Miss Claire’s House

Miss Claire lived here for sixty years. To those who got to know her, she was a kindly if distant eccentric. Her sideboards were full of stones she had collected from the river and pinecones that she had found in the woods. She never married. No relatives ever appeared.

When she died, it was four days before her body was found. Her will caused something of a furore.

Miss Claire had left everything to the trees.

So her house stood empty, gradually tumbling into ruin. Outside, the trees drew nearer.

This is as true as you want it to be.

Damian Mark Whittle