Poppy Blake - The Windmill Café - Autumn Leaves

Rick stretched out in his sleeping bag, his fingers laced behind his head.

‘I’ve been wanting to see the Garside Priory for years. I must admit, there’s something very mystical about being able to watch the sunrise through the eastern arch. Maybe we’ll all be endowed with special, magical powers. What do you think, Brad?’

‘Wouldn’t say no to a few magical powers,’ sniggered Brad, snuggling against Emma’s spine to share her bodily warmth as the temperature began to drop steeply.

‘What’s so intriguing about a crumbled old ruin?’ asked Rosie. ‘I’m not sure I can be bothered to hike over the fields just to watch dawn break through a stone archway. I might just stay here and wait for you to return.’

‘Well, I’m definitely going,’ laughed Mia. ‘I love all this folklore stuff.’

‘Sorry, Rosie, I’m afraid that’s not an option. We have to stick together, mainly for safety reasons, and I had to promise Giles, the landowner, that none of us would go off-piste and explore on our own.’ Matt cast a suspicious glance in Rick’s direction as he wriggled into his sleeping bag. ‘It was one of his stipulations before granting his consent for us to camp here. The hike will only take about twenty minutes, maybe thirty, depending on the weather in the morning.’

‘You don’t want to miss it, Rosie!’ interjected Phil, dragging out a guidebook from one of the many zipper pockets in his canvas jacket. ‘To watch a new day break over the horizon through a medieval church arch is a spiritual experience you’ll never forget.’

‘Oh no, here we go. A recital of the various myths surrounding the priory according to our resident humdrum author, Philip G. Brown,’ groaned Rick, rolling his eyes theatrically.

‘I was just going to…’

‘What myths?’ asked Mia, sitting up a little straighter, her kohl-ringed eyes swinging between Phil and Rick.

‘One of the most fascinating aspects of Garside Priory, in my view, is the reference to the possibility that there’s a concealed stone circle in its grounds, hewn from local material and buried over the centuries,’ enthused Phil, flicking through the pages of his guidebook until he reached the photograph he wanted to show to Mia.

‘And why do you think it’s there?’ asked Rosie, still unconvinced that the possible presence of a circle of stones was worth getting up before dawn for.

‘Well…’

‘It’s only a theory,’ interrupted Rick, who, despite his eagerness to prevent a lengthy academic lecture from Phil, was quite happy to give one of his own. ‘If there was one there, it could have been a religious or ceremonial meeting place, an astronomical observatory, or maybe a pagan ritual site. But, Mia, the legend you do need to be aware of is this – there’s a possibility that the priory was built from stones that are cursed.’

‘Cursed?’ whispered Mia, her eyes widening as she twisted a lock of her dark glossy hair around her index finger, the silver from her numerous rings glinting in the moonlight.

Rosie saw that despite his earlier criticism of Phil, Rick was clearly enjoying himself in the role of raconteur and was accustomed to holding the floor.

‘One legend recounts that disaster shall strike if any person removes even a chipping from one of the stones.’ Rick flashed a stern warning glare around the gathering. ‘And one of my favourite stories is that anyone who falls asleep inside the priory walls “will die a heinous death or go mad or become a poet” – let’s face it, none of us want to morph into Phil, do we?’

A smatter of giggling erupted from the direction of Emma and Brad.

‘What time do we have to be up in the morning for the final push, Matt?’ asked Phil, when his facial colouring had returned to its usual pale and wan. ‘We can’t risk being late.’

‘We’ll need to leave here at about six o’clock. It’s an easy thirty-minute hike which should get us there in good time for sunrise. I’ve set my alarm so no one needs to worry. Get some sleep and I’ll wake you with a brew,’ said Matt, Norfolk’s answer to Action Man himself.

‘What time is it?’ croaked Rosie as she peeled back her eyelids and realized the dawn chorus was already well into its second verse. She rubbed her eyes and, despite her head feeling like a bulbous watermelon, she marvelled at the fact that she had slept at all.

‘Mmm?’ groaned Mia, rolling over to face Rosie, her hair more bird’s nest than Sunday best. ‘God, my head aches. I feel like I spent last night indulging in a boatload of the Windmill Café’s autumn punch!’

Rosie groped for her watch, shaking her head to clear the lingering fuzziness, and her stomach gave an unexpected lurch. ‘Hey! It’s seven o’clock! Mia, we’ve missed the trek to the priory. They’ve left us behind!’

‘What? No way!’ cried Mia.

Rosie crawled out of her sleeping bag, grateful that she’d chosen to sleep fully clothed. She unzipped the flap of their tent, irritation at being ditched gnawing at her gut. She had no doubt whose idea it would have been to leave the two silly girls behind. As she peered out, Mia joined her, resting her chin on her shoulder and causing a whiff of her favourite floral perfume to infuse the air.

‘Oh, it’s okay! Everyone’s still here. Look, there’s Freddie and Matt.’

Rosie swung her gaze around the makeshift camp where everyone was still asleep in exactly the same places they’d chosen to bed down for the night. But her smile of relief quickly disappeared as she realized what that meant.

‘Wait a minute - that means we’ve all missed the show! How could Matt have allowed that to happen? Quick!’

With Mia close behind, she scampered out from the tent and shook Matt’s shoulder. ‘Matt! Matt! Wake up!’

‘Ergh?’

‘We’ve missed sunrise!’

‘What?’ Matt dragged his body into a sitting position, rubbing his broad palm over his chin as he struggled to focus his eyes on Rosie. ‘What time is it?’

‘Ten past seven. We’ve missed sunrise but we can still hike up to the priory.’

Everyone in the camp was beginning to stir, woken by the noise.

‘What’s going on?’ called Phil, shaking his head and screwing up his eyes. ‘Oh my God, have we slept in? How on earth did that happen?’

‘I’m not sure,’ replied Matt, his forehead creased into lines of concern. ‘My watch alarm definitely isn’t broken and there is no way I would have slept through it.’

‘Don’t worry, Matt. It can happen to the best of us. So, what’s the plan?’ asked Phil, pointing his camera at the horizon to take a few snaps of the rising sun as it sent fissures of apricot light over the surrounding countryside. ‘I’d still like to visit the priory and get some photographs for the book.’

A giggle rippled through the air causing everyone to turn their heads to where Brad and Emma were engaged in what Rosie could only describe as a vigorous tickle fight. She averted her eyes, embarrassed at the intimate scene.

‘Hey, you two. You need to get ready. We leave in five minutes!’ Matt’s voice held a note of steel as he strode away from the gathering, his jaw set and eyes narrowed as he started to dismantle the tent. Freddie collected the rest of the equipment together, stuffed it in his rucksack and took a slug from his water bottle, confusion written across his face.

‘Hey, wait a minute! Where’s Rick?’ called Phil, switching his eyes from left to right as he scoured the camp for his tormentor. ‘He’s missing.’

‘What?’ exclaimed Matt, Freddie and Mia in unison.

Rosie scoured the camp site and it was true. There was no sign of Rick or his possessions, just an indentation in the grass where he’d presumably rested for the night. She, and the rest of the expedition members, immediately understood what had happened.