The realtor fumbled with the enormous key ring. “Sorry about this. We haven’t had time to get a lockbox put on. It just came on the market.”
“So you said.” Squinting in the icy wind, her irritation was evident.
“Here we are.” The stiff lock clanked. The realtor held the door open. Dim blue light from the frosted windows made the enormous space look like a black and white photograph, the atmosphere still carrying a faint odor of stale sweat.
“The old man who owned it died five years ago,” the realtor said. “The daughter finally decided to sell it.”
Nice atmosphere – from the location to the monosyllabic buyer.
Not that I have ever boxed (or will ever) but there’s something almost romantic about those old boxing gyms. I do strength training at my little neighborhood gym (as opposed to bodybuilding…long story) and I’d love to lift at an old school gym like that.
A wistful little piece that left me wondering why the daughter had waited five years to sell the place,
I think because she only found out he died this year, maybe. I was imagining him lying in the bed Norman Bates-style 😉
Great mystery set-up. You have me thinking of all sorts of questions.
These lines seem to be the tip of quite a deep ice berg. I hope they managed to clean the carpet before the place went on the market.
Best wishes,
Rowena
It can be hard to let go.
Brilliant. So much is not said.
The lingering sweat – somehow I believe that would never be eradicated. Great story.
You set this up well. I had wondered if the woman was actually the daughter and this was the first time she was seeing it, which might account for her brittleness.
There is a lingering mystery to this, nicely done.
This leaves me wanting to read more
Great atmosphere.
Leaves me wondering if ‘she’ is really the daughter coming for one last look at her father’s legacy. Great writing this week!
You draw us in with the very atmospheric descriptions. Nice one.
It’s sad how many of these little places have gone to the wall. Where I live it’s not the rents, but the business rates that drive them under. Sad tale, Randy, but hey, life’s not all happy endings!
Great description of the interior of the building! Love the image. It is sad, however, that a one loved place now might fall under the impatience of the world.