Tread lightly. Speak softly. This used to be someone’s sanctuary. Or a place of great hazard. Move quietly. You don’t know.
An abandoned place can be a riddle for your readers to solve or a mirror for your character to see themselves in. In one story, a character stands like a stranger in his father’s empty office. In another, the abandoned place becomes a metaphor for a woman’s brain being slowly consumed by Alzheimer’s.
Some places, when abandoned, give off the heat of busy days, like the markets of Saigon late at night. Some are home to ghosts. Some things that look like houses aren’t houses at all.
The explorers we followed this week were at least as interesting as the things they explored. Bored children and terrified adults, a sprightly pensioner in search of an adventure, a fox. Nature taking back what’s hers.
Thank you for the manifold interpretations of last week’s topic, for your evocative descriptions and the many stories yet untold.
The fifth week’s Turning Tales thread is now closed.
You can no longer post your own entry. But you still have a whole week to give Likes to the entries you love. 
The submission that gets the most books 
will be celebrated with a full year of Papyrus Author+. On top, we’ll give away another year of Papyrus Author+ to one of the participants at random.
On Tuesday, November 22nd, you will find out if you won.
The sixth week of Turning Tales starts today, and this week, we’re using our power to bend time.
How did you like the fifth week’s topic?
Have you ever broken into an abandoned place in real life? What kind of place were you drawn to as an author? What made stories feel real to you? What was the most difficult part of your writing process, and what was the most fun? Will you continue this week’s story?