storytime: a murder mystery at an artist residency

really puts a new spin on heavenly ... ✨

As most of you know, i’m currently at an artist residency in the countryside of France.

A place for writers and artists to come together, create magic, eat delicious foods, overlook a lake so blue and green reflecting the trees and sky above it.

It’s heavenly

and yet,

on the third day here

there was a death,

of two

found in the woods,

outside the gates

of the chateau’s escape

men in uniform

crowded the streets

their guns drawn

as if war was near

i later learned they were looking for

a couple

in the green forest

where the orange slugs crawl

and the winds carry secrets

of both life and death

“they were in their 80s”

one of us found out

“and had dementia”

another added -

it became a topic of conversation around the breakfast table

as one of us read a news article

that they’d driven 12 hours off their map,

telling no one of their departure,

and of all places they’d end up

was in the middle of the woods

only a few miles away from

us

on her morning run before news broke

celie found a parked car in the middle of the trail

a path too small for motor vehicles

forced to brush her body

up against the tall grass

where ticks and other creatures hang,

yet what caught her eye as most peculiar

all four windows were

d

o

w

n

and the back door completely open.

it reminded me of the time someone parked their car in front of my driveway in Los Angeles with the same exact description

Only to find out the car did not belong to some drunk driver who abandoned it after a night out - but it was stolen.

the news reports no foul play

and yet

her head was found in the water

and his body upright

a few miles away

in a barn

missing!

his!

dentures!!!

so i did what most writers do,

i went into the woods

one early morning

the sun was out

the forest still dark,

a cool breeze passed by as my shoes crunched on branches.

What was that? i thought,

i turned my neck and saw

a small rabbit

on the trail

it looked at me, i looked at it

and then it spoke

RUN.

---

this story was a work of creative non-fiction until the very end. may the couple rest in peace. according to the news there was no foul play and while things do seem strange i shall believe the reports as true.

Stay creative & safe mi friends!!