until his death 20 years age.
The villagers started to question each other, could 'Mary' be the maid? What had really caused her death? Were they about to discover more about the village mystery?
The next strange event was when an ambulance was seen outside the Old Rectory. What was happening? It transpired that She had been taken ill and taken to hospital. The villagers tried to find out more but no one seemed to know anything.
Then the news filtered through, She had died. Her solicitor had visited the Vicar to organise the funeral. She had requested in her will that She wanted to be buried in the churchyard next to her mother. The solicitor gave the Vicar the information he needed. The Stranger's name to go on the headstone was 'Mary' and She was 50 years old.