Most doors still stood sturdy in their frames. They were a little dirty, but if you only focused on the doors you’d expect people to come out as if nothing had changed. A few rusted cars still stood in their driveways, though most were stripped of all their spare parts.
Ballymena, once a growing community of hundreds of families was now a ghost town in the truest sense. The wind in the trees and the creaking of wood were the new dominant sounds in a once lively community rich in sounds of joy and simple pleasures.
In a strange sense of irony it was the library that was full of sounds now. Scattered pages of books, scratched wood and broken computers had become the home and playground of a huge community of cats.
Were it not for the animals that had made their home in many of the buildings this town would’ve surely been a far more unsettling sight. But despite all the decay and destruction at least there was happiness among the animals. Most had found a relatively safe haven to live in.
Many doorways still stood tall and in some cases it was one of the few things left of a home. But most doors were completely gone and only remnants of rotten wood were left behind. Paint crumbled off of the walls and were slowly replaced by vines that crawled their way towards the rooftops.
Cesterfield, once rich with life, hopes, dreams and aspirations had become nothing more than a painful memory. Silence had taken hold and would’ve been deafening were it not for the many animals that had made this place their home. Bird songs, rustling bushes and the occasional howl filled the air.
The art gallery was once the cultural pride and joy of this town and tourists flocked to see the art displayed here. Now it was home to a flock of doves who’ve destroyed most art pieces in their ignorance of what it once meant to so many people.
The more time would pass the more the traces of those who lived here will disappear. Even now there were only remnants left, it’d be only a short while until there was nothing left. But there was an awful feeling of hopelessness you couldn’t escape from. Even if those who lived here returned too much had been lost already and it’d never be the same again.
