Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Board - Bored (01/12/23)
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TITLE: Morton Manor | Previous Challenge Entry
By Corinne Smelker
01/18/23 -
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“I remember when it was filled with light, music, dancing, parties, and laughter,” my 97-year-old great-grandmother reminisced. “Oh, it was a sight to see. I begged my parents to walk us down the street just so we could catch a glimpse of the grandeur.”
That was 90 years ago. These days it just loomed. The gardens were a veritable jungle, the perimeter wall was crumbling, and the mansion stood windowless, with a roofline that looked like a drunken giant had plowed into it. The nameplate Morgan Manor had long since been stolen. Regardless, I was drawn to it – I could look beyond what it currently was to what it could be and what it had been.
According to village lore, the place was haunted. Even my great granny believed that. But who was haunting it was never clear. As far as we knew, no one had died in the house. Truth be told, the reason for the home standing empty for so long was far more mundane – the owners went bankrupt, and the bank repossessed the place, but no one was rich enough to afford the price tag. So there it lay, rotting.
Vandals and squatters had left their mark too. At one time, the windows and doors had been boarded up. But the plywood was swiftly removed, regardless of how often the city replaced it. Occasionally the police stopped by and evicted anyone they found, but their efforts were lackluster at best.
One Sunday afternoon, I was poking around on Google, reading Reddit and Quora, and I came across an article that explained how the municipality was trying to revitalize certain parts of the city and, as a result, was allowing eligible buyers the opportunity to buy a house for $1. I checked the criteria, and I qualified.
Early on Monday morning, I drove to City Hall, looked through the database of eligible locations, and found, to my great delight and surprise, the street address for Morton Manor. I could barely believe it.
I handed over my $1 to the bored employee. “You know the rules, right? You have a year to bring the structure up to code, complete the electrical and plumbing, and at least have a floor plan in place, even if the interior is incomplete. If you miss the deadline, the city will repossess the property, and you will not get back any of your money.”
“I have a surprise for you,” I said to my great-grandma as I picked her up that afternoon for our weekly shopping trek. I stopped in front of Morton Manor. “This is mine.”
Her eyes misted over, and she closed them as she tremblingly grasped my hand. “I can see it now,” she said, “the light, music, dancing, parties, and laughter.”
“Yes,” I responded, “and for the next year at least, I will have no chance of being bored.”
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