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Prompt #F219

Prompt #F219: The Garden of Statues. A character realizes the statues in the park move only when no one is looking, and they’re getting closer to the exit.

It was a bright sunny Sunday morning and I decided to take a walk in my grandfather's garden. I drove over from my hometown, only about twenty minutes away and parked on the street. Grandfather created this garden in the late seventies. He had a thing about statues. He wanted them positioned in a certain manner. Grandfather wanted all the chess pieces from a complete set designed and properly placed in the garden based on a chessboard.

As you came into the entrance, you would face the chessboard with a white square in the far right of the garden. This is where, in chess, the white pieces would be placed, just like in a regular game of chess. So all 32 pieces of the game of chess were represented in grandfather's garden.

I just loved to walk through it and pretend that I was making the pieces move. I wasn't of course but it was a mind game. Well, today when I started my walk, I noticed something strange. I could not believe my eyes, but one of the pieces, a white pawn, was missing. Now, mind you, this is near impossible. These statues or chess pieces are very heavy. It would take some ingenuity to move or take a piece from the garden. They were carved from marble and especially weighted at the base to prevent any movement. I continued my survey to see if any other pieces had been tampered with. Nothing else seem to be disturbed. After making the rounds in the garden, I decided to leave for the day. I needed to go home, make some calls, especially to the caretakers of grandfather's garden.

After speaking with the caretakes of grandfather's garden, I was assured that everything was fine when they left last week after completing some maintenance. All 32 pieces were there. They even asked me to go back and make a recount. Maybe I made an error in counting. I told them that I knew how to count and was not mistaken!

Several weeks went by and I decided to head back to the garden. I was somewhat afraid to enter not knowing what I might find. However, I started my walk and to my amazement, the white pawn that was missing was off to the side of the board. In its place was a black pawn. What the hell is going on? Someone is playing with my mind and when I find out who, they are going to be in big trouble. What is even stranger, I could not find any footprints, or scuff marks or any sign of pieces being moved. I decided I would have to report this to the local police department and see if they could help me or see if anyone has reported any activity in grandfather's garden.

After my meeting with the police department, they had no knowledge of any strange activity in the garden and since it is open and free for the public to roam, there wasn't much they could do to help. They did suggest that cameras should be installed and should have been years ago. I agreed that would be a place to start.

I had cameras installed on all four corners of the chessboard. This was somewhat costly, but I thought before spending anymore money, I would start with just the four corners. There was a backup system that included a tape which would allow the system to monitor and record and hold any activity for several days. I was also able to get updates via my phone if any activity was received by the cameras.

A few days went by and nothing seem to be taking place at the garden. I went about my normal business and assumed all was fine. And then, one after noon I got a hit on my phone with a somewhat of a "double take" picture of movement in the garden. I could not tell what had happened so I decided I needed to drive over and see for myself.

After parking on the street, I walked in and went to where I thought the activity took place. To my amazement, the white pawn was back in its place and the black pawn had returned to its location. Again, no signs of any movement what so ever! At this point, I am about to lose my mind. I was startled by some very light snickering coming from within the garden but no one was there but me. It was as if some of the pieces or statues were making the snickering. Now I know I am losing my mind. I left immediately.

After checking with the company who installed the cameras; having them pull the tapes and analyze the activity, they could find none. I said that is impossible as I saw it on my phone. They said, sorry, but what we have on tape is what you saw, which is nothing. They indicated I must have look at something else. I was furious but since I could not pull up they tape on my phone again, and didn't keep a copy, I was left with no argument.

I was so upset with this whole mess, I decided to let it go for weeks. Then, I got curious and when back to the garden. All was quiet and all the pieces were in their assigned places.

On my way home, I could not stop thinking about what had happen to me. Was my mind going? Is there some other explanation. Could it be that the pieces were coming alive? He regained my senses and continued on home. I don't think I will ever look at another chess game again.