The Writing on the Wall - Read My Story in Fiction Feast

I knew, as soon as I started stripping the wallpaper in my dining room, that there was a story to tell.

We had been having major building work done in our downstairs rooms - the kitchen and dining room knocked into one and a conservatory added. Living out of boxes and with a houseful of builders, plumbers, carpenters and plasterers for several months had not been a bed of roses but now we were about to embark on the part I had been looking forward to - decorating and making the living space our own.

When I had first moved in, I had simply painted over the existing wallpaper but now, with pieces ripped where walls had been moved or doors added, it was time to strip the whole lot back and start again.

What I found, was that the wallpaper had been added to an original paper dating from when the house was first built (early 60s). Stripping two lots of paper (plus backing paper) was not as easy as I had thought and the job was slow and relentless.

As I was beginning to die of boredom, I noticed a colour change on the wall under the paper - it was the beginning of some writing. Intrigued, I concentrated on this area until each letter and then word was uncovered.

I guess you are wondering what it said. Well, what had been written by an unknown hand on the bare plaster in 1961 was 'This room has potential Kevin'. I have no idea who wrote it or why - or who Kevin was but the seed of a story had been sown.

My story 'Remember' is in this week's Take a Break Fiction Feast. The words uncovered on my heroine's wall are different to mine but there is always a little part of me or my life in my stories. Let me know if you enjoy it.