The Village!

    It lies abandoned and uncared for. Long since evacuated it has lain neglected and deserted for these past 47 years. Fallen into dereliction, windows have been blown in, roofs have collapsed, doors and window frames rotted away. The undergrowth has reclaimed the land, and has overgrown many decaying buildings. Ivy clings to the walls of the Bell Tower. There’s a hole in the dome of what was once Number 2’s residence. 6 Private is all but demolished! The tree that was leaning towards the cottage finally came crashing down in a storm one night when the wind blew high in the month of February. The interior then open to the elements helped rot the furniture. The paintings and walls covered in mildew. Fungus sprouts from the once well polished wood of the writing bureau.
    The roads and paths that run through The Village now overgrown and indistinguishable. Japanese knotweed is a recent invader of The Village, it grows through the concrete of the central Piazza. The water in the pool green, yet teaming with life. Water beetles, pond skaters, frog spawn and the like. Signposts still stand. Their plastic candy striped canopies discoloured, as are the black and white striped poles. The loudspeakers of the public address system stand silent, no longer playing music, or presenting public announcements.
   Down by the quayside the once proud Stone boat, which was always good in any weather, de-masted. The prow of the vessel snapped off in a gale like a branch from a tree, and long since rotted away in the water. On the lawn of the Old People’s home, lie the overturned tables, with their colourful plastic canopies un-rotted but discoloured.   There’s no-one around, no overhead sound of the helicopter, only that of seagulls. No-one comes to The Village anymore. And yet, and yet…….out there across the sand! A spherical shaped object rolling and bounding across the beach. It would seem, it would seem, that a Guardian had been left to oversee The Village, and is it’s sole occupant.
   It would appear that no-one has ever returned to the place referred to as The Village, and why would they? There’s nothing there of any great importance, and yet why the need for a spectre, this Guardian to have been set to guard over The Village? It would suggest that there is somewhere within its boundaries, something someone thinks to be worth protecting. Whatever can it be?
Be seeing you