The Shadow – Part 2

The following day, on my way to the pub, I decided to take a look down the road with the Wrighton factory. I don’t really know why. I was curious, I suppose. I wondered if I would get any clue about the man I had noticed the previous evening.

At the entrance to the cul-de-sac I noticed the name of the road “Rosemead Road” and realised that although I had lived in the area for years this was the first time I had noted the name. It’s funny how you notice things for the first time. There was no reason for any traffic to use this road, it didn’t lead anywhere except to the gates to Wrightson’s at the end. There were cars pulled up on the pavement. Some of them looked like they hadn’t moved in a while. The 50 yards or so of the road were lined on both sides by small office or light industrial units. They were all boarded up, they had fences in front of them and the gates were all locked. Grass and other vegetation was starting to take hold here and there. When I reached Wrightson’s gate, looked hard at the padlock on the gate. It didn’t look like it had been disturbed. The gatehouse cum security lodge was boarded up and dorbed with the usual tagging graffiti. On its flat roof buddleia had gained a foothold and grasses were growing in the gutters. The whole place exuded an atmosphere of decay and abandonment.

(22st December 2016 – 260 words)