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The Sequel to the Cask of Amontillado (Hanna EA)

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The Sequel to the Cask of Amontillado (Hanna EA)

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By:Hannah Holloway
Everyone is drinking and celebrating around me, but I am not worried about them. I am too busy watching two men; the one man I know is Fortunato by the jingling bells on his hat and the occasional slur of his words. The other I have never seen before, but Fortunato refers to him as Montresor. As I walk closer to listen they are talking about going to test the Amontillado to see if it is genuine. My instincts tell me to quickly hide as they pass by. I do not feel good about the tone in this stranger’s voice and his mischievous grin.

I watch as they move along, quickly I dart behind a tree. They soon stopped because Fortunato was viciously coughing.  "How long have you had that cough?", asked Montresor. Fortunato *coughing for a few minutes* "It is nothing," he said, at last. With that they carry on. It is a pretty long way to the wine cellars; my feet soon get tired. Relief washes over me as they stop again. "Come," Montresor says, with decision, "we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible. Besides, there is Luchresi --.” I now know something is definitely going on with that answer. I listen closely again for Fortunato’s response. "Enough," he says; "the cough's a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough." "True --true," the stranger replies; "and, indeed, I had no intention of alarming you unnecessarily --but you should use all proper caution.” They stop soon after and Montresor picks up a bottle from a long row. “Drink” says this stranger. Fortunato drinks the wine and nods his head in approval, the bells on his head jingling too. Then again they were off to pursue the vaults.

I am moving cautiously when I trip over a huge pile of dirt and my head lands directly on a rock. I want to scream in agony, but I know I cannot. I feel a warmth running down my face, and I knew then what I had done. I slowly reach my hand to my head then brought it back down. I moan in pain as I realize I have a wide gash right above my eye. I do not waste time. I tear off my shirt sleeve and wrap it around my head the best I can. I sit there with blood running down my face feeling faint. I see out of the corner of my eye Fortunato and Montresor. They are both stumbling over one another because of the drunkenness and weight combined of Fortunato.

My vision begins to fade, and everything goes black. I am awoken by screams of a man. Still dazed I try to stand but it is a failed attempt. I hear the scream again but this time it is the strangers voice screaming, "Fortunato!" I do not hear a reply back. I finally can mange to stand on my own. I stumble forward for a little while until I get my balance. I see Montresor standing beside a wall that looks to be freshly built. A shock of realization rattles my body and sends shivers down my spine. Then follows a rush of anger. I want to just end this stranger now, but I cannot. I compose myself enough and run up to Montresor. I grab his shirt and shake him. “What have you done!”, I scream. “Who are you and what are you talking about?”, asks Montresor. Still having a hold of his shirt, I say, “I know what you did, and my name is not important!” This stranger is shaking in terror now. “Okay, okay I will admit what I have done is wrong!”, proclaims Montresor. I loosen the grip on his shirt. “What will you do to me now?”, he asks Montresor. “I will tell you what I am going to do!”, I yell. “I am going to see to it that you break down every bit of that wall you just built”, I say. “And you are going to take up Fortunato’s remains and bury them in an honorable way.”, I say. There is a look of horror in his eyes now. “But..but..how can I?”, he stutters. “I do not know I am sure you will find a way”, I state. “Okay sir”, he quivers. He starts breaking down the wall piece by piece.

I almost forgot about my pounding head. If it gets any worse I do not know what I am going to do. I cannot let this stranger see my weakness because I have seen how cunning he can be. Hours have passed when Montresor asks a question, “Sir, what is your name?” “My name is Julius”, I reply. And then there is silence. A few more hours pass when Montresor says, “I am done.” “Very well, you know what to do now”, I say. He unchains Fortunato and drags him away to a nearby area. He digs a hole with his hands and puts Fortunato in it. As he covers him up with dirt a tear rolls down his cheek. He just sits there for a few minutes. Then he starts twitching, first his hand, then his shoulders, until finally his whole body is on the ground. “What’s wrong?”, I say. No response. “Hello Montresor, can you hear me?”, I ask again. No response. I shake him. Still no response. I reach down and close his eyelids. I do not know what just happened. It is hard to take all of this in. But I know what has to be done. I pick him up over my shoulder and started digging a hole. Right where Fortunato was chained. It took a while and when I was done my head sure was pounding and I felt miserable. But at least I did not die a fool’s death.

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As I walked out from the basement alone and went back to the party, I could feel I was being stared at by someone. When I arrived back at the party, I noticed Lucchesi talking with a woman. As i talked to them I found out her name was Maggie. her and Lucchesi were good friends. She seemed harmless until she started to ask about fotunato. She started t make lucchesi at the party wonder also which was not good. “didn’t you leave with fortunato earlier in the party Montresor” Maggie asked.  “yes we wandered away for a little bit, but i helped him get home since he wasn’t feeling well.” I said.  Maggie didn’t believe him. After the party she had went to the cellars and at first found nothing suspicious until she came across shattered glass. She continued to walk further until she heard muffle screaming.

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It was about 1940. Sophie was just walking to her new home. The home belonged to Montresor! It was huge and had real catacombs underneath. This wasn't actually going to be her home but a museum of sorts. She wants everything to be clean and new but still preserve the old artifacts there. The mansion spread across the plain. The front protruded from the mansion itself. The sides had many columns. The inside was rugged and rigid. There was a toon of work to do. The staircase was breaking, the walls were falling apart and the wallpaper was falling off from the water. There was a horrid smell, where was it coming from. Sophie looked all over and couldn’t find it. There was only one option. She grabbed a gas mask, a flashlight and breathed in and out. The only thing left to do was go look in the catacombs.

Molly didn’t expect Sophie to do it nor did Ruby or George an actual museum including catacombs. Talk about creepy. That was the least of the problems now though. Sophie ventured through the catacombs with a gas mask on when she noticed a good blockage. It seemed to stretch across the way in front of her. She went back, grabbed the sledgehammer, came back and broke it on the right side, being as careful as possible it opened and she used her flashlight to peered inside. Oh no.
“The last thing I expected was to get a call about bones in a catacomb.” Ruby said. “I’m telling you guys this isn’t normal.” Sophie said they made their way to where the location was.
“ we’re off today just call other people from the agency.” Molly said.
“But don’t you want to help?”
“Sophie I don’t really care. He’s dead. We’re off, I’m tired.” George chimed in.
“Guys come on just do it would you!” Ruby exclaimed.
“Fine but I’m not doing the heavy work.” George said.
“Me neither.” Molly said.
“Fine whatever!” Ruby said.
They went through the wine and the nitre until they got to the sight.
“Good thing we have these gas mask.” Sophie said.
“Could you imagine going through here with no mask and a torch?”
“Sophie… I don’t care I wanna go home.” George said. “ Listen your my friend till I die. I would die for you but I’m just here to get this over with and then going home.”
“Same here. I love you but it’s our day off! I’m supposed to be eating food and watching the television.” Molly said.
“We get it you couch potatoes.”
“Hey that’s rather rude.” Molly said.
“Guys be quiet. We’re here!”
They finally got to the body of bones that were left.
“Ohhhhh… nooo I understand now”
“ Oh no?” Molly said “That’s it?”
“What?!”
“His foot is chained, he probably suffocated and that’s all you say.”
“ Suffocated?” Sophie questioned.
“Well in with this much nitre and mold he probably died of either suffocation or starvation. Either way not a good way.”
“Poor thing, I kinda figured.” Ruby said
“Well let’s go back inside to figure this out. This mask is getting stuffy.”
“Sure.” Molly and George said.
“Lead the way Soph!” Ruby said.
“Sure thing Rubes.” Sophie replied.
They made their way back through the catacombs.
“So any ideas?” Molly said
“I don’t really wanna talk about it now.” George said. “It’s a sad way to go.”
“Yeah but what’s a motive” Sophie asked. “ Who is it?”
“Hmmm not sure,” Ruby said “ one things for sure. Those bones have been there for a long while in order for them to look like that. Maybe 80 years.”
“No way.” George said. “His ghost is gonna haunt us!”
“ George try not to be a clown this is serious” Molly explained.
“Someone has to lighten the mood.” George said, insulted. “Sorry for being too great and beyond your understanding.”
“We’re back.” Sophie said.
They laid out a table and papers and got to work discussing the details.
“So clearly this is a murder agreed?” Molly said
Everyone nodded in approval.
“Clearly he was chained to the wall and someone with skills of a mason built a wall around him so he would die but who did it and who’s the body.”
“Well we know who most likely did it. Right?” George said.
“You think so too huh?”
Sophie nodded.
“So who were Montreser’s friends and enemies?”
“Do you think it has to do with that case?” Sophie asked.
“No way it could be.”
“Open the cold case of Fortunado!” Molly said.
They were stuck for a while. They decided to go looking around for a motive since he had no alibi but no motive too. Sophie went looking around a in his rooms. There was one more at the end of the hallway. She made her way into the room and noticed a painting. She took it down since it was a perfect piece for the museum. Then she realized there was a box! She opened it.
“GUYS!”
“What’s up?” Ruby questioned.
“I FOUND IT!”
What did you find Soph?” Ruby asked
“The golden piece.” Sophie said. “Monteser’s diary.”
“Cool did you find anything actually important.” George said.
“The thing we need is in here.” Sophie said.
“And what’s that?” Molly asked.
“The motive.” Sophie said excitedly.

“The motive was revenge for being made fun of huh?” George said. “ Kinda lame.”
“Well I guess this case is closed.” Molly said. “ Sophie don’t bother me with another case for a few months.”
“ We’re here for you! Molly is just a lazy couch potato.”
“HEY!”
“What wanna fight?”
“No, I'm just hurt.”
“Hahaha!”
3 months later.
“Guys come on the museum is opening soon!”
“Sophie chill.” Molly said.
“She’s excited. Can you blame her?” Ruby questioned.
“Nope” George said.
Sophie took the stage.
"Welcome one and all to Montreser’s Museum. Not only a skilled mason, and important person but also the man who got away with Murder.”
"Can you believe he did it for revenge" George asked
“Well I get him. Being insulted hurts" Ruby said
"Maybe you'll be nicer to me then?” Molly questioned
"No never" Ruby said
“Oh stop you two" George quieted the bickering.
“Guys!”
"SOPHIE"
"Nice job today Soph!" George said proudly.
“Thanks George.” Sophie said gratefully.
“We're so proud." Ruby and Molly said tearfully.
“Guys," Sophie said. “Come on I have to show you the museum.”
The museum white freshly painted on the outside and green wallpaper on the inside. The staircases were fresh dark oak color and had green carpet on it. All the paintings, furniture and decor were encased in thick glass. The stairs led up to green velvet carpets. Sophie’s white hair shined against it. Ruby’s blonde hair contrasted it. Molly’s black hair blended in. George’s brown hair complemented it.
“There’s one more room.”
“What one more?!” Molly asked.
“What really?!” George exclaimed.
“What is it?” Ruby questioned.
“Looked and see!” Sophie said excitedly.
It was a room with blue wallpaper and grey carpets and in the center of the wall on the other side was a gold framed painting. All of them. Ruby’s blonde hair and red eyes. Molly’s black hair and gold eyes. George’s brown hair and orange eyes. Sophie’s white hair and purple eyes too. The postures, expressions, everything about the painting was correct and perfect.
“I worked on it for a long time. I hope you like it guys. It’s a thank you.”
“Soph its beautiful.” Ruby said.
“It’s gorgeous!” Molly exclaimed.
“It’s the best thank you present we could ask for.” George said.
“Thank you everyone!” Sophie said happily
THE END

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As I walked out of the dark moist catacombs from beneath my home. I walked slowly so that I would be able to bask in the screams of my longtime friend Fourtunato. The person I've known since birth here in Florence, Italy, the place I call home. There is no doubt in my mind that Fortunato will be missed. Those who admired him and his wife Benedetta will surely miss him. However I certainly won’t miss seeing the arrogant smirk on his face, hearing the laughs that would emit from his throat, and his wood pine scented cologne that I could smell all too well when near him. Fortunato bellowed, “Montresor please!” My body filled with a tingling situation, an unexplainable feeling of emotion like when a child is told they can get whatever they want from a toy store. I whispered, “This is the end, my friend.”
As I submerged from the depths beneath my home I let out a breath I didn’t even know I was holding. I retreated down the corridor and went up the stairs that lead to my bedroom. Upon entering I walked over to my nightstand where my diary resides. I grabbed my diary and walked to my heraldic armchair that rested in the corner with a lamp by its side. As I sat down I opened my diary and it automatically flipped to a blank page where a pen rested on the journal’s spine. I began to write, “I withhold a life threatening secret and no one can ever find out. I do not regret what I’ve done but I would regret getting caught for what I’ve done. It would be my undoing.” I read over my words one last time; I turned off the lamp’s switch and let the darkness consume me.

A few weeks have gone by since I lured Fortunato to his death. During this time with Fortunato gone, I have been perfecting my wine tasting, buying out my competitors, and making plans to open up a winery. I’ve been trying to preoccupy myself as a way to put an end to my ravaging thoughts. The thoughts of what conspired weeks prior but more importantly what would happen if anyone found out. I found myself walking down an alleyway littered with cobblestone. I was heading towards the city square to alleviate some of the stress that has been weighing on me. As I was nearing the end of the narrow passageway I heard shouts which must be coming from someone causing a racket in the city square. When I reached the end of the alley I pushed up against the stone wall and saw what was causing all the commotion. Benedetta Fortunato's wife was alive and well yelling at two guardsmen. She looked to be in a state of distress as if she’d fall out any minute. Benedetta yelped and stammered out, “You must find my husband, please! He wouldn't just leave! It's been weeks! With or without your help I will find who or what is responsible for my husband's disappearance!” After hearing her words slowly but surely my vision became blurry, the world around me started to spin slightly, and my hearing became distorted. I felt disorientated. Slowly everyone that was in the square turned to me with their arms and pointer fingers stretched out. There were murmurs from the crowd, “We know what you’ve done.” At that moment I couldn't breathe, I started to hyperventilate. I felt like I was suffocating like the weight of the world came crashing down on me. Though just as fast as it all came it left. “We all know that you killed Fortunato,” A voice from behind me said. I snapped my head around to see a little boy around the age of seven. “What did you say?” I say exasperated.

“I said, are you okay, you seem uneasy, shall I call the guard over?” He tilted his head to the side and knitted his eyebrows together.

“No no that won't be necessary. Here. For your troubles.” At the sight of the coin, the boy extended his hand and I placed the piece of metal in the palm of his hand. A woman yelled from a distance, “Orlando!” The boy looked up, smiled, and said, “Bye mister.” With that Orlando skipped away.

After my encounter with the boy, I headed towards the bar in need of a drink. As soon as I entered Inferno greeted me with a wide grin and started to fix my usual drink. I took a seat at the bar and as Inferno made my drink he said, “I do not mean to pry but what were you doing in the opening of the alleyway earlier? I spotted you on my way in. It seemed as though you were talking to yourself.”

“Don’t be silly I was conversing with a young boy that goes by the name of Orlando.” Inferno let out a throaty laugh.

“I thought Fortunato had you beat but you're quite the jokester.” I can only assume Inferno’s playful aura ceased after seeing the serious yet pensive like state I was in. I stood up abruptly and exited the bar. I couldn't fathom what was happening around me. When I made it outside I glanced over at the now dimly lit alleyway. Immediately I rustled through my pockets almost desperately. I froze instantly when I felt the feeling of metal brush against my fingertips. When I made eye contact with the coin I gave Orlando not too long ago I let out a breathy startled gasp. I glanced around the square before stalking off. As I walked back down the narrow pathway I got an eerie feeling that I was being watched. Out of nowhere, an unbeknownst voice whispered, “They know and they’re coming.” Upon hearing those words I broke out into a sprint, soon after my chest was heaving up and down.
When I arrived at my house I doubled over at the steps to catch my breath. When I looked up I got this feeling that I was being mocked by none other than my house. I entered and soon found myself in my bedroom pacing around not being able to stay still. I was getting anxious by the minute. Then I heard them. Footsteps. The unbeknownst voice returned once more and said, “They’re coming, you will suffer.” I became frantic and paced around my room at a more rapid rate than before. I thought about what I wrote in my diary, that this will be my undoing. I incoherently repeated those words to myself while shaking. I could barely breathe. I was gasping for air like a fish out of water. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my chest and fell to the ground with a thud. After one groan there was nothing but silence. I laid there, eyes open. This is where my story ends alone, afraid, and confused in a gray house.

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Fifty years as passed since my little confrontation with Fortunato, a lot has changed. I Montresor have now respectfully replaced Fortunato and I have opened a genuinely nice winery with many types of exotic and wonderful wines. No one has yet found out what happened to Fortunato, but he very much deserved his demise. I have not been bullied or made fun of anymore ever since I got rid of that joker; I am now very respected and honored in the wine community. However, Fortunato’s old friend and competitor, Luchesi, has opened a fine winery as well, competing against mine of course.

Oh, my that Luchesi, he has been stealing all my customer and I am just clueless of what it can be. His winery has been growing in popularity way faster than mine, I need to find out why. The next day, I head over to Luchesi’s beautiful winery, acting as humble as ever. I greet Luchesi and hey asks me if I want a wine tasting tour in his winery. This is just what I was hoping for, it is now time to see why everyone prefers Luchesi’s wine. He takes me around, tasting boring wine, that were not as close as good as mine, but one wine intrigued me. He said it was called The Killuwa and that it was yet to be released to the public. The investigation was finally over, and I head home, with that one wine stuck in my head, it is a successful, delicious wine. I needed it!

Furthermore, I came up with a plan to steal his wine, The Killuwa. So, I head over to Luchesi’s winery a few days later with plans I made in my head. When I got there, Luchesi was too busy taking care of some customers, which was just what I was hoping for. He never noticed me as I walk past him and go down to his wine cellar. All I was going to get was a sample to take home and replicate. I started hearing creaking noises coming from the wooden stairs that lead down to the cellar where I am at. Can it be Luchesi, I wonder. The noises of someone walking increase, they get louder and louder. My heart was beating out of my chest, I was petrified. I tried hiding, but I cannot move a muscle because of how nervous I am. I feel a light touch on my shoulder, when I turn around it is none other than Luchesi himself. My legs and arms start shaking, my eyes grow big, and I feel sweat dripping down my body, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I tried my hardest to calm down and not seem suspicious. So, I stood up and greeted Luchesi like if it was any other day.

“Hi Luchesi, how are you doing today”, I said. He responds, “Great Montresor, but what are you doing down here”. My brain was going insane trying to look excuses in my humongous excuses book. I said, “One of your workers ask me If I could head down here to grab him some of your wine for your customers”.  “What a terrible excuse I came up with”, I told myself, but it looked like he went with it and again took me around his cellar tasting wines. We talked and drank for hours, but I never showed my true intentions. I only have one choice now, to surpass Luchesi and take The Killuwa. To kill him!

Therefore, I waited until he was drunk enough to commit the deed. A couple hours past, “he is done for, he can barley walk, now it my chance”, I repeated to myself. I slowly walked him to a nearby wall, were I saw some ropes next to. I talked and laughed with him about our competing wineries, it was like he was making fun of my success, but I remained calm and never revealed myself. We got to the wall, I sat him down, and I gave him one last drink. He passes out for a few minutes, as I tie him up to the wall and run to my home to get some cement and bricks. I bring the heavy load and start walling him up. He wakes up confused of what is going on and asks me “Montresor what happened”. I laugh and ignore his question. This gave me flashbacks of when I walled up Fortunato back at that wine cellar. That happened fifty years ago, and it seems like my intentions have not change. I told Luchesi, “this reminds me of Fortunato, both of you were jokesters and always believed to be better than me, Montresor”. Luchesi realizes the things Montresor did and begs for his life but cannot move a muscle or scream loud enough. I continue to wall him up and on the last brick, I say, “Bye-Bye Fortunato, oops I mean Luchesi” I Finish plastering the wall, I grab The Killuwa, and leave laughing, “Hahahaha!”.

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“Wait a second, how did you know his name, you might know mine, but we never signed anything, and I never spoke of Fortunato’s name?” 

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Wyatt Reilly
 The prelude to the Cask of Amontillado

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The prelude to the Cask of Amontillado

It was a warm day in Autumn, there is a cool breeze and crisp leaves being blown about, everybody is going about their business, except for two mates, who want to enjoy themselves today. “And so, I told him, if he wanted to talk to me, he could do it from the other side of the house!” Fortunato said as they laughed and walked towards the distillery, “All this talking has me thirsty now, Fortunato” Luchesi said “I know the perfect place” Fortunato replied.

As the entrance to the distillery becomes apparent to the two, they make a bet, “While I am thirsty, I want to put you to a test.” Fortunato stated. “Okay, and what do I do in this test”, “You have to guess which wine is higher quality.” “This will be hardly a challenge; I am an expert at this after all.” Luchesi replied.

As they entered the distillery the smell of Alcohol and Hardwood grew strong. They walked up to the storekeeper and bought a round of Alcohol testing bottles. As Luchesi and Fortunato sat down the storekeeper brought 3 bottles out, each market with a label stating they are bottles A-C, “Each bottle has aged for different amounts of time, you can taste them however many times you may like.” The storekeeper stated. As Luchesi and Fortunato begin drinking, they each decide what bottle is oldest and which is youngest and write it down, Luchesi knew that he would not be bested, this was not just a friendly competition, his reputation was on the line. “Would you like the answer?” Asked the shopkeeper after he approached them, “Luchesi?” “Oh, sure!” they then to proceed to hand the shopkeeper their answers, “Luchesi chose B as the least aged and A as the oldest, an– Well this is a surprise, Fortunato also chose B as the least aged, however he chose C as the oldest… Fortunato won with all of them correct, and Luchesi only got one.”.

“Of course, I won, after all I am a wine tasting prodigy” “Yeah ok, lets see about that” Luchesi remarked as he proceeded to buy another round of wine tasting. “This time instead of age you will guess flavor.”. Luchesi thought that he could redeem himself if he could get this right. “Write down your answers and when you are ready give it to me.” The shopkeeper said as he left 3 more bottles of wine. It did not take long for to write down their answers after they were done joking. “Are you ready for me to reveal the answers?” “I am ready, but I don’t think Luchesi will be happy what with me being better at his expertise.” “Says the guy who guessed all his answers” “Luchesi guessed Cherry for A, Black plum for B, and Acai for C, Fortunato guessed Almond for A, Black currant for B, and Peach for C. Fortunato won by a landslide.” “You jest, there is no way I got all of them right! I feel bad for my pal Luchesi who got bested by an oaf with little experience.” “This is outrageous, I was certain in my answers.” Fortunato stood up and put a hand on his shoulder, “Its fine buddy, we all have to lose at some point”. “Will that be all, Fortunato and party?” “It seems so, my good friend feels bad about losing” said Fortunato.

“Wait a second, how did you know his name, you might know mine, but we never signed anything, and I never spoke of Fortunato’s name?” “Mister Fortunato is a frequent patron and even buys cellar’s worth of alcohol from this distillery, I thought he would have told you.” “You scoundrel, you came here knowing of the flavors to embarrass me and fool me into thinking you were a genius at tasting alcohol!” Luchesi said. “No hard feelings, besides, I haven’t heard of some of the tastes here until now, perhaps if you were as good as tasting you might be able to match the standard you boast about.”. Luchesi is bitter about his loss, however he knows he will get his revenge one day, whether it be by his hand or someone else’s. He now knows why everyone has a grudge against Fortunato, he was a man who would cheat to get his way, and that man needed to be stopped, that is why he enlisted the help of someone who also dislikes Mr. Fortunato. Luchesi decided this method had to be poetic or else the revenge would not be as sweet, that’s why he chose for him to be buried alive in a wine cellar, for he shall die as he lives, surrounded by wine.

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The prequal of the Cask of Amontillado

1,931 words

The breeze whistled while the trees danced, I could feel the storm coming right at our little town. I watched out the window at the nearby farm’s men hurrying all their cattle and goats to shelter. I hurried out on the porch to get some air before the storm began. Usually, I would see boys out in the fields working hard for their fathers. While the girls helped their mothers clean and do all the cooking for breakfast. But this was a different day; it was not even about the storm coming closer. It was about my own thoughts swallowing my entire body and mind. I was incredibly worried for my mother; she was a beautiful and kind person. She was shorter than me with brown eyes and long light browned hair. I believed she was slowly becoming crazier by the minute. My father did not deserve my mother, all he did was scream at her and abuse us both. I do not think I can sit back and watch any longer, my mother and I deserve much more than this. *Montresor begins to laugh loudly because his thoughts begin to become darker and deeper by the minutes. * What if I were to kill him quickly and painlessly! Nobody shall ever find out nor suspect his own loving son. It is time to make things right, if I kill my own father, I will be able to kill even more people who make this world toxic and chaotic.

The sun is shining so bright, it looks like its smiling down onto the crops and beautiful flowers below. It has been a few days ever since I have gotten that precious idea to kill father. “Could it even been possible, how would I carry out something so, devilish but possibly foolish” I whispered to myself. I began to walk down the dirt roads with a wicker basket mother have given me, she told me to go ahead to the bakery to get some lunch for all of us. While I walked some more, I began to slowly think back in time. *Montresor has his flashback now*. I walked into the bakery and immediately saw a gorgeous girl that had to be around my age. She had golden blonde hair and green eyes; the sun creeped in from the windows onto her olive toned skin. I was in awe I could not believe someone so beautiful was here, but I wondered. “How come I’ve never seen her before?” I whispered softly. She turned back and caught me looking at her. *Montresor fixes his posture and smiles nervously* “Wonderful morning isn’t it?” the mysterious girl says. “Why yes, it’s one of the most gorgeous days I’ve seen yet” Montresor says quietly. I watch the girl once she turns back around to face the baker. She counts her coins, and it seems she does not have enough to spare for bread. I watch her stand aside with a look of sadness crawling onto her face. *Montresor looks at his surroundings and sees where the bread is kept*. I start to think of all the possibilities available. Could I kill the baker and steal the bread, or should I just run with this mysterious girl and the bread. “Mr. Baker, there’s someone outside asking for you!” Montresor smirks softly while saying. The baker goes outside quickly with a look of wonder on his face. Montresor steals five loaves of bread and grabs the mysterious girl’s wrist. They run outside the back of the bakery to the nearest lake. *Montresor and the mystery girl looked at each other while breathing heavily from running*. “Here you are miss…” Montresor tries to finish while giving the bread. “Elaine, Miss Elaine to you.” The mysterious girl says while smiling.

A few days pass on, the sky was grey while the breeze grew more. I held mother while she sobbed into my arms. I murdered father exactly three days ago, I had fear inside what if I were to get caught? But a schoolteacher ended up finding my father’s corpse in the forest while she went on a morning walk as she usually did. The news went around quite quickly and found its way to my doorstep just a few moments ago. My mother was shocked and saddened by this shocking discovery of my father. “Promise me it wasn’t you Montresor please I beg” Marinette said with tears creeping down her face. *Montresor looked down to his hugging mother and held her tighter. * “Never would I do that to father, I loved him.” Montresor exclaimed. I never promised mother that I was not the one who killed father. I know she will keep pointing the finger at me, but she will soon realize it was for the better. Me and mother began to walk towards the graveyard to attend Jacques funeral. Never will I care to think of my father again. He was cruel and deserved every bit of his death, he certainly had it coming. We stood there for endless hours, at some points I almost busted out laughing because of how foolish all of them were. I was incredibly excited to see mother and I much happier without abuse. It is humorous to me that everybody claimed my father died from mysterious causes. This town is not as smart as I thought in the beginning. From now on, it will be much easier to kill even more people who I deemed bad.

Two days after the funeral pass, I begin thinking of the future. Luckily for me and mother, it was soon to be springtime. This was great for the nearby farmers and families who loved the outdoors. Mother had always liked gardening, even though we never had a farm. I kissed mother goodbye and went off to school. It was such a tiring and eventful past week, that I had almost forgot I had school to attend. *Montresor walks up the hill and into the main wooden halls of his school*. I smelled the fresh wood and paint; this lavish school was rather new. I began to walk to find my beloved Elaine somewhere around here. *Montresor walks further and sees Elaine and his good friend Felix holding hands*. I could not believe my eyes. “How could they both, do this… to me?” Montresor softly whispers. I hide before both could spot me. I clench my fists with anger and disappointment while I watch them walk past together. I closely watch Felix’s every move and what he says to Elaine. A few hours pass and I have not gone to any of my teachers lectures. The day was almost over and at this point my mind was repeating the words kill Felix. I walk around the halls and attempt to find them holding hands again. But luckily for me, I see them separate and say their goodbyes quickly. *Montresor begins to smile and think of all that could be possible now”. Oh, my good friend, your life is in my hands. “Felix should have never betrayed our friendship because now he shall die.” Montresor whispers while smirking. I watch Elaine walk down the dirt roads back down to her family’s cottage. While Felix goes more up the hill to a lollipop shaped tree. The wind started to pick up at this point while the sunshine started to fade. I slowly and secretly follow Felix up the hill and hide behind another tree. I stare at Felix thinking of the ways I can murder him this evening. *Montresor steps closer to Felix quietly until he is right behind him*. “You know good friend; it wasn’t wise to betray me of all people. Now you must pay the price you fool!” Montresor yells while gaging Felix’s mouth with cloth from his shirt. *Montresor pushes Felix down the hill watching him struggle to scream and save himself*. I did it again, I killed Jacques the man that I had once called father! But yet another victim of mine has suffered as they deserve to. “This shall not be my last kill, why this is only the start!” Montresor laughs.

“It only keeps getting better for me, I feel as if I were a god!” Montresor yells. Everybody’s lives were in my own hands, I could easily kill them if I needed to. *Montresor starts to walk around the school and spots Elaine at the front of it. * Did she see me kill Felix, what was that betrayer doing back here. I thought I saw her walking to her cottage. “Elaine, what are you doing back here my love?” Montresor smirks. “I came to look for you Montresor! You were nowhere to be found” Elaine exclaims. *Montresor grabs Elaine and pulls her in for a hug*. “Please tell me you and Felix weren’t betraying me by being together secretly...” Montresor says with a sad expression. “My love, it wasn’t what it looked like at all!” Elaine says quietly. *Elaine starts to cry and holds onto Montresor tighter as if she were going to lose him*. “Felix had threatened me I swear my love!” Elaine cried. “He was going to kill me if I hadn’t done it please Montresor trust me…” Elaine cries more. *Montresor lets go and holds Elaine’s hands while kissing her forehead softly*. “I trust you Elaine, I will always protect you.” Montresor says quietly. I knew deep down she was lying to me. I had to get out of France quickly before these mysterious deaths catch up to me slowly. People will start to suspect me if I do not leave within a matter of time. “Let us start a family somewhere, maybe the city of love… How about Italy Elaine!” Montresor says nervously. *Elaine looks up at Montresor and smiles from ear to ear. * “Let us then, we shall move to Italy my love!” Elaine says excitedly.

The sun glared onto my family’s cottage; my mother looked incredible. Marinette had become healthier and happier without Jacques here to abuse her and I. I made the right decision killing that cruel being, he deserved it. *Montresor and his mother hold onto each other with tears coming down her skin*. “I love you deeply mother, you know I always will forever.” Montresor cries. “I will miss you terribly, I love you so much my son!” Marinette says quietly. *Montresor and Marinette let go of each other and smile while saying their goodbyes. * “Elaine is here to help me pack the remaining photographs and blankets mother.” Montresor smiled. I cannot believe I am getting away with these murders, it is finally my time to start living for once! *Elaine and Montresor get onto the carriage to the train station on there way to Italy*.

That is how it all began, my childhood to teenage years was the destruction of me. I became a true monster I never would have thought I would have come this far. Elaine and I had lived in Italy for many years and had three wonderful children. My thoughts have gotten the best of me once again. I murdered my beautiful wife and children while they were asleep. I hid their bodies all in where I thought they would never be found, Italy’s catacombs. I ended up acting as if I have lived in Italy all my life, Elaine went along with that foolish act for years. I have no more feelings or regret; majority of my family have been dead but yet this was still only the beginning to my story.

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The Cask of Amontillado: The Prequel

I could hear the rumble of thunder in the distance, spring showers on the way. Staff were scurrying to try and prepare for the upcoming carnival.  As I lay in bed, ears full of noises of hustle and bustle, I cannot help but feel the reoccurring longing I had for Elizabeth Lockhart. The problem with this is that I was not the only one with this longing. My longtime friend, someone I have treasured for as long as I can remember, also experiences this same feeling. Although in his case, this longing was fulfilled when she too longed for him.

I have always told myself I would do anything to get to Elizabeth, but what is the extent of the word “anything?”

It appears there has been a never-ending competition between Fortunato and I, always seeing who could do better and be better. Always trying to surpass each other, a back-and-forth game. It all only seemed like this so called “game” until Elizabeth waltzed into our lives a year ago.

It was our annual spring carnival; the wind began picking up which is why both of our eyes were so easily drawn to her red hair blowing in every direction. She was dressed in baby blue cotton head to toe, the type of blue that made every head turn. Elizabeth was elegant. Elizabeth was a dream.

The moment I saw Fortunato look her way; I knew yet another competition was on the horizon. Him and I made eye contact with each other. “Not on my watch.” he said as we both dashed away from each other.

I maneuvered my way through the crowd and hastily tried to spot her. Her short stature made her difficult to see but those ruby red lips were impossible to miss. When my sight landed on her, it also landed on the man standing in front of her, Fortunato. I pounded my foot on the ground and my nostrils flared in pure anger, “No! No! No!” I said. “Not again!.” Both of their eyes were crinkled, and smiles were on full display, heads thrown back with laughter. His humor had always been what drew the girls to him.

I retreated to my room, each step reminding myself of the interaction between the two. As I shut my door, the sounds of laughter and chatter could still be heard from outside. I tried to block it out, refusing to let my imagination run wild at what the pair could be speaking out. My mind wanted nothing more than to go to sleep and block out the evening, but my feet had different plans. Before I knew what, I was doing, I was peering over the window and down into the sea of people. Despite the amount of people below, the only two I was looking for were right in the middle of it all.

But it was not a conversation between the two anymore, it was a slow intimate dance. Soft music played in the background as pairs waltzed around the pavement.

My anger began to build, and I could not help but wish it were I holding Elizabeth in my arms. But then again, this is how it always goes right?

Months began to come and go, spring faded to summer and summer into winter. It was now the end of January and the light snow on the ground was beginning to melt and some of the warmth was beginning to return. Although the seasonal warmth was showing signs of returning, the warmth inside of me had yet to.

Since that night at the carnival, Fortunato and Elizabeth had been inseparable. Their meeting progressed into a close friendship and from their it developed into more. The two were madly in love.

They were not the only ones.

With them being together, Elizabeth turning up to the house was not a rare occurrence. Walls were thin in the house, so it was not difficult to hear her angelic laugh when Fortunato told one of his horrendous jokes. Or to hear her wonderous voice as her and him played on the grand piano. Small things like these are what caused me to also fall in love with Elizabeth Lockhart.

As weeks passed, I could not help but fall more in love with her. It was inevitable.

But as I fell more in love with her, she fell more in love with him.

It had been almost a full year. Our annual carnival was next week.

As this year had gone by, my longing for Elizabeth turned into rage towards of Fortunato. At first it started with small intrusive thoughts of what would happen if he were not in the picture anymore. This turned into realistic nightmares and then to being something that consumed my mind for every waking moment.

These thoughts are what brought me to my final decision, I would be taking revenge on Fortunato the night of the carnival. Bringing it all full circle, I would finally get my Elizabeth Lockhart.

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The Prequel To The “Cask of Amontillado”

Life as a young kid always had me feeling like I was the odd one out. I wasn't considered a “normal kid.” I was the youngest of four well liked, outgoing brothers however, nobody seemed to like me. My brothers were always being praised for all of their athletic and academic accomplishments by my parents and I was the odd one out. I was actually the opposite and I never really did well in school, and wasn't athletic at all. I wasn't liked by anyone in school and was actually bullied constantly. My dad actually ended up dying of a heart attack out of nowhere which left just my brothers and mom. Before my father passed away from a heart attack, he verbally abused me and had me at the doctors constantly getting checked because he thought something was wrong with me. My dad never really accepted me for who I am, but I had to move on when he died and try to help my mother who had to work extra hard now even though I wasn't much of a help. When my father passed, I didn't see my mom a lot and had to get used to being alone. The majority of what I learned and did was all on my own. I was a neglected child who had to learn to live by myself.

As I was growing up, everything I learned, I taught myself. Unlike my brothers, I was the odd one out and my father didn't like me. I was constantly in and out of the doctors being checked because my dad thought I had problems. My father and mother just couldn't accept the fact that I wasn't anything like my brothers. I had no friends and was a neglected child already, and when my father passed, it only made me more lonely. When my father died, it felt like it split the family apart as I didn’t get to see my mother often due to her constant work. We never really had a great relationship which was sad because she is my mother, but nobody really liked me and she was super busy. Soon after my fathers passing, my mother was around less because she had more pressure on her to pay for our family, which made me really lonely. I also never really had a strong relationship with my brothers. We fought a lot and my mother always gave them the benefit of the doubt because she liked them better, and I would always be the one getting in trouble. My brothers thought I was annoying and didn't like me that much, but I tried to let it go and make the most out of what we had left.

All I wanted was to be treated normally, but that never happened. I never was able to have a close relationship with my mother or father like my brothers did, which made me jealous. I just wanted to have a close relationship with someone in my life, but it never happened. In school, I was never treated normally and I was always the weird and hated kid. There was one kid that I sort of got along with because we were both looked at as weird by other kids, but other than that I had nobody, which affected me mentally. I was bullied every day, and came home to nothing. It was exhausting living like this every day and seeing others being appreciated. It definitely took a toll on me being the weird kid that nobody likes, and sometimes I wondered if my life was even worth anything. It was building up a new, evil side of my personality and I was slowly becoming a jealous, angry person. I couldn't control the emotions and I was becoming more and more envious every day.

My life didn't really seem to have any meaning because of the way I was treated. I would try to help my busy mom with chores around the house, and when I didn't do it or when I messed something up, my mom would ask me why I'm not like my brothers. She was always trying to ask me why I wasn't like my smart, athletic, successful brothers and she always made me feel worthless. I became more and more jealous of my brothers every day. Life just kept getting worse and I just became more and more lonely.

The anger had built up inside me for so long that I wanted to seek revenge on someone. I was becoming an evil, jealous person and I couldn't control it. It was a part of my personality because it was all I faced as a kid. Everyone around me was better and more successful than me which made me have a jealous personality. I wanted to get revenge on someone because I was so unhappy but couldn't find who, until a man named Fortunato moved nearby. Fortunato was loved by everyone in town as soon as he moved, and I knew he was the one. I wanted to get close with him and build a relationship with him. This was only to seek revenge and get my way in the end.

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	I make my way up from the dark catacombs into the bustling streets of Carnival. I carry with me a secret so dark that no one can ever know. There she is, beautiful blue-eyed Claudia. So what if the woman of my dreams is the widow of the man I just put to death; I didn’t say I was a good person. After saying a pleasant hello to Claudia, I head back to my house to lay down for the night.  Right as I’m about to lay down for the night, I hear a faint knocking on the door. “So when should I report him missing?” Claudia asked. Her soft words breathed into me and all I could focus on was her beauty. “8 am sharp, just like we discussed,” I whispered back. We say our goodbyes and I finally lay down for the night. 
	I awoke to absolute chaos at 8:15 sharp. She did it. I hurry and head outside to ask a townsperson about what is happening. “Excuse me, what is happening,” I ask. Frantically the man shouts, “The great Fortunado is missing!” Oh no, What a real shame. To take away any suspicion from myself, I decided to join a search party. We walk along the dark, stone floor. With every step I take it’s like I can hear Fortunato's voice again. “How strange,” I think to myself. It takes everything in me to not shout at these fools and tell them they are never going to find him. I make my way over to Claudia’s house to have a nice chit chat. “Hello dear,” She beams. I have never seen anyone as beautiful as my dearest Claudia. Her bright blue eyes are more mysterious than the deep, blue sea. I give Claudia a quick peck and walk outside unsuspecting. Could these people be any more clueless? I wander down into the dark, eerie catacombs. Immediately I am met with the haunting memories of what I did to my dear friend Fortunado. You must be wondering why someone would do this to someone they called a friend. The answer is simple, I wanted Claudia to myself. Claudia was the bright shining star in my life and I wasn’t going to let Fortunado ruin her. The towns people won’t find out anyways.
	Everytime I close my eyes I see his face. I see the confusion and hurt in his dark brown eyes. Doing this time and time again has taken a toll on me. Am I an awful person for doing these things? Of course. However I am not proud of these things. The unbearable thoughts trap me in my own skin everyday. What would they say if I confess? Would they call me a coward and the ultimate betrayer. I had never connected with anyone the way I did Fortunato. I should have stopped this. I jump out of bed and sneak over to Claudia’s house. She lets me in and holds a finger over her mouth. Once I am in she speaks in a fearful whisper, “They are onto us.” My greatest fear is coming true. Does she feel the same regret I do? “Claudia,” I breathe quietly, “Do you feel the same immense guilt I do?” “No.” She simply says. I swiftly walk out to avoid any awkward conversation about my guilt. I have never felt this way and I hope I never do again. As I am walking through the quiet, dark streets of Carnival I am met with the memories of my dear friend. His jokes made me laugh every time. Not just a fake and forced laugh but a real laugh. The way you laugh at your friends. 
	As I am walking around the streets I decide to drop the note I wrote just before leaving my house. If the townspeople are smart enough they will know exactly where to be when I lead Claudia there. I swiftly hide behind a wall and look behind me to find a townsperson picking up the note. Death will be okay. I will pay for the betrayal and my sins. I go back to my house in hopes of at least getting a small amount of rest before all hell breaks lose.  Claudia meets me a couple feet away from the catacombs and we begin our transcend down there. Am I ready for the events about to transpire? I really don’t know. As we walk down  I make sure the townspeople are behind us before I start to press Claudia. She tells me she regrets nothing just like before. Why does she not feel anything. I thought she had fallen in love with him that’s why we did these things. My excuse for coming down here was that we needed to get rid of the bones. She starts removing the bricks as I watch. I watch in regret and tears start to form. All of the sudden a shout is heard and the townspeople surround us. You can hear the shock in their voice when they say, “Ultimate betrayal.”
	They rush us and tie our hands together and start to drag us up the stairs of the catacombs. A few stay behind to gather evidence and weep at Fortunato's remains. I too begin to weep. Death will be much better than living with this guilt. While dragging us through the streets they begin to tell everyone about our heinous crime. At the last second they drag me away from Claudia. They bring Claudia to the dreaded guillotine. Why did they not bring me there. What do they plan on doing to me. Before it comes down Claudia shouts, “Third times the charm I guess!” Then nothing is heard on the streets except for faint crying and mourning over dear Fortunato. Before I even get the chance to think I am dragged across the street. They drag me back to the catacombs. Why are they doing this. They place me in the same place that I once left my dear friend to decompose. They start lathering bricks and as I look over I am met by his bones. The darkness starts to consume me and I realize what is happening. So much for death. 

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The sequel to "The cask of Amontillado"

Sitting on my bedside, I pondered on what I wanted to do with his day. After killing fortunato in cold blood for doing me wrong last night  I am very pleased with myself. Perhaps I will sit in my luxurious room all day. Across town sat a girl on the steps of her home, she said “I'm so bored perhaps someone will come cure my boredom.” Momtressor suddenly felt like taking a stroll around the garden. “It's a beautiful day why not”, he exclaimed.

I walked around the town with not a worry in my mind, until I saw her. Seeing Fortunado’s wife sobbing I knew I had to speak to her. “Are you okay?” I asked. “Fortunado didn’t come home last night, we had a fight before the festival and I fear he may have been unfaithful.” “That wretched Fortunato. Come, I will take  care of you.” And the damsel in distress seemed pleased that there was still someone she could count on as she had known him for so many years. “Thank You, Montresor.” she said. I thought in my head what a delight, I had killed him and now I get to take his wife! “But no funny business until I get to the bottom of this.” she said. Of course mil lady i replied. And with that they left in the direction of her home.

Having finally arrived at the lady’s house I went to fetch her a blanket. She was shivering from the thought of being alone without the aid of her husband. “Come, let's get you more comfortable,” I said. I led her to heer living room so she could sit down as I went to her kitchen to make her a drink.Fetched one of her wines and poured us both a glass and sat down next to the sullen woman. “Thank You” she said. “No problem” I replied. “I’m just so lost without him,” she says. “He was all I had and if he leaves, who will take  care of me? Who will make sure that I'm okay and doing what I need to do?” “I can help guide you. If he has truly left I know I can help at least a little with your troubles.” I replied. “That is, if you didn’t start this in the first place.” she said “what?” and that's when I saw them- Two very large men standing at her doorway, police officers. “Montresor you are under arrest for suspicion of having something to do with the disappearance of  Fortunato.” one of the officers said. “You wench! You lured me here!” I exclaimed and she only nodded with a satisfied smirk on her face. I should've known, she’s never liked it when I got too close to her.

The men put me in handcuffs and walked me over to their carriage. I wondered how I would get myself out of this one. And that's when the grief finally hit, I had lost my best friend whom I trusted and relied on to figure out escapes from my master plans. How had he managed to convince himself that something so terrible was something so right? Had I always been this jealous of him? Oh! How I’ve done so many wrongs I can only hope one day I can make them right again, as I carry on the rest of my life in misery for them.

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The Prequel to: “The Cask of Amontillado”

The Snow had just finished melting away all around and the many small children were running around splashing in the puddles. It was a Sight to behold, somehow never managed to become stale in the minds of the people yet seemingly the same year after year. Even though all seemed perfect on the crisp morning, it had been a dark day for me as my father had recently passed, leaving the family business to continue. It was a small yet simple wood working business making chairs, bed frames, shelfs, just about anything with wood really. I had been working there my whole life even as a child helping in any way I could and now, I got to run it, but I was prepared. I had spent my whole life preparing to take over the business and now that I had, it was like a dream come true. I had all he could ask for so, I started looking for more things to ask for.

I had always known about the wine tasters, some of the most looked up upon with their elegant way of describing the tastes, smells, the feel as you drink it. All the things I wanted to be they were and more. I had started talking to a frequent buyer at my store, a young man by the name Fortunato. Fortunato was a seemingly nice and simple man. He had collected enough inheritance to live for years without batting an eye, a life to envy. Over time we had seemingly become friends through chats about they recent changes in weather or taxes and so forth. So, when I next saw him walking in I decided today would be the day to talk to him, figure out how to get into wine tasting and all the glory that followed.

“Good day Fortunato, back again so soon?”

“Indeed Montressor, I’ve been needing a new shelf for my books but haven’t gotten time to go shopping yet.”

“well then, that can be arranged Fortunato however, I wanted to shop with you today.”

“Shop with me?” Appalling Fortunato.

“Indeed sir, I’m looking to wine taste.”

“Oh well then, if you think your up to it come around every week on Saturday.”

And that was that I had just gotten a chance to wine taste, feeling like a dream until I heard Fortunato speaking to another customer around the corner, curious as to what was going on, I listened in, hearing the worst that you could.

“Montressor that fool, his father died and now he acts like a king.”

“In some cases, yes, but it isn’t that bad, right?”

“Oh no it is, he wants to start wine tasting, I bet he can’t even tell the difference in the best and worst of them.”

And that was all I needed to hear, I turned the corner and felt the rage from deep inside me growing and growing like it was going to burst, barely containing it, I went about my days trying my best to ignore and avoid Fortunato while the flame just burned. It had been 3 weeks and I had been doing wine tasting to a surprisingly well ability of mine and at this point, the fire was but a smolder in my mind. I had just come to peace with Fortunato and his insults when I had heard him insult me for the last time a friend’s wedding. He must have been doing it for some time however since everyone’s reaction was that of an annoyed parent listening to their child cry. That was the breaking point and the wood that kicked the fire back up into an uncontrollable blaze. I knew that was all I would let him get away with and started to plot in my head. I knew the festival was coming up and then, everyone would be drunk and partying like I had the previous years, but it would be the perfect time to let the flame run wild. I had been learning crafts my while life, knowing something about everything. I had decided to make Fortunato feel the pain I had for his last days making it slow and painful. I was going to burry him alive in a different way.

I had already collected all my tools and materials for revenge, and with knowledge and hatred I was going to set out to end Fortunato’s insults for once, and no one would know any different for years upon years. My plan was finally going to be laid out.

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Anonymous 1m
your narrative was wonderful to read I like how you chose to talk about Montresor youth and how he felt when he was younger you could use more details on why he didn't fit in with his siblings and why they didn't get along but other then that you did well

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Sequel to "The Cast of Amontillado"
The Night of The Revenge

The years of hatred and unfortunate events my family and I had encountered for over half a century had taunted us, which was caused by Fourtando’s family and ours, the Montersers. In my days of living in this wicked world, I have never seen two families thrown disgrace between our names. Tonight will be the night where everything will come to an end, the hasty words, the violence, and mostly, the hate. I went to help mama to get dress as she looks devastated and sighs with worries.

“My sweet, dearest child.” Mama recalled, “I need you to be on your best behavior tonight. Go tell your brothers what I have told you and I hope all three of you will give me your final word that you will not do anything foolish.”

I replied with, “I promise, mama.” As I help her with tying up the back of her garment.

It has been a decade since my grandfather had passed away. Both mine and Fourtando’s family had decided to throw a party, a remembrance of our grandfather, along with Fourtando’s death anniversary. After I helped to get mama ready, I went to my brothers, who were acting like fools before we had to leave.

“You know, you three cannot be acting like complete monkeys on something so important,” I told my oldest brother, who looked at me and gave me a nasty look at the corner of my eye.

“Dearest sister, why are you such a party pooper? Come on, lighten up a little now will ya?”

“You stupid, little ba-”

“Clarance is right, Adeline,” my second oldest brother said, interrupting me. “You’re just like pop pops, a very old soul.”

I snarled. Jasper was also defending Clearance, knowing that I was right. I’m always right whether or not who started this argument. I will rather be married to a Fourtnado than to deal with my brothers. All but Lanston, he was only seven after all but was quiet.

“Mama wants all of us to not act like a fool at the party tonight. She doesn’t want to deal with Fourtando’s sister anymore, as well as their youngins pranks.” I had said, looking at Clearance laughing.

“A fool? Really? I’d be damned if one of those ‘pranksters’ try anything tonight. Do they know what family they disrespected for decades? I shall refuse to promise to mama if I knew that they wouldn’t put their differences away for one night” Clearance called out.

I look at Jasper, hoping that he’ll say different, but in respect of mama, he looked at Clarance like a war was just about to happen.

“Brother, I know you’re upset about Vinny, but give mother your word for the sake of ours.”

Vinny is our closest cousin. Fourtando family had struck him on the head with a stone, and treated him with unfair treatment. Today would’ve been the first time we have seen him after the doctors told us that there was no chance of him living. We all stood there in silence for a minute, while mama was busy getting Lanston reading. I hoped the Fourtandos don’t try to pull any foolishness tonight. After mama got Lanston ready, we got into our carriage and went to the house where the party was being thrown at. Mother told us the rules, to not be foolish. Clearance looked away, angry. I think he has something in mind, he never quiet for any ride, even at our grandfather’s funeral. Once we got in, it brought back pop pops vision of what it looked like: a lot of people, food, drinks, people just having a good time. I felt a tap on my shoulder, I was already getting nervous, so I grabbed the nearest object close to me and turned instantly, to see it was my cousin. He stood there laughing.

“Seriously cousin? Someone has their guard up tonight.” He exclaimed, grabbing the knife out of my hand and putting it down.

“You shouldn’t be scaring her Rodney, after all. We should be the only family here who isn’t acting like completes monkeys.” A voice had called out.

I turned around and see Rebekkah. I haven’t seen her since Vinny’s incident. The last time I saw her, she had short hair, she was skinnier, but she grew up over the last few years. We always write to each other almost every week, but one day it stopped. I looked at Rebekkah and embraced her with a hug. She smiles, as my brothers Clearance, Jasper, and Lanston comes by us.

“You’re already trying to kill people I see?” Jasper said, laughing at me.

“Maybe if you get startled, you’ll do the same thing. After all, it is kind of frustrating to be in a room with a family who thinks everything is a joke.”

“I told you we shouldn’t keep our word to mama.” Clearance interrupting our conversation.

“Let them come after us, not us going after them. It’ll show that we’re keeping our word, by not saying anything first.” Rodney added. Grabbing something to drink at the table.

I have a feeling. A bad one. That if we let our guard down for one minute, the Fourtando’s will strike any minute. I walked outside and onto the balcony. Trying to get away from all the chatting, stares, and whispers. Then I heard a whisper, a voice I never heard before.

“You shouldn’t be alone out here doll face. A pretty girl like you should always have someone by her.”

As I turn around, it a boy. Someone who looks like Clearance age. He doesn’t look like he’s from my family. I don’t recognize him, not one bit. I stepped away from him, hoping he doesn’t follow, but he does. I don’t know what to do. Quickly, I run, but he grabs my arm and shoves me to the ground.

“Your family shouldn’t do anything to my family, doll face. You think I don’t hear you five whispering about us. My great-uncle was right. Your family was a bunch of fools.” The stranger snarked.

I heard a woman, a girl yelling out his name. I saw her before. Her name is Leah. Running to him, while my brothers, Rodney, and Rebekkah running back behind. The boy moved away as I got up from the ground. Cleaning off my skirt and see more people from the Fourtando family approach us.

“You’re chasing the rats again, I see?” Leah looked at the boy, giving me a disgracing look.

“And the roaches came out to invade. This is more immaturity that my family witness since your uncle was killed.” Clearance said. Laughing at the Fourtando family while helping me to get up.

“Immaturity?! At least we’re not attacking tonight. So get a grip on yourself foolzer. Leon, you let these cowards attack you?” April, Leah’s cousin, said while snarling at my brother.

Clearance looked over at Leon and without hesitation, he lunged at him. Tackling each other to the ground, punching and rolling around on the ground. No one didn’t go in to stop it, not even Jasper. He looked at Leon, who is being punched over and over again.

“Enough! What is wrong with you guys. Can’t you do this until the end?” A man voice was screaming out,

As soon as I turned my head, I saw him. I saw Vinny. Vinny was walking with a cane, slouched over like he was an old man, but really? He’s only 19. As Vinny was walking over here slowly, I turned around, to see that Leon striking my brother on the head with a stone. Lanston screamed and cried out. We all stood there, looking at Clearance’s corpse laying there, like a sack of potatos. Leah grabbed Leon and they ran. Vinny looked at Jasper and told me to bring Lanston inside. I took him back to mother. Mother gave me a look.

“That Leon boy came inside with bloody hands and a bloody shirt. Do you know anything? Where are the rest of your brothers?” My mother asked.

“They went outside. Probably rough housing with Vinny and the other cousins. I’ll find them.”

Rebekkah came inside with me, hugging me as I sob into her shoulder. Was this punishment meant for us? Why didn’t Clearance leave him alone. Vinny stumbled in, washing his bloody hands before anyone sees or reckoned on why they’re bloody. Jasper and Rodney came to Rebekkah and I, while the Fournando family came to us.

“Your 🤬 of a brother should’ve left things were they were. Sad that he can’t celebrate with us.” Theo, Leon and Leah’s oldest brother said.

Theo, Leah, Leon, their other cousin, Marcel, and April were standing there, smiling. They were praising Leon for killing my brother. Jasper wanted to stab each and everyone one of them off, but he’s holding back. Vinny came back, with four golden cups, smiling like nothing didn’t happen. He gave April, Theo, Leon, Marcel and Leah one. He then, grabbed his own, as well as giving us silver cups, raising his arm up to toast.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” My cousin shouted. “It is my great honor to welcome each family to be here tonight as we celebrate and mourn the lifes of Fournando and my dearest uncle, Montresor. They were nothing, but friends. Friends for decades and now almost an century in the afterlife. My uncle always laughed with not only me, but my family as well. No one else had ever put family together like Uncle Monts. So without further a do, let’s have a toast. Salute to the life of the living, as well as the dead.”

“Salute!” Everyone chanted while drinking their drinks. Vinny eyed the four Fourtandos, hoping to drink up.

Each and everyone of them did. To the last drop. I didn’t want to drink. I didn’t even want to be here. I wanted to scream, and have a few words for my cousin. We’re not supposed to be celebrating. This is a crime scene. Rodney and Rebekkah grabbed me and took me to dance, while the four stood there, stiff and watching us. I danced, but didn’t enjoy it. My mother is talking with my uncle and aunts, laughing and waving at me, seeing that I’m enjoying myself. As we dance the night away, I see Leon, drop to the ground, as well as Leah. No one didn’t watch, but Vinny. Vinny told us to come on, and so we did.

“Here. Grab my hand, we’ll lay you somewhere to rest.” Vinny remarked while opening his hand to Leah.

Leah grabbed his hand, Jasper grabbed April, Rodney grabbed Theo, and I grabbed Leon’s. Marcel refused help. He was stubborn but he agreed to follow us. We made sure no one followed us, so no one thinks we’re being suspicious. We went down the stairs, to the basement. The place looks very similar. I notice the wines on the wall, it looks like no one haven’t been down here in years, decades even. We all put the Fourtando family down, and then that when I realized the chains on the floor.

“Vinny, what are we doing down here?” I asked my cousin, being frenetic.

“Well, they can finally meet their uncle and grandfather. Have a nice conversation with them and all. After all, they do resemble Fourtando.”

“But how did you-”

“My dearest cousin, it isn’t hard to fool them. I simply poisoned their drinks, put them downstairs, now we open the wall and put them in there as well.”

“That sounds amazing.” Jasper says. “How are they not going to notice five people missing?”

“I also poisoned every gold cup. That’s why we had silver. Gold is always Fourtando. So, they won’t noticed when they’re busy being too drunk and too sick.”

I never seen my cousin like this. I simply wanted a good night. Vinny didn’t want to argue, or be the one to reckon with. Rodney, Vinny, and Jasper started to open the wall, while Rebekkah and I begun putting the chains on the five Fourtandos’. It took the boys a few minutes to get the wall open, then we see the bones of Fourtando. We all stood in silence, then we tied the chains to the hooks in the walls, lining them up to each other. All five of them were asleep, slowly dying. Vinny and Jasper were putting the wall back up, hearing each brick get back in its place. This was for Clearance. Clearance would enjoy seeing them in misery, in pain. Pop pops would love this too, he would enjoy this.

As soon the wall was done, the smell of gasoline was in the room. That’s when we all heard the screams and the cries. No one couldn’t get out. We tried running, but we were stuck in the basement. Rebekkah and Rodney held each other, crying and screaming. Jasper was trying to find a way out, while Vinny went to see if their another way out. Then that where we hear Vinny screaming, he was all covered in flames. No one wasn’t screaming upstairs, not even mother. I seen Rodney, Rebekkah, and Jasper die one by one. Now, the flame is on me. It burns, I scream and sceam. Hoping the pain will stop, in matters of 2 minutes, it did. That’s how I’m now reunited with Pop pops.

# data[].attributes.body
sequel "The cast of Amontillado"

# data[].attributes.body
Sequel to "The Cask Of Amontillado"

It has been twenty years since I killed Fortunato. However, that has long passed my mind. Mid-June, shortly after my brilliant plan succeeded, I met the most beautiful woman named Lucia. I was walking through the pebbled stone corridors of my charming town, on my way to the grocery store. I opened the door and the little bells rang, but this time I was met with baguettes falling all over the ground. Her fragile brown hair whipping back and forth trying to pick up all her grocery items. Her face was stuck in frustration, but she wasn’t mad. How could she be? She was Lucia and Lucia made everyone smile. And that was the story of how I met my wife. We still laugh about this incident today, rather when walking through the garden, drinking wine, or definitely when baking some baguettes. Without Fortunato making a fool out of me, I can now be respected and I host many parties in my mansion. My life felt accomplished and for the first time I my heart felt full. My favorite part of the day was the strolls with Lucia through our garden. She was more gorgeous than any flower she would stop and admire. “Oh look at my oleanders. They are sprouting beautifully, she would say.” And I would respond with, “but they still cannot compare to you.” My love for her grew and grew but so did my worry that she would leave me. I was afraid she would find out my dark secret, but that is not why I remembered this event so vividly. This event I did not believe would ever occur.

It was a cold and rainy September, our sunset walks ceased to exist, but we did not let the weather control our good times. We were Italians! We knew how to make times wonderful. So of course, I decided to throw a great big party to keep our spirits up. It was a great evening, loud music, good food and of course, the best wine. I invited practically the whole town and for the first time my mansion was filled to the maximum. I could barely get from one room to the next. But that was no matter, I stayed in my favorite corner in the music room drinking, telling stories, and laughing with my friends who played old tunes as well as complete nonsense. I was having such a blast that I did not think about the whereabouts of Lucia and how she was holding up with this whole party. I did not think she would be drinking too much wine, I did not think she needed help, I did not think she could turn unfaithful! But she did, and I did not find out until two weeks later.

It was late in the morning after the party and Lucia was still sleeping. I thought this weird because she’s normally waiting with breakfast in the Kitchen by the time I make it downstairs. But I brushed if off, thinking she must have stayed up extremely late cleaning after everyone. I decided to make breakfast for us this time. I thought she would love that. So, I went about my morning fixing up the best meal I could possibly put together. After burnt toast thrown in the trash, a pool of juice cleaned up, and a burn mark left to scar, there was still saw no sight of Lucia. I decided to go pick some of the roses. I set them nicely in a vase on the table.  Eventually I grew impatient and went back upstairs to check on Lucia. She was still lying in bed so I went to wake her. “Are you okay?” I said. She slowly sat up, looked at me, but didn’t respond. “Lucia! Are you okay?” I said again. She paused for a while then said, “Yeah, yeah, couldn’t be better. I’m coming down to join you, just give me five minutes.” Nothing more was said and I left the room. Over breakfast I asked her how the party went but she changed the subject to the pretty roses I had picked for her. Day after day she seemed somewhat distracted. Her hazel eyes didn’t shine when I pointed out the stars each night. She stumbled on her words and had more trouble doing simple tasks. Something had changed, I felt it.

Two weeks had passed and Lucia was acting less and less like herself. Every time I tried to ask her about it, she would shake it off and say it was nothing. I could not take it anymore and so I decided to be more aggressive about it. She resisted to tell me at first, but she could not hold it in any longer. “I’m sorry Montresor, I could not stay faithful to you,” she cried out. Tears streamed down her face. She told me a rushed explanation, but through her sobbing I could barely make out what she was saying. It didn’t matter though, I was furious. Multiple emotions rushed into me all at once. “You, you did what? HOW COULD YOU!,” I yelled. I ran into the nearest room and slammed the door shut. I fell to the corner and kept my face buried in my knees. This feeling of betrayal was so new, but so familiar. I had everything taken away from me once more. The pain was unbearable. My heart was so torn I could do nothing but sit there, locked up by myself. Lucia helplessly tried to bring me back out but I refused. She said many things like, “Montresor, I’m terribly sorry, I really didn’t mean to. I would never!” Or, “Montresor, I cooked your favorite pasta, you must eat something.” I drowned out her voice and her pity only made my plan easier.

I stayed in there for days as my pain boiled into hatred. My mind was corrupted by this extreme pain and soon the pot of wickedness overflowed. I let myself out and took Lucia by the hand. “Montresor! Oh Montresor I thought you’d never come out. I’m so sorry.” I spoke nothing to her and only lead her down, down, down. All the way underground to the catacombs. “Montresor, where are we going! Please speak to me.” My mind was focused and I kept on our way through the tunnels. Suddenly, she stopped and pulled me to face her. “Montresor, what are you doing, why are we here?,” Lucia said in the most calming but sad voice. I look into her pained eyes and touched her silky hair that still shined gorgeously in the dimmed light. My heart broke once more and I fell to the ground crying another lake full of tears. She crouched down and hugged me. “Montresor it’s ok, let’s talk about it,” she whispered. She led me back upstairs and she forced me to eat and drink water. “Lucia, I…I need to tell you something.” “Tell me, it’s going to be okay,” she said. I didn’t think it would be, but I told her anyways. I told her everything. How I killed Fortunato, and how I was going to kill her. She was horrified of course, but we talked it through. I learned that she was actually drunk and she knew I was just in pain and didn’t know how to deal with it. We decided it was for the better to keep this a secret, but the time would come when we would tell the truth. I could never thank her enough for forgiving me. I now know that honest communication is key to any relationship. I also wish I had known before, that there is no point in revenge, it only leaves bad things to come. Instead, you should focus on helping each other learn from mistakes, as that is the only way to become better as a person and as a whole community.

# data[].attributes.body
The crisp air nipped at Montresor’s nose as he strolled to the back of his house. Living a covert lifestyle had made his parents rigid, and they thought he needed to work to shape into someone that could carry their family name. Montresor sighed thinking of the times he was scolded by his parents, rather than just talked to. Rolling up his sleeves, he began working. Montresor knew his parents would never change their cold ways, but worked harder every day to make sure he does not become like them.

After hours of working in the early morning, Montresor was off to go see his new friend, Fortunato. His new compatriot lived in a lavish house with a posh family, which somewhat left Montresor with an uneasy feeling, nonetheless, he continued his march from his remote home to enjoy his time with his friend, no matter how odd the posh were.

A voice could be heard from a distance exclaiming, “Montresor!”

Scanning his surroundings, Montresor could see Fortunato’s hand waving like a flag in a violent wind. Fortunato’s backdrop included a dignified home with grand windows and beautiful landscaping. The two boys got to each other and gave each other a simple handshake as a greeting.

“How do you do, questioned Montresor.”

Scratching his head, Fortunato replies,

“ I’m doing okay.”

He turns on his feet and gestures to follow him.

“My parents would not stop criticizing me today, but it’s better now that we can see each other.” He sighed and continued, “Being able to have time with my friend makes what my parents say, not bother me.”

Montresor smiled at this and thought for a moment.

“Fortunato, you must make sure you never turn out like them, alright? My parents are cold, and I would never want to turn out like them, we are supposed to be better than that.”

“I understand Montresor, I give you my word.” A mischievous grin creeps on his lips, “Last to the shop has to buy the other their food!” Fortunato laughs as both boys start their sprint towards the store.

After Montresor won the race to the shop, the boys made their way inside. The shop was minimal but designed to get the job done. Bags of flour hung behind the counter with some blue and white plates lined up on a couple of shelves.

Montresor rubbed his hands together and devilishly smirked, “So what do I want?”

Fortunato rolled his eyes and sighed, “Whatever food you would like.”

As they walked up to the counter, the baker greeted them with a smile saying, “What can I do for you boys today?”

Both boys thought for a moment and decided on the same pastry and handed the baker her coins.

“I will bring those right out shortly!”

Her red hair flowed like fire down her back as she slipped to the back of her shop.

Fortunato muttered, “She better not take so long this time or I will have to go back there myself.” Montresor raised his eyebrows, “What is the matter with you? She is doing her best and you have no right to think that way about someone.”

“I will think about what I want to think. What is going to stop me?”

Montresor sighed, “That is exactly how mine and your parents are. Do you really want to be like that? I thought we had a deal.”

“If it were a deal, I would be getting something out of it for myself, but that is not happening,” Fortunato said snootily.

“You are getting out of this deal, your best friend not becoming a bad, unreasonable person, like my parents!” Montresor groaned.

“And here are your pastries, boys!” The baker had returned to them almost starting war. She awkwardly smiled, sensing the tension in the air, it was so thick one could cut it with a butter knife.

Montresor faced her and grinned, “Thank you very much, we will be on our way now.” Both boys took their pastries, both feeling defeated by the argument. Fortunato stayed behind this time by carefully inspecting his pastry crumbs for no rhyme or reason before slowly trailing his friend.

Montresor walked down an alley to lean on a fence, he then munched on the pastry he had so bitterly won.

“I definitely would have beat you if it weren’t for the shoes I have on now,” Fortunato grumbled.

Montresor snorted, “Oh definitely. It must be the shoes.”

“Well if you know I’m right, then why are you laughing, Montresor?”

A sincere look passed on Montresor’s face. “Honestly, I bested you in my oldest shoes. It is not the quality of the shoe, but the quality of the runner.”

Fortunato scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Okay, you don’t have to go all enlightened on me, Montresor!”  Fortunato saunters away from the fence Montresor was leaning on, leaving him to eat his pastry alone.

“Wait up Fortunato,” Montresor calls from a distance which was answered with a nod of the head, and zero change in pace. Rolling his eyes, he put his cloth that was holding the pastry into his pocket and starts jogging towards Fortunato.

# data[].attributes.body
Sequel to 'The Cask of Amontillado'

# data[].attributes.body
The story continues after "The Cask of Amontillado"

A fortnight has passed since Fortunato and I made our voyage through the catacombs.  Fortunato’s tendency to venture on excursions on behalf of his profession has allowed his disappearance to go unnoticed; however, speculations have started to arise regarding his whereabouts.  I know I have restored my family’s honor but still, my deepest (only) regrets lie with the Lady Fortunado.

Sorrow dulls the cosmos in her emerald eyes.  I strive to spend my days at her side, steering her mind from his absence.  I know this grace period will not last long.  “Come my Lady, you must get some rest,” I say as I gently guide her away from the window, slowly walking toward the stairs. “Fortunato would not want you to sacrifice your health simply because he has been called away on business.”  Her soft voice floats into my ears as she ascends the stairs.  “If my husband did not want me to worry, he should have at least said farewell.”

“You will hear no objections on that matter,” I comment, still at my place at the bottom of the stairs.  “Good night, my Lady.  I shall see you tomorrow.”  Her body pivots ever so slightly, a polite smile not yet reacting her eyes as she replies, “To you as well, Montessor.”  As she disappears toward her chambers, I make my way back to my manor.

Settling into my bed I gradually drift into sleep with visions of a golden haired beauty playfully frolicking in a field.

~~~~~~~~~~

I am no longer able to distract the Lady Fortunato.  “He has never been gone this long, Montressor,” she looks out the window, as she does most days, subconsciously bringing her thumb to grace her lips.  Though I can not tell if it is from the worry or irritation at her husband’s carelessness.  Three months have gone and I know I can no longer quiet those negative emotions with empty promises.

This causes me to say something that may cause me trouble in the future.  “I must admit, your fears are justified.”  I walk over to the window with her gently bringing her hand into both of mine and away from her lips.  “For even I am starting to worry about my dear friend.  I do not wish to alarm you in any way with what I am about to say, but, it may be time to seek help from the authorities.  Even if only to bring you peace of mind in knowing he is safe.”  A deep sigh escapes her as she brings her gaze up to meet mine.  “I fear you may be right, Montressor.  It is time.”

Within the week the authorities stopped by to familiarize themselves with the details of Fortunato’s delayed return.  Our efforts were no doubt written of at this time for it was not until the general public started to notice his absence, that the investigation actually took off.

Once the investigation official took hold, a detective by the name of Tivilantai came to repeat any earlier processes.  “When was the last time you saw your husband, Lady Fortunato?” Tivilantai asked.  “As I told the officers earlier, I have not seen my husband since the party almost three months ago,” stated Lady Fortunato as exhaustion seeped from her gently tone.  Tivilantai ignored her remark and decided to move on to a question that neither myself nor Lady Fortunato expected, “And you, Montressor? When was the last time that you saw Lord Fortunato?”

I must give the man credit.  No one had thought to ask me any questions before this moment.  I will have to be weary around this man.  I quickly composed my face into a solemn mask, “The same night that Lady Fortunato speaks of, I am afraid.”  Tivilantai’s eyes held no emotions as they fell from mine once more.

__________

Shortly after the investigation had begun, a debt collector came knocking on Lady Fortunato’s door.  It would seem my friend had been hiding many secrets.  Everything owned

under the Fortunato name was seized due to an outstanding gambling debt he had acquired over the years.  Due to these unfortunate events, the Lady Fortunato was forced to relocate to my humble manor.  Though it took some time, we have settled into a peaceful routine.  When I am not working, we spend our time in the gardens or lounging in the library.  She has been given free range of the manor, though I have asked that she refrain from exploring the sub levels.  I do not want her to fall ill for find something she should not be finding.

__________

Today, I have finished my work early.  I decided to go looking for her.  As I walk down the hall, I can hear her voice.  Stern and decisive with an edge of excitement, “yes, this will work quite nicely.”  Following the sound, I am lead to the white, intricately carved door outside the drawing room.  I gently knock before peeking inside.  My eyes widen as I behold the sight before me, “Well you have certainly had a productive day, my dear!”  At the unexpected sound of my voice, Lady Fortunato gives a start.  She had been intently admiring her wonderful creation.

Lady Fortunato had taken number out objects from, not only the drawing room, but around the manor as well and and precariously placed them in order to make an extremely large fort half the size of the very large drawing room!  I could not help but chuckle at the youthful achievement.  “Montressor! I am so sorry!  I will clean up right away!”  I could hear the panic in her voice as she rushed to try and deconstruct the massive fort.

Before she could untie one of the sheets, I reached out and gently held her delicate wrist, “Why ever would you do that?  It looks as if you have spent the better part of your day putting this all together.  It would be quite a shame if you were not given the chance to enjoy it would it not?” I asked with a mischievous smile on my face.  She turned to me with pure delight on her face.  “So you’re not mad?”  I shook my head.  “Absolutely not! Why don’t I have someone bring us a few treats while you show me around?”  I was justly rewarded as Lady Fortunato jumped in place with juvenile delight.

~~~~~~~~~~

Throughout the investigation Detective Tivilantai sent Lady Fortunato letters to periodically give her updates on the progress.  As such, it did not surprise me when one of my staff said that a letter from Detective Tivilantai had arrived at the manor.  “Very well.  Ensure that the Lady Fortunato receives it,” I said, not bothering to lift my head from my work.  My surprise came with their next words, “The letter is addressed to you, My Lord.”

My head snapped up as I skeptically reached out for the letter.  This detective has proven to be quite intriguing.  In the letter, he informs me that he and his men will be paying a visit to my estate.  I have been suspected of being more involved in the disappearance than originally thought.  Detective Tivilantai also requested that I remain in my manor until his arrival.

Leaning back in my chair, I cannot help but be impressed.  This man seems to be rather proficient at his profession, especially so if he can deduce that I am a note worthy suspect in the disappearance of Lord Fortuanto.  It is unlucky for him that I am a man who knows how to cover his tracks.  I have meticulously planning my actions for years.

I made sure the circumstances involving my revenge would never reach the outside world.  Now with the dark shadows of Fortunato’s life moving into the light, it will be of all the more ease that I lead them away from me.

The Lady Fortunato and I greet Detective Tivilantai and his men on the steps of the manor.  After exchanging formalities, Tivilantai decides to get straight to the point, “This is regrettably not a social visit, My Lord.”  I could sense the Lady Fortunato’s worry as she hears these words.  I gently took her hand, wrapping it under my arm.  This seemed to relax her somewhat.  I tilted my head to the side ever so slightly as a signal for Tivilantai to continue.  “We would like to search the estate, Montressor.”

“Whatever for?” I asked keeping my face solemn and expressionless.  “Recent evidence has lead us to believe that you may be a suspect in the disappearance of Lord Fortunato,” stated Tivilantai.  Lady Fortuanto’s grip tightened as her temper spiked, “That is absolutely the most absurd thing I have ever heard! How dare you-“

“Now, now, my dear.  The man is simply doing his job.  Let us make sure to leave no stone unturned in the search for your husband and my dear friend,” I interrupted before she could go any farther.  With that, she returned once again to her calm demeanor, “You are right, Montressor.  My apologies.”  “I grant your request.  You may look anywhere you like.  I do ask, however, that all objects and rooms stay as intact as possible.  Please send one of my staff for me if there is any area you are unable to access.”

“Of course, My Lord,” said Tivilantai.  The Lady Fortunato and I started walking back into the manor.  There was no reason for us to wait for what could be a lengthy search.

~~~~~~~~~~

The Lady Fortunato had retired to her room in need of rest.  Tivilantai encountered me in my office after finding that he was unable to access the catacombs.  I had always kept the door locked.  None of my staff found this strange, so no one reported this as unusual.  After the detective states his business, I grabbed my keys from the top drawer of my mahogany desk.  I started leading him in and through the catacombs.  I answered every question he asked along the way and waited on the next “important” one as we traveled that all too familiar route.

“This section here...it looks different? Newer?” Tivilantai said as he points to the section of layered brick I had formed nearly two years ago.  “Yes, the waters above us have certainly taken their toll as you can see,” I said as I motioned to the crystallized formations on the ceiling. “Around three winters ago, water started to leak in that area.  I rebuilt it in order to preserve the main caverns.”  “I see,” said Tivilantai skeptically as we continued on.

At the end of the search, Tivilantai and his men had found nothing.  “I apologize for any inconvenience, My Lord.”  “Think nothing of it, Detective.  I wish you the best of luck.  We only wish to find out what happened to Lord Fortunato,” I said as I shook his hand.  After a thoughtful pause, I stopped him, “Detective, it has just occurred to me that we have not informed you of the reason for the Lady Fortunato’s change of residence.”  Tivilantai raised an eyebrow prompting me to continue.

“Not long after your first visit, a debt collector knocked on Lady Fortunato’s door.  He was demanding everything in the Fortunato name as payment for quite a large gambling debt.”  The detective could not hide the look of shock that took over his face.  “When the Lady Fortunato attempted to plead with him, he informed her that her husband would never return.  Now he is in control of everything from the estate to holdings to the businesses.”  I watched as the weight of this sank in with the detective.  Tivilantai thanked me before leaving and headed down the road.  Away from me.

~~~~~~~~~~

Almost a year later, the tax collector has been arrested for Fortunato’s murder and for all of the other crimes he had taken part in.  I must say though, he did have that coming.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Well, Old Friend, I must thank you.  Because of you, the happiness I lost all those years ago has finally been returned to me.”  I can’t help but smile as I stare into the added brick of the catacombs.

“Montressor, are you really going to deprive your wife of a meal with her husband?” My smile brightens as I turn to the once Lady Fortunato.  “Of course not, my dear.”  With a smile in her voice, “Then let us stop gloating to the late Lord and head upstairs,” says the beautiful Lady Montressor as she heads upstairs, but not before she kisses my cheek on her way out of the catacombs.

Who would have guessed that by exacting my revenge, I would get everything I ever wanted?

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The Prequel to "The Cask of Amontillado"

“How have you been feeling?”, says Dr. Jay.

“These past few days, I have been well. I have gained a new friend, his name is Fortunato, and we share a passion for wine”, I replied.

“However, as much as I consider him a friend, he could also easily become a foe”, I added.

“And why do you believe this Montressor.”

“Because we are in the same business. Sooner or later one of us will become too wise in our work and thus creates arrogance”, I cleverly stated.
...

Present-day

Today is May 3rd, 1780 and as per usual, I am opening up my wine shop at daybreak. I am hoping more people come today as the business has not been going well during the last two months. However, Fortunato has been achieving soaring success in his shop, which is a few blocks away from mines. In all honesty, I am proud of his success.

As the sun begins to set, I decide to clean up and close the shop. I lock up and head for home on my usual route. Surprisingly, I notice Fortunato up ahead and catch up to him.

“Fortunato!... Fortunato!”, I exclaimed.

“Oh, Montressor, it is nice seeing you”, he responded as he recognized me.

“What are you doing around here? I take this route daily and have never spotted you. ”

“I was heading to the costume shop just down the block for the upcoming carnival. Will you also be attending?”, he asked.

“Yes of course! There isn’t a single person in town who does not attend the biggest event of the year”, I replied.

“Haha, you have a point there Montressor. Well, I do want to make it in time to the shop before it closes. I will see you soon, goodbye friend”.

“Goodbye Fortunato”, I said as we parted our ways.

As Fortunato and I went our own ways now, I headed directly home. Later that night, as I laid in bed, unexpectedly I heard a voice. Initially, I gave it no importance as I believed it was the voice of one of my many servants. Throughout the night, I kept hearing it and soon realized my assumption was wrong. I tried to sleep it off but was unable to do so. I decided it was best to see Dr. Jay the following day.

As soon as the first sign of daylight broke, I departed from my sweat-infused bed and got dressed. I immediately made my way to Dr. Jay’s office, only to find it close for another 2 hours. I sat down on the nearest bench and waited until 8 am. At the session, Dr. Jay claimed that it was simply caused by the abundant stress that I had been experiencing lately. He believes that I shouldn’t worry much about it and prescribed me medicine.

Two days later…

My condition has gradually gotten worst in the last two days and I haven’t left home much because of it. I haven’t seen my shop since and I haven’t notified anyone of my situation, the only people aware are my servants and of course my therapist. I have been notified that Fortunato stopped by earlier and wishes to see me tonight at our local pub. Despite my current issue, I believe it could be beneficial to step out and see my friend. As it gets later into the day, I prepare to leave and meet up with Fortunato. I am nervous to leave my house, but I am assured that the medicine is controlling the voices in my head, what could go wrong?

I arrived at the pub a few minutes early and soon enough Fortunato walks in and joins me.

“Fortunato, how are you?”, I asked.

“Greater than I have ever been before”, he exclaimed.

“I cannot help but notice that your shop is the most prosperous in the area. Congratulations!”, I happily stated.

“Thank you Montressor, this is also the reason why I wished to come to the pub alongside you because I wanted to celebrate. "

As the consumption of alcohol increased, so did Fortunato’s arrogant words. It was as if he had changed to another person.

“Montressor, you know why I am the most successful? Because of my skill and immense wisdom in my craft” he arrogantly stated.

“I am the very best in the business and you are solely a failure, you will never make it!”, he added.

These words coming from my only friend, the one person I trusted, really impacted me. I pushed away my feelings and tried to calm Fortunato down because I knew that he was just speaking nonsense and was drunk. Foolish Fortunato was not compliant and consistently refused to listen to my words.

I was growing tired of his behavior and decided to leave. As I walked home, I kept reminding myself that they were just drunken words that held no truth. Nonetheless, the underlining truth was that I couldn’t stop myself from feeling hurt. Finally, I reached home and by the time I reached my bedroom, my sadness had turned into anger.

Overwhelming anger rushed throughout my body; it triggered the voices.

“Vengeance is what you need. It is the only option”, they whispered.

“Do you want to be kept treated like a dirty rag? Your friend is pretty naive, it wouldn’t be difficult to trick him into tasting his own medicine”, they added.

They kept getting louder and much more demanding about what they desired. They wanted me to cease my medication and stop seeing Dr. Jay. Unfortunately, I was at my most vulnerable point, so I was convinced.

“Fortunato should be punished for such words. He caused this on himself, so my actions are justified”, I said aloud.

This led to my wicked plan. I wanted Fortunato dead, but how would I execute it?

“I could use his love for wine to lure him into my family’s underground catacombs and he would never walk out”, I thought to myself.

The voices responded, “Yes Montressor, yes!”

It was settled, I was to kill my unfaithful friend.
We are now only a day away from the carnival and I have decided to do it that night. To begin, I have made a meticulous plan that consists of an empty house and my masonry skills. I would cease my planning, but Fortunato has not apologized, which only seems to anger me more.

As the voices had asked me to not seek help anymore, I maintained faithful to its wishes and have not seen Dr. Jay nor taken my medicine. Chaos has entered into my life because of it, I have only slept for 3 hours in the last week and I have not left my bedroom since. My time has primarily been dedicated to premeditating murder.

With only a few hours left until the opening of the carnival, I decided to prepare my things for my departure. As I watch the sunset and made way for the moons rising, I thought to myself, “After today, everything will change.”

I finally headed to the carnival and searched far and wide for Fortunato. About ten feet away, Fortunato stood in a jester costume.

“Oh Fortunato, oh Fortunato, how foolish you look”, I thought to myself.

I walked over in his direction and he happily greeted me. As planned, I lured him to the catacombs underneath my home with the promise of Amontillado. He was filled with excitement the entire way there; little did he know that this was the last time he would ever see the outside world.

We began to enter the eerie catacombs and a large grin overcame my face.

I thought to myself, “There’s no turning back now.”

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`For the love of God, Montresor`, for the first week Fo

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Sequel to 'The Cask of Amontillado'

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Sequel to `The Cast of Amontilliado`

`For the love of God, Montresor`, for the first week Fortunato´s last words were living in my head, I couldn´t think about anything else, my life turned into a nighmare, I would feel guilty every second of my day. But now, I am feeling great, who dares to do me wrong? Murdering Fortunato only made me stronger, it made me realize that everyone has to respect me. In this moment of my life I want to  achieve good things, now that I finally god rido f Fortunato, all I want for me is hapiness, I deserve all the good that the world has to offer, I want to travel and be a free man, not be feeling down by anyone, and don´t let anyone do me wrong. Fortunato got what he deserved and now it is time I get what I deserve. Hoping that no one ever finds out what I did.

Today I woke up a little weird, my heart felt sick, I feel like my freedom is vanishing away, I doný understand why I am feeling like this, it has been one month since Fortunato´s murder and I didn´t dare to walk near the bricked wall where he was. Today was a rainy day, it is kind of sad here, I am alone in this afternoon preparing myself tea before reading the newspaper and preparing myself to bed. Suddenly when I am sitting down in the kitchen drinking my tea I hear noises, at the moment I look up I see six policeman and I am shooked. I remeber they taking me to jail, the police guys didn´t even give me the chance to explain myself, they locked me in a room and I was asking what was the reason they were doing that all te time and never got a response. I imagined I was there because of Fortunato obviously, but how? How did they ever find out? When talking to a guy in the next prison cell I was able to find out.

``But how man, never in my life I would imagine to be here``

``The hat Montresor, they found it, in the corner, right next to Fortunato``

``No way, I thought about every single thing, but forgot the hat in there, 🤬 it.``

``Yup, that is right, I heard the cops saying it, everyone felt the terrible smell coming from the place and when the cops went there, they saw the hat, smart plan tho``

``Not smart plan my friend, it was a fabulous plan, if it wasn´t the hat I wouldn´t be here. But I will let you know, I am great with plans, I will come up with something to leave this place, I am smarter than this``

After the conversation we both went to sleep, honestly, the guy in the next cell went to sleep, I couln´t, I spent the whole night thinking on how to escape that place.

Two weeks after and I had the perfect plan, there was a large river right next to the prison I was, my friend in the next cell told me that when the prisioners died the cops would put them in those large black bags with an iron ball connect to your feet with a chain, they throw you at the river and the iron balls makes you drown by the water. An old friend gave me pills that heped me simulate my death. It all happened according my plan, I took the pills, the cops believed I died, I was placed in a large bag with an iron ball in the feet, and finally they threw me down the window. The hardest thing was to get the iron ball off of my feet, and I remeber my friend from the other cell yelling at me at the top of the builing saying I was insane, at that moment I was too busy running for my life.

I kept running until I got to another city, somewhere no one would recognize me. My plan was to start a new life there, no one knew me, and either my past, it was the best thing that could ever happen to me.

Two months later, and I am living my best life, no one in the city knows who I am or what I did. I even felt in love with someone, she is smart, pretty, helpful, kind and friendly. I never felt safe to tell her what I did, I am afraid she will leave me, but we are happy together and we have plans on getting married, I could never imagine myself sharing my life with someone,but here I am. Her name is Alice and now I finally fell like my life is complete, I asked if she ever heard about the city I was from, and she had no clue, I couldn´t ask for anything better than that.

There was a day, I came home early, Alice was sitting at the dinner table crying a lot when Reading the newspaper and holding some paper, the moment she saw me se threw all the paper in the trash and stopped crying really fast, at the beginning I felt like she was very angry at me, like I made her mad, but a couple minutes later she was acting normal again, it made me consfused. Later on that night when Alice was sleeping I went and got all the papers on the trash to see what made the love of my life cry so much, it was a newspaper with a memorial for Fortunato on the first page and a bunch of papers with pirctures of him, how does she know who Fortunato is? And why would she be crying over someone she doesn´t even know? It got me so mad that I just threw everything back in the trash and went to sleep, I didn´t even bother to go through everything.

A couple of weeks after that Montresor was found dead on a bricked wall the same way that he killed Fortunato, and Alice is nowhere to be found. After investigating it was known that Alice and Fortunato planned to marry before of his murder, his lover Alice moved to another town, and when she saw Montresor falling in love with her, after Reading the newspaper, the second page that Montresor didn´t bother to go through, which stated he was a killer, Alice saw herself in the opportunity to play revenge against Montresor, and kill him the same way he killed the love of her life, Fortunato.

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My sequel to 'The Cask Of Amontillado'

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PREQUEL TO “THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO”

Montresor’s Perspective

When I was younger, I did not have the ideal life. My dad unfortunately passed away when I was at a very young age, which caused my mom to become busier with work. She had little time to take care of and to spend time with my siblings and I. However, before all of that happened, I was still not living the perfect life. I am the youngest of five siblings, I have four older brothers, which means that by the time I was around there wasn’t too much time for me. All of my brothers were well-known and well-liked throughout the town in which we lived in. They were all super helpful, intelligent, outgoing, and athletic. My parents always praised my brothers for all of their successes and made sure to take care of and comfort them when they were down. Although, when it came to me, it was a completely different story. I was not the smartest one in the crowd, or the most athletic and helpful either. I struggled from an early age with certain motor skills, and I was always a bit behind in that stage of development. Like I said before, I was pretty much neglected for the majority of my childhood, so I had to teach myself most things.

Growing up I would watch my brothers and parents in almost every daily task that they did. This was the only way that I learned how to do things. My brothers always got annoyed with me, but I ended up learning to deal with it, because without I would not be where I am today.

The majority of the issues started occurring around the time that my dad passed away. It had been a shock to all of us, and was a really hard thing to go through. My dad passed away from a heart attack in his sleep, so when my mom woke up that morning, she had no clue what was going on.

As the weeks went by after his passing, my mom seemed to become busier and busier. She had to take care of even more of our family’s responsibilities and take on more work than ever. She had little to no time for my brothers and I which ended up causing some issues among us.

My brothers and I never had the best relationship, and I was always a little bit jealous of them and the relationship that they had with my dad. They had bonded with my dad over their similar personalities and passions. I never had this kind of relationship with anyone in my life. They were all so busy and I never had much to do. Although, when I was doing activities, I seemed to not be too good at them. My brothers never wanted to help me or teach me which also caused some animosity.

After my dad’s passing, I went through a lot mentally and I didn’t know what I was supposed to do, since everyone around me had their own things to do. I didn’t have many friends, and I struggled to “fit in” with all of the other kids. However, I did have one friend, Julius. We were kind of similar in the sense that we never truly “fit in” with the other kids, however that’s what drew us closer.

My mom and I also never had the best relationship throughout my childhood. It wasn’t really anyone’s fault. She just became extremely busy with maintaining our family and her own jobs. I do believe that this has caused some aspects of myself to not be complete, or for me to have not learned all the right choices that should be made throughout life. There were multiple instances where my brothers and I would disagree or have fits between each other, and my mom would take their side, and I would get punished. I would always be the one to clean up after them and if the cleaning wasn’t complete, it would be on me. I knew that it was my job, so I always tried to make sure it was done. Although we all had our own issues my mom did all that she could to provide for us and create a great home.

There were times where things would go great!

I would be told, “Montressor, the bathroom needs cleaning fix it quick!”

“I’m on it mom.” I replied.

However, there were other days where things would not be quite too good.

I would be told, “Montressor, you don’t help out with anything. Your brothers are so busy with all of their jobs and activities, and are successful. You don’t do anything! You need to help out! Go clean the bathrooms they are a mess!”

And all I could respond with was, “Yes mom, I’m on it.”

I know that I could have it so so much worse, but it got worse and worse on the daily. I learned to deal with it and get what needed to be done over with.

This now leads into how I act today. I can get overly jealous and envy those around me, since that is how I grew up. I was always told how much worse I was than my brothers and by those around me. That ended up affecting me more than I ever thought it did. However, I knew that I had to do something about it, and fix it somehow. But, the way I was going to fix it might’ve not been the best. There were tons of people all around the town that were better than me at something, or were liked more than me by our peers. I was constantly trying to present myself the best I could, so that people would think highly of me, and worship me. This was a way of getting back at my family for making me feel bad about myself my whole childhood. However, I couldn’t find the right person.

Until, Fortunado came to town. Everyone loved him, and found him to be the very best man in town. I tried to befriend him, so that I could learn all about him. This was so that I could end up seeking revenge.

“I will seek revenge soon!” I exclaimed to myself.

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After the story in "The Cask of Amontillado?"  Narrative writing English 3 story; Gabriela Ling

Montresor sits alone in his office sluggish and drunk. It has been mere weeks since Fortunado was declared missing and presumed dead, from an outsider's perspective it would look as if Montresor was mourning the death of his friend, but no one knew that what is really haunting him was guilt. “Fortunado...Fortunado, were you wrong my friend...or-or am I?” he stammered as he blacked out .Meanwhile outside the gates of Montresor’s home a swarm of footsteps approaches, “Where’s Montresor?” Luchesi exclaimed with a smirk. Montresor wakes up with sweat dripping from his forehead but he’s not in his office anymore, confused he looks around, he’s laying on a small dirty bed with stone walls surrounding him and steel bars in front of him. Suddenly he came to a realization he was in the local jail. “Help!” he screamed desperately as his eyes started to water “What is going on? What did I do? Someone please help me!” Montresor hollered until his voice ran dry he fell onto his knees defeated and began to wait. Then he heard Luchesi’s voice, “..it’s unquestionable, even the witnesses think so”, “But we don’t have enough evidence, there is only speculation.” It was Luchesi and the police chief Enzo. “Luchesi! Enzo!” Montresor weezed. The two men rushed to his cell, “Montresor your awake” Luchesi said as he watched Montresor. “Montresor we need to talk,” Enzo claimed while struggling to find the key to his cell. The three men moved to a different room, while the tension between them grew, they each had their own intentions that much was clear, what those intentions entailed however, was a mystery to everyone but themselves. Montresor was the first to speak “Why am I here?” he asked “What is going on?”. They were quiet for a moment, “ During the Fortunado’s missing persons investigation..” Enzo started before Luchesi interrupted him “ Several witnesses are claiming that you were the last person with him before he disappeared that night” he said glaring bitterly at Montresor. Finally Montresor understood, Luchesi wanted justice for his deceased friend and he was right, but Montresor wasn’t ready to admit to his crimes, he couldn’t even comprehend what he, with his own hands, did to his former friend. “What happened the night of the festival Montresor?” Enzo asked carefully as he watched over Montresor. “...We were heading to my place to try some new wines I bought.. But he felt sick on the way there so, he went back by himself.That’s..all I know”. After that Luchesi snapped “Liar! Everyone knows he didn’t come back after leaving with you! You know something! Say it!” Luchesi yelled at Montresor while Enzo held him back. “Luchesi, stop! Montresor your free to go” Enzo said still holding Luchesi back from Montresor. Montresor nodded and scurried out of the jailhouse “No, come back, tell the truth.” Montresor could hear Luchesi continue to rage after he left the building. On his way back home he thought of the things he has done, he murdered his friend and lied to the police. His head was spinning and he felt as if his heart was about to beat out of his chest. Montresor began to walk faster and faster, before suddenly stopping and looking straight ahead, he didn’t even notice but subconsciously he walked all the way to Fortuando’s home, a single tear rolled down his cheek as he walked forward to knock on the door. After talking to Fortunado’s wife for some time about how she felt guilt struck Montresor. He tried to ignore it and continued to talk to her while her kids played downstairs with the servants. She was crying throughout his visit but she suddenly became even more vulnerable as she said in tears “ i-if you can find him please I beg, I will give you anything, I’ve become so desperate I even agreed to give away the estate” Montresor furrowed his brow, “The estate, why? Fortunado worked his whole life for this estate, how could you give it away so easily!” Montresor exclaimed, confused. “Luchesi, said that he would help find Fortunado, but only in exchange for the estate and everything inside” she sobbed “ but as long as his killer is put to justice, I don’t care what I have to give up, my husband is gone and I am now a widow. There is nothing left for me here”. Montresor looked at her eyes wide, “No, you still have your kids, your family, and your life. You don’t have to give up just because he’s gone, he wouldn’t want that.” with those words she burst into tears “Thank you, thank you” she sobbed still wiping away tears. Montresor walked home as night came, and he began to think about what Fortunado’s wife told him about Luchesi. “Why would he ask her for those things,” he thought to himself “especially when she is in her most vulnerable state?” this question plagued him the entire road home. When he finally entered his house he went into is office, locked the door and grabbed a pen. He began to write down everything his own thoughts, what Fortunado’s wife told him, Luchesi and the way he was acting. It looked terrible, like some kind of knot that would take weeks to unravel, but for Montresor the more he wrote, the more he understood. Every word, every move they all were starting to make sense. Luchesi was always envious of Fortunado, he would always whisper words of contempt when Fortunado was there. I should have seen the signs but I let myself get carried away, I was selfish and Luchesi took advantage of that, he saw my disdain for Fortunado begin to grow and he manipulated me further into that hatred. If only I wasn’t so selfish, I wouldn’t have fallen into his trap and Fortunado wouldn’t have died. Montresor is filled with grief and regret but begins to realize that if things continue as they are, he will go to jail and Luchesi will have Fortunado’s estate. He clenches his fist and thinks of a way to give Fortunado justice and ensure that Luchesi doesn’t get his friends estate. After a while his eyes widen when a thought crosses his mind, “It might work” he thinks to himself “its my only option”. He held his pen and sprinted out the door, heading straight for the Jail house. Montresor opened the door hurriedly and see’s Enzo packing his things preparing to leave for the night, “Enzo wait” Montresor spoke out of breath, “I lied.” The next morning the streets of Italy are filled with news of how the police found the people behind the missing person case. “They say he confessed in the middle of the night!”, “He was probably drunk.” “I’m glad they were finally caught”. The people buzzed and conversed about what happened while Montresor and Luchesi sat across from each other in their separate cells. “This wasn’t supposed to happen” Luchesi screeched “ after everything I did, why I am here! That estate was mine! I was finally going to be worth something, it was finally in my reach..so why” he banged his fists on the wall while Montresor just laughed and muttered  “ottieni sempre ciò che meriti; You always get what you deserve”. Enzo watched the two as they settled into their cells while he finished writing his report and putting Montresor’s signed confession in the archives.

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Fortunato is mischievous and enjoys playing pranks on his friends. Even though sometimes he doesn’t know when to draw the line. His main target is usually his good friend Montresor. Montresor on the other hand is a serious person. He does not take jokes and pranks well. He often lets Fortunato’s pranks and jokes go at the moment but deep down he holds a grudge against Fortunato. One beautiful Thursday night at my mansion. Montresor and I are having dinner in my extravagant mansion. 
“ Montresor my good friend! I have invited you over today to give you exciting news!” , I exclaimed.
“ Well let us discuss this exciting news over dinner I am famished.”, Montresor expressed.
My chef serves us an extraordinary four course meal. After dinner I bring out a fine bottle of wine to the study. Where Montresor awaits to discuss the great news I have.
“ What are we drinking today Fortunato?, questioned Montresor.
“ We will be having one of my best bottles of sherry.”, I answered.
“ I have decided to dedicate this month’s wine connoisseur party to celebrating your recent successes!”, I announced.
“ Is this another one of your pranks?”, questioned Montresor doubtingly.
“ Of course not my dear friend! I would never joke about your success.”, I exclaimed.
“ Then I will be there. Let us have a drink to celebrate!”, shouted Montresor.
It was a chilly Saturday night at the Fortunato’s estate and everyone was in a great mood. The air was full of laughter and cheer as everyone was enjoying the party. Fortunato was preparing everything for his prank on Montresor. Everything was going according to plan except Montresor was extremely late. Fortunato was getting anxious. 
“ Where could Montresor be, if he doesn’t arrive soon all my efforts would have been a waste!”, shouted I from my balcony. 
Finally Montresor arrived. 
“ Montresor my dear friend where have you been? You are the guest of honor yet you are late!”, I emphasized.
“ My apologies Fortunato there was a problem with some of my servants.”, explained Montresor.
“ Let us put this aside and celebrate!”,  I announced.
Fortunato leads Montresor back into his mansion and into his study where all there close friends were waiting for them. 
“Good evening my good friends, our guest of honor has finally arrived! Let us begin our ceremony.”, I announced
I lead Montresor to the middle of the room where I have carefully marked the spot where the spider will fall.
“Ladies and gentlemen we are gathered here tonight to celebrate our good friend Montresor’s recent success.”, I announced.
“ Even though he has worked so hard he will be and always have been second to me!”, I joked.
As soon as I finished my sentence Montresor stormed off ruining all my work for his prank. I ran after him to see what was wrong. Unfortunately I lost him in the crowd. So I ran outside. 
“ Montresor!”, I called.
“….” Nothing so I kept running.
“ Montresor!”, I called.
“…” still nothing.
“ Montresor!”, I called one last time.
Finally I heard rustling in the woods nearby. I quietly walk over to the origin of the noise to find Montresor punching some trees.
“ Montresor! Stop you are going to hurt yourself what is wrong!”, I yelled running towards him and grabbing both his arms.
“ Let me go!”, Yelled Montresor.
“ Not until you calm down!”, I exclaimed.
Montresor finally started calming down. 
“ Why did you run away?”, I asked. 
“ You always act like your better than me! No matter what I do, then you go and brag about it to our friends at the party you dedicated to me!”, cried Montresor.
“ I am so sorry my dear friend, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was only joking. I shall do better to be more considerate of your feelings from now on. I promise!”, I assured.
Montresor and I got up dried our tears and walked back to the party feeling a weight being lifted off our shoulders. We enjoyed the rest of the night and I completely forgot about my prank.

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Ashlyn Willis

Mrs.Johnson

English 3

17 December 2020

The Months After.

“Honey the wine cellar in this home is absolutely beautiful”, I said on a warm autumn day. We’ve just moved into the most beautiful home in New Orleans. We live in the most adorable vintage suburb neighborhood I have ever seen, the neighbors are even the kinder people I’ve ever met. The old owner, Montresor is the most humble person I believe I’ve ever met. He welcomed us into this beautiful palace of a home to look around, and we quickly fell in love with it.The day we signed the papers on this house was one of the happiest days of I, Faith Hill, and my lovely husband Mason Hill. Mason and I have been looking for a house for so many years, and when this one came along we just had to have it. The beautiful wine cellar is to die for along with the stone work it has inside it is just immaculate. We absolutely love our new home!

After many weeks in our home we still love it. But there are a few things that are suspicious. The old owner, Montresor has told us various times that he's done the walls in the wine cellar and they won’t need to be redone for a while. It’s very suspicious considering we never even mentioned redoing them. It seemed to be just another day when our housewarming party came about, we invited all our friends and family to join in on the fun. As I went down in the wine cellar to get wine for our guests, I noticed a stone looked off in the wall. I shouted for my husband, “Oh my dear Mason, I need you to come fix this for me so the cellar can remain beautiful as always.” As Mason came down to fix it… he moved one stone and that’s all it took. Flies, maggots, and an awful stench filled our eyes and nose. Mason quickly knew he had to break the wall down. As soon as we got the wall down and dust filled the air, the stench quickly got worse. To my and my husbands surprise, what we found was something we never could’ve imagined. A skeleton and bones is all that lay behind the wall. We quickly called the police as they rushed over to our home. The police took all the bones to try and identify who the individual was, meanwhile our wine cellar was under investigation. After a few days we tried to get in touch with Montresor to see if he could tell us absolutely anything. We went to his home, no answer. Tried to call his phone, no answer. Asked if any of his neighbors had seen him, and absolutely nothing came about. My husband and I thought maybe he had just gone on a vacation to his family. A few weeks later the cops came back to us with results of who this person was. They told us his name was Fortunato, whom we’d never heard of. The detectives told he was the original owner of the home and Montresor had worked for him. Detectives then eventually asked us if we had seen Montresor because they wanted to take him into custody for some questioning. I quickly looked at my husband after the detectives left with a worried look on my face and asked, “Darling does this mean Montresor may be a suspect in this death?” With his head hanging low he answered with, “Yes honey, that may be true.” We then initially became on the lookout for Montresor but could never find him for weeks. Mason even threw in the idea that maybe Montresor fleed town once he saw all the police at our house, because he knew that he murdered Fortunato. As the days went on we lived in fear, could Montresor come after us now? Would he come after us? Would the actual killer come to find us one day? Mason and I were expecting a baby at any moment, and I couldn’t even walk about my door without having an acquaintance. Even just living in the home felt like a nightmare to us, knowing that the killer was still on the loose. Not behind bars, not in custody, not even on the detectives radar yet. After a few days I said to my husband, “Dumpling we need to look into buying a new house, I can’t stand the thought of living in this one anymore, I’m too scared.” I didn’t want to live in fear and I knew the only way to get out of it was by trying to buy a new house.

The cops initially got tired of waiting on Montresor to show back up in town. They monitored his house 24/7. Found some of his loved ones to question. Asked his mother if she knew anything about where he could be. It all came out to nothing, no one had heard from him in almost 2 weeks. The next step was a search warrant for the detectives. After they received the search warrant they went into Montresor’s house on a breezy Saturday morning. As the rain began to fall, they busted through the door. Guns drawn, they didn’t see Montresor. One detective looked over on the table and saw a note. He picked it up and it read, “I Montresor could no longer keep up with the stress and guilt of the awful thing I’ve done. And as I lay here on my deathbed, I hope someone finds me along with this note. I don’t want anyone else blamed for the crimes I’ve committed, it was all me. With somewhat fresh ink the detectives thought maybe he was still alive. As they searched the house for any signs of Montresor nothing was found. Until….. One detective looked in his bed and saw the body of Montresor lying there, cold and dead. The cops and detectives couldn’t believe their eyes and quickly understood just how talented Montresor was. The murder could no longer be solved, the murdered himself had already owned up to his actions and is now dead. My husband and I still walk on eggshells around our home, and recently had the wine cellar demolished.We now just keep living along with our newborn infant!

# data[].attributes.body
Jackson Bendixen

Mrs. Paulette

English 3

15 December 2020

The Mystery of Fortunato

It all started on a normal Friday night. Montresor invited me and my wife Silvia over for dinner. We were his longtime friends that he has known since school. Montresor spent all day making sure that his house was all clean and ready for guests. After hours of cleaning, Silvia and I finally arrived.

Montresor could hear Silvia and I’s car drive over the rocks in the driveway as we neared the house. Montresor got up and went to the door to let them in. “Good evening,” said Montresor. “Good evening Montresor,” said Silvia and I in unison. I was wearing a nice black suit with a red tie. Silvia was wearing a beautiful red dress with a diamond necklace. “You guys look great,” exclaimed Montresor. “You too, Montresor,” said Silvia. Montresor showed Silvia and I into the kitchen and got us some drinks. We sat down in the living room with our drinks and started to talk.

After about an hour of talking I realized that my drink was empty. I got up and went into the kitchen while everyone stayed in the living room. When I got into the kitchen I could not find any more wine. I searched every single cabinet and pantry in the massive kitchen. There was no wine left in the entire kitchen. I decided to head down to the catacombs to look for more wine. I had no idea what I was going to find down there.

I began to go down to the catacombs. There were no lights down there, so I brought a candle. As soon as I started to get in the catacombs it became very cold. I continued down the catacombs looking for wine, until I found something that looked weird. I began to inspect this hole in the stone wall. I looked into the hole and thought that I saw something, but I was not sure. I decided to start tearing down the stone wall. I was not ready for what I found behind it. I found a pile of bones.

I started to freak out. My mind started racing. I did not know what to think or what to do. I started sprinting down the catacombs back into the house. I went into the living screaming! “Montresor there are bones in your catacombs!” I screamed. “What are you talking about Benny,” said Montresor. I explained that I found the bones behind a stone wall while looking for wine in the catacombs. “I have no idea what you are talking about Benny,” exclaimed Montresor. “I will have someone come out to look at them as soon as they get a chance,” said Montresor. I was skeptical of Montresor. I decided that I would just let it go for now and continue to enjoy the night.

Silvia and I stayed for a few hours following the bones incident. We left Montresor’s house and headed back to our home. The whole ride home all I could think of was the bones. I knew that Montresor had something to do with it. I stayed up thinking about it for hours when we got home and could not fall asleep.

After hours of thinking I knew what I was going to do. I would wait until Montresor’s house was empty and I would go back to the catacombs. I remembered that Montresor said he was going out to lunch today, so that would be the perfect time to go back. I gathered my supplies that I needed which included a candle and a jacket because the catacombs were very cold. I then left his house without telling my wife and went to Montresor’s house.

I arrived at Montresor’s house and made sure nobody was home. I sneaked into the house and made sure not to touch anything. I went down into the catacombs and lit the candle. I made my way down to where the bones were at. To my surprise the bones were still in the same place untouched. Montresor had lied. No one came out to look at the bones. This made Montresor more suspicious. I began to inspect the bones looking for any clues that would indicate who this person was. Then I found something.

I saw something reflecting the light of the candle. It was a necklace, but not just any necklace. I recognized this necklace. This was Fortunato’s necklace. I had now realized that since that necklace was here, then these bones were Fortunato’s. This all made sense to me. I knew that Montresor and Fortunato did not like each other, so that would make perfect sense if Montresor had done something to him. I took the necklace and left.

I talked to my wife as soon as I got home. “Silvia the bones that I found were Fortunato’s!” I screamed. “What are you talking about?” questioned Silvia. “I went to Montresor’s house today while he was at lunch and found Fortunato’s necklace in the pile of bones,” I said. “Well, what are we going to do,” she said. “I have a plan,” I said.

I wanted to wait until Montresor invited them over again to carry out his plan. I knew exactly what had to be done and how to do it. After a few days, Montresor did invite Silvia and I over for dinner. Silvia and I got ready for dinner and went to Montresor’s house. Silvia had no idea what was going to happen that night.

We arrived at Montresor’s house and did our normal friendly greetings. We had some drinks and ate some food. Silvia was out in the living room by herself, while Montresor and I were in the kitchen talking. Montresor was looking for something in the cabinet and I took action. I put something in Montresor’s drink. Not something that would kill, but something that would make him a little out of it. Once that had started to take effect I brought Montresor down to the catacombs. I brought him right where Fortunato was. I sat Montresor down in the wall and started to build the wall back up just as Montresor did to Fortunato.

I put the final brick up and headed back to the living room. “Where’s Montresor?” asked Silvia. “Oh, he was not feeling good,” I said. “I think it is best if we leave,” I said. We left the home and never came back. Montresor was never heard from again.

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The sequel to The Cask of Amontillado by Albert Santos

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“Oh Fortunato, dinner is ready!” shouted Fortunato’s Mother

“Coming Mother” yelled Fortunato is response

After coming inside, I instantly noticed that my Father was gone once again. I figured he was off at work again and my guess was correct after my Mother told me so

“Your Father is having another wine competition and he wishes for us to join”

“I thought Father hates us, he’s never here” Fortunato answered quickly

“Your Father loves us very much he’s just always very busy”

I didn’t want to here it, I got up and ran into my room and locked the door. I just couldn’t believe it after being away for so long now he wants to see us. I’ll show him, I’m not going to my Father’s wine competition. I don’t now how Father even likes wine, it’s very sour and gross. A few hours later I heard a knock at my door.

“Fortunato, your Father has passed away”

A few years have past since my Father passed, since then I’ve been writing stuff down in a diary. It helps me clear my mind and get things off my chest. I do everything I can for Mother but ultimately, she’s too sad after what happened. I’ve lost track of how many times I have apologized to Mother but every time she says it ok and it wasn’t my fault. I feel so guilty about it still even after every apology. A few days later me and my Mother went to the town for food. Turns out this trip had another reason, my Mother wanted me to meet another boy in a similar situation as ours. This boy’s named Montresor, we were both very shy at first without even saying a word. Next thing I know me, and Mother are leaving.

About a year later me and Montresor have become close friends we spend most days exploring my backyard.

“Hey Fortunato, let’s be like our Fathers and be wine testers?” Montresor said randomly

This caught me off guard time seemed like it passed very slowly every breath felt heavy.

“Why would you want to do that?” Fortunato asked nervously

“I thought it could help you get over your grief, my Father could help us be successful” Montresor replied quickly

“Do you really think we could be successful?” Fortunato questioned

“I know we can do it as friends” exclaimed Montresor

“I will only do it if we remain friends the whole time” Fortunato said seriously

“Then we have a deal friend” Montresor said with a smile

This is how it all began, we spent most our time focusing on this goal. Montresor’s Father would teach us proper techniques over the years. I found out that Montresor’s Father knew my Father and he took a liking to me because of this. We soon learned my taste was more accurate then Montresor. I tried not to rub it in his face, but he kept making everything a competition. He took everything too serious so I would play jokes on him to try and cheer him up. This seemed to work so I kept doing it, I enjoyed when he would smile.

We were scheduled to have our first competition soon. All our hard work was going to pay off, I can finally live up to my Fathers memory. The only problem is that me and Montresor have to compete against each other. I hope he doesn’t take it personal I have to win, for my Father. My entire life has been leading up to this moment. Even though Montresor helped get me here this means more to me then it does to him. All I hope is that we will remain friends afterwards I don’t want to continue this life without him. The competition is starting tomorrow my lantern is fading I will continue writing in the morning. I awoke to knocking in the morning it was Montresor.

“Ready to lose today?” Montresor said with a smirk

“I don’t know, you tell me” Fortunato returned

“May the best man win” Montresor said while reaching out for a handshake

“I agree, may the best man win” Fortunato said while shaking Montresor’s hand

Many years have past since that wine tournament, I beat Montresor fair and square and we remained good friends since. We finally made it in life ourselves, I finally don’t feel guilty for what happened to my Father. I now know why he loved wine so much, I can’t believe I doubted him. Recently people have told me to be careful around Montresor because he now has a different look in his eye. I can’t possibly see what they mean. He’s my best friend he can’t possibly do anything to hurt me and I was right we kept enjoying our life. We would throw parties and share laughs. I would play pranks and enjoy seeing them play out.

“You know, Fortunato we are enemies now too” Montresor said while drinking wine

“What could you possibly mean by that Montresor” said Fortunato very confused

“Our tastes are only rivaled by each other” Montresor answered quickly

“I still consider you my best friend, Montresor” Fortunato said with a big smile

After saying this Montresor was very quiet and soon walked off. I tried following but he said he needed rest, so I didn’t follow. A few days after this encounter I got sad news of my Mother’s passing. I was devastated I have lost both my parents. My only family member was now gone, now all I had was Montresor. We soon had a funeral for my Mother, last time I cried this much was when my Father passed. Luckily, I had Montresor to help with the pain, I had someone to talk to. Montresor has been there for me for so long I never knew how lucky I was even through all the sadness. A few days later while sharing some wine with Montresor he told me about some Amontillado. He said he wanted to share a bottle of it in memory of my Mother, I’ll continue writing after that.

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The story of Montresor and Fortunato, what caused the story of the cask of Amontillado. Montresor, from a young age, was the outlier. In his family, the school, in every club he attended, he was scorned and mocked. When this happened, he kept a record. Of every name who wronged him. He intended to do nothing with it, only for a sentimental keeping of what he had left behind, but little did he know one day, one name would go so high on the list that he couldn’t leave it be. That would be the name of Fortunato.

Montresor had considered Fortunato a close associate, they had crossed paths many times throughout their life, and now they attended the same events regularly. One such event was a party. The wedding celebration of Montresor’s half-brother, who Fortunato was close to. As the event had been carrying on, they crossed paths once again. “Well Montresor,” Fortunato said bearing a grin across his face, “looks like another wedding as the groomsmen, eh? Never the groom.” Montresor, only slightly offended by the joke, as he knew Fortunato was a jester, and likely didn’t mean it, replied, “Yes, it is unfortunate, but I think we should be happy for him, rather than think about ourselves, should we not?” Fortunato continued, with a chuckle, “Yes, I suppose we should. Not like a little jealousy ever hurt anybody anyways.” The two went their separate ways.

The time came for the toasts the bride, groom, and guests would give. Come Fortunato’s turn, he rose to his feet, holding the glass of wine in his hand, with his usual smirk, prepared to give his toast. “I have known Henry many years. In that time, he’s come to know me, as the jester to his serious nature. I’ve been the one to give him some cheer and lift him up when he’s down. Now, I feel that responsibility of mine is ready to be passed on. I believe that he will not need me for that after tomorrow. Although I do know him very well, I am only glad I didn’t know him as well as his father knew Montresor’s mother.” he finished this with a laugh, along with most other people at the table. It was a well known fact at that point his relation to Henry, however, Montresor didn’t take kindly to the joke and what he considered to be a borderline insult to his mother.

Montresor didn’t care to listen to the rest of the toast. It was all going by in a blur of his own anger at the insult. He left the celebration early, out of his anger. When he returned to his home, he took the list of names. Of people who wronged him. Fortunato had technically been on the list before, but at a very low place. He etched out this previously existing entry, and placed his name on the top of the list. It was something he couldn’t forgive. He closed it and smiled, for he knew he would get his revenge.

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The Cask of Amontillado: The extended version

BY: Desiree Hounshell

As Montresor exits the vaults he thinks to himself *Now he will be gone forever, trapped. I won't have to worry ever again now that I have gotten my revenge* he laughs as he walks to his home and thinks about his new life that is soon to begin. As he gets ready for bed his wife is now home as well. “People were talking about how they couldn't find Fortunado earlier, did you see him?” he thinks for a quick lie and says “ Ah, you know how Fortunato is. He is probably on his search for more wine” he nervously laughs, waiting for his wife's response.”Yes, you are probably right. So, let's get some sleep for now” she said. They have been at the party all day and it was pretty late. As he laid down he started thinking about what to do when people realize Fortunado is missing. He was a popular man so it's not like people wouldn't notice his absence. He thought to himself and realized the best thing to do is move with his wife to a far away town. It's not like he really had to stay here anyways since he got his revenge. After a while he fell asleep after the long night he endured.

It was now morning he woke up to his wife being gone and in the kitchen cooking. He goes to her to tell her the news of him “finding work” and then having to move to a new town by tomorrow. She was excited because Montresor had been looking for new work but a little confused on why they had to move so suddenly. They soon ate breakfast and began packing for their new home. After they got everything packed they made their way to the more secluded town but never the less it was beautiful. After they arrived at their new home they unpacked and got settled. Montresor has an office where he did his “work” while his wife did housework and made friends around the town. While Montresor would sit into the office he would get lost in his thoughts. They would overwhelm his brain and become too much sometimes. Most of these thoughts consisted of what he did to Fortanato. He felt the guilt and realization of what he actually did. “I killed him, why? Why did I do that? I'm not a bad person right? I had a good reason right?” He began to forget about his reasons for his revenge. All these thoughts began to take a toll on him and he grew to be depressed. Everyday he would go to his office and sit, he wouldn't even come out to talk to his wife let alone eat.

This cycle went on for weeks until his wife finally decided to confront him. She goes into his office which she was not allowed in and sees her husband, Montresor, sitting in his chair with a blank look on his face. He was completely lost in his thoughts and didn't even realize his wife was standing in front of him. “What is wrong? You have been ignoring me for weeks. Why are you always in here doing work? Hello? Are you even listening?” she continues in a raised voice while Montresor says nothing. She gets annoyed and is about to leave before she hears “I killed him.” She turns around with a concerned and confused look on her face. “What?”, “I killed him” He finally looks up at her while she looks shocked “Killed?? Who??” He speaks in a low voice “ Fortunato” . His wife is shocked, scared, confused all at the same time to say the least. She runs to their room and quickly gathers her stuff and leaves.

Montresor didn't try to stop her, he understood why she left. But her leaving only made him fall into the depressive state even more. He didn't leave the house for days. Meanwhile his next door neighbor Ms. Brunswick was concerned. Ms. Brunswick was a nice older lady, she had talked to Montresor and his wife the day they moved in. She had seen his wife leave with her stuff a few days back and she noticed how she hasn't seen Montresor since. She got the idea to make some bread to bring over to him just in case he hasn't eaten yet. She gets ready and grabs the bread and makes her way to his door. She knocks a couple times but there is no answer. She realizes the door is unlocked and she slowly enters the house. “Montresor, it's me Ms. Brunswick from next door. I was wondering if you would like some bread that I made today” She said as she entered the house looking for Montresor. “Hello?” She sits the bread down on the table and makes her way to the slightly opened office door. She opens it to find Montresor on the floor. She immediately gets help from the other neighbors and they get him to the doctor.

“Where am I?” Montresor says as he wakes up in the hospital. “You're in the hospital” he hears a stranger say. He turns to the direction of the voice and is met with a stranger who is also in a hospital bed. “I'm Samuel by the way nice to meet you...uh” he waits for an answer. “Montresor”

“Ah, well hello Montresor. Do you know why you are here?” “no, i'm not sure.” Which was a lie, he knew he hadn't eaten anything and that's probably why he is here but how? Who brought him here? He thought. Just as he was about to get lost in thought a doctor walked in. “Hello Montresor, how are you feeling?” the doctor says. “Fine.” which again, was a lie. “Well, that is good. Would you like to tell me why you haven't eaten or drank any water in 4 days?” the doctor says concerned. “I was distracted I guess”. The doctor knew this wasn't true, he knew what state Montresor was in. So he did the best thing he could have done and told Montresor about therapy and its benefits. Montresor was smart, he knew that if he continued living like this it could be very dangerous so he reluctantly agreed to see a therapist.

After the doctor ran some tests Montresor went home. Ms. Brunswick said she would have lunch with him everyday to make sure he ate. He talked to his therapist every 3 days. It was the first time he told anyone the FULL story about what happened. It helped him alot and he even visited Samuel in the hospital and talked with him everyday. Samuel was older and was bedwridden from a rare disease he had. He enjoyed Montresor’s company and liked talking to him. He was happy to see Montresor getting better and better everyday. Montresor noticed a change in himself as well. Overtime, He accepted his past mistakes and wanted to become a better person. With the help of his new friends he got better and healthier both mentally and physically. He realized that revenge was never the answer but forgiveness was.

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The continuation of The Cask of Amontillado by Albert Santos

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   What Happened Before The Cask of Amontillado    by  Aisha Vazquez
											    12-11-2020
											        English 3
	Everything was fine, I was peaceful, I was happy. I had my love; Lady Montresor, I had my wealth, I had everything. Then I met Fortunato, then The Amontillado got involved, and so did the Doctor. I remember begging him, begging him to do anything he possibly could to help my wife. I even cried, I had to cry. “I am in need of your help!” I cried vigorously, as he opened the very obvious wealthy door of his. He was so cruel and cold, didn’t even take longer than a second to reject and deny me. His peer didn’t seem to be too fond of me either, considering that he’s the one who told the Doctor to not waste his time on. It still plays in my head clear as day, “Just ignore him, Jaquer. He’s a mere simpleton. We have no business with him.” After I rushed down the steps that were leading to his door, I sunk down to my wifes’ level. It hurt me to see her this way, it still brings tears to my eyes. 
	Days have passed now, I do nothing, I rarely eat; with the exception of eggs and milk mainly. I couldn’t bear to look at my reflection in the mirror. That man isn’t me, that man is a soulless person, miserable in agony even. My eyes are sad, they look dull, full of emptiness and no life whatsoever. I’m in Italy and the time is supposed to be festive, but I feel full of dread and negativity. My heart is beating, but does it matter? I’m in pain, inside and out. Suddenly, a light bulb turns on above my head, and I realize I need to do what needs to be done. I gather myself and make myself look presentable and prepare for what is ahead of me. I’m right, I am in Italy, therefore I need to go out and explore, I must be out diving into the world. I went to parties, I made myself approachable, I smiled and I was sincere. 
A knock on my door startles me, I wonder who it is, but soon after that thought crosses my mind, my dear acquaintance I’ve met at a party reveals him. As I allow Antonio in, I offer him a drink as a representation of hospitality, to which he declines and announces, “I shall not bother you long,” he said. “In fact, I come to ask you to a celebration! An old friend of mine has come back into town after a long journey. He says his invitation is open to all who wish to come! Do you care to join me tonight?” Wow, this is perfect, I must accept. “Of course, Antonio! Where shall we meet?” I asked enthusiastically. Antonio then proceeds to give me the invitation with all of the details. As I go over the minor details in the invite, I come upon a name. Fortunato, which is the host. Intriguing name, I must admit. 
	As the night approaches, I walk towards the door to enter the party with Antonio,  we knock on the door and I’m immediately taken by surprise as to who opened the door. The same man who encouraged Doctor to close the door on my lady and I that day, reveals himself as Fortunato, the host. I suddenly hate the name Fortunato, it isn’t intriguing, it’s repulsive. I float around the party and make myself known and talk to plenty of others. We collectively speak about the host, to which the person reveals that he was born into his wealth, therefore he must be respected. According to them, Fortunato is, “Well-spoken,” and “Educated.” This is hard to believe when he so easily denied my wife of aid in her last moments. Even thinking about her in those moments really punched me in the gut, I’ll never be the same. I can still picture her laughing with me about things. If she were here still, she’d call Fortunato a foolish man. He was an honorary man, according to everyone here. Everyone loves him, respects him, idolizes him. Unlike me. Fortunato doesn’t seem to remember me, which is unfortunate because I remember him as if I just saw him yesterday. The party ends and I go about my way back home, the next couple of days were eventful. I did not stalk Fortunato, I just happened to see him at random times of the day. For instance, I saw him walking down the streets alone. He must be on his way to a very important event, since he praises himself so much of a man who handles important matters. 
	My plan is going accordingly. I’ve somehow gained Fortunato as a “friend,” to his knowledge. I’ve spoken to him at a number of events and/ or occasions. Which leads to the moment of the day that almost made me lose my mind, Fortunato sparked a conversation about my family, he genuinely showed interest. I was taken back, of pure shock. He feels comfortable enough to open that can of worms up for a conversation? Fine then. I tolerate the conversation, and watch as he drinks more and more, to the point where he can’t even pronounce his words correctly. He’s falling apart, and that is the whole purpose of this. He deserves it, he’s repulsive and morbid.The time is approaching us slowly, he will pay for what he did. 
	I do not surround myself with him for the satisfaction of company, I surround myself with him to gain his trust. He is the reason my wife is dead, my lover, my lady. He insulted me, in my time of need, while I was begging and crying for help on my knees, he did not even bat an eye towards me. I’ve discovered something about Fortunato over the time we’ve spent, his one true weakness. Fortunato is a man of his pride, he holds himself very high on the spectrum and believes he has the best knowledge on wines. He’s underestimated me, my family. The Montresors are important people and we have a history. We have been wealthy and even built our own home. Fortunato’s ignorance irritates me, it’s enraging. Lady Montresor and I were so unbelievably happy together, we were meant to spend the rest of our lives together. This man will pay for what he has done. Then, it occurs to me, he clearly has no self control when it comes to wine, he loves to drink, and with my luck, the carnival is coming to town, which is surprising but the weather is incredibly nice in Italy right now. Fine then, it’s setted. It will all take place at the carnival. 

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Oh to see the rolling countryside and smell such crisp fresh winds coming from the mountainous slopes. Italy, almost as gorgeous as my love. The girl I’m going to spend the rest of my life with I've finally found her name...Isabella. I met Isabella last year when she just so happened to walk into the wine store one day as pretty as the springtime. Ever since then we’ve been inseparable. When my best friend, Fortunato, and I were little boys we’ve always dreamed about meeting a woman we could finally get down on one knee and propose to. Now, for me, a dream no longer for my dream has finally come true. In the sellar with Fortunato, I find my mind filled with memories of my Isabella and remembering her lovely voice being the key to my heart. Then all of a sudden I hear a groan come from Fortunato.

"UGH, are you daydreaming about Isabella again?"

"Why in fact yes Fortunato, what's so wrong about that? We’ve been dreaming about this day ever since we were boys, you know this you’ll get your day soon I’m sure of it.”

Fortunato rolled his eyes almost back into his and snatched his wine glass to taste the bitter wine for about the sixth time now.

“Fortunato, how many more times are you going to taste the wine? This is about your sixth time now.”

“Oh come on, Montresor, this is only my sixt- I mean second glass. What! I have to make sure it’s as perfect as your Isabella, hahaha! Come on Montresor's! I'm just having fun, non è un grosso problema fratello.”

At that moment the only thing on my mind anymore was the fact that the more Fortunato spoke, the drunker he sounded.

I hear the store’s door ring as clear as a bell giving me the perfect excuse to leave Fortunato to his day drinking. I go upstairs and to my surprise, it’s my Isabella awaiting me.

“My Bella! How did you get here I thought you were home?” as I leaned in to give her a hug

“Oh, it was nothing I just walked here.”

As she gave me the warmest hug I could smell her freshly washed hair hug my nose.

“I was starting to miss you and came down to see if we could spend however long the sun gives us to walk on the beach letting the sun kiss our skin?”

Before I could answer Fortunato comes up the stairs.

“So I don’t get an invite to the beach?” Fortunato says.

“Hi, Fortunato sorry didn’t know you were here,” Isabella replies.

“I know I’m not Montresor but am I that easy to forget? Anyways I’m going to get lunch so ill see you guys later.”

After Fortunato leaves isabella and I finish closing the wine store for lunch and start heading to the beach. Once we get there I finally can admire the woman I cherish so much. Her hair floating in the wind, her eyes sparkling like galaxies live inside them, and her smile brighter than the sun. Before I know it the sun starts to set and I must get back to the store before dark. I get so caught up in not knowing what’s more beautiful, the sunset or my isabella I forget I have to go back to the store. As we’re walking back to my store Fortunato pulls up next to us.

“Well looky here, you’re late in opening the store back up after lunch,” Fortunato says.

“I could say the same to you fratello,” I reply.

“Hop in guys it’ll be quicker this way,” Fortunato insists.

Isabella and I tired from walking in the same agree and go in the back. The minute we get in I noticed more than a half-empty bottle of wine in the passenger seat. Knowing Fortunato and his desire to show off he starts to speed, swerving, and taking hard turns in these narrow Italian streets.

“HEY FORTUNATO SLOW DOWN WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” I have to scream as his volume is as loud as a concert.

“DONT WORRY ABOUT IT WE’LL BE FINE FRATELLO, WOOHOOOO YEAH!” screams Fratunato as he takes the forbidden fast turn on the wrong street...

“SCREECH” “CRASH” “BANG” “BANG” “BANG…”

Finally, it’s over and I gain consciousness to the sound of the car’s alarm going off. Then, for a split second before I lose consciousness again my eyes unblur, and that’s when I see her, my sweet isabella laying in the road.

“beep, beep, beep, beep, beep….”

I wake up in a hospital room, walls almost as white as my isabellas beautiful smile, and to that thought is when everything that had happened rushed into my brain like a wave hitting against a rock.

“Look whos awake, how are you feeling…” the doctor stops and has to look down at my file to remember my name.

“Montresor, sorry, how are you feeling Montresor?” the doctor corrects himself.

“Where is isabella?” I ask. In shock, I couldn’t process the thought of my isabella not long being with me and for the first time she was no longer the only thing on my mind anymore, Fortunato was.

“Severe head injuries?” I asked the doctor.

“Yes, his injuries are severe and there’s a good chance he won’t remember isabella, you, nor this crash. On another note, being that Fortunato has no family left makes you his next of kin, that leaves you to decide whether or not to tell him the events of this accident he no longer may remember. All I would do is a memory test which is simply asking him the names of those involved in the crash to see if he still has some memory of it.”

Just thinking about the fact Fortunato can walk away from this makes my blood boil.

“Okay sounds good.” is the only thing I can say right now with everything that got thrown at me. The doctor leaves and tells me he should be back soon to let me know if Fortunato is awake or not. Two hours pass and I hear a knock on my hospital room door.

It’s the doctor.

“He’s awake, I’m going to do the tests would you like to join me Montresor?”

“Yes, I would.

We walk to Fortunatos room and the minute I walk in he recognizes me.

“Fratello, where have you been? Where am I? How did I get here?” Fortunato asks me.

I don’t know how to talk to him right now but thankfully the doctor answers the questions for me and then proceeded to ask Fortunato the questions the will be his fate. The doctors start by telling Fortunato hes going to ask him a few questions and that it’s okay if he does know them.

“Do you know who Fortunato is?” the doctor asks.

“Yes of course that’s me,” says Fortunato giggling as if nothing happened.

“Do you know who Montresor is?” the doctor askes him

“Yes he’s right there, my Fratello,” Fortunato says as he smiles from ear to ear waving at me.

“And the last question I’m going to ask is if you know an isabella?” the doctor asks questionably.

“Um no, am I supposed to?” Fortunato says confused.

“No that’s okay if you don’t, now the last question ill be asking you is if you ever remember Montresor having a fiance?”

Fortunato begins to laugh at this question.

“Hahahaha Montresor... engaged? Hahahahha, who would ever date a little boy with the named Montresor hahahahaha!”

With revenge already bouncing off my brain, and Fortunato killing my wife, I was on my last straw and now learning that Fortunato laughed at my proud name, Montresor, the name of an old and honored family, was already the tipping on the edge that has now fallen over. From here on I promised myself that I would make Fortunato pay for what he did.

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Strange. Such strange, strange feelings are filling me at this moment. My name is Fortunado, I am regarded as a kind man by others. However, if those same people knew me inside and out, they would likely view me as more of a monster. It has been month now since I… Handled my problem with one of my oldest “friends”, Montresor. I know for a fact that he is dead. Nothing more than a corpse surrounded by darkness and stone, his last words, if he wasn’t left speechless by my actions, left to ring out in the void. But then, if I’ve gotten rid of him, what is this feeling? Is it residual anger? Guilt? Sorrow? I… cannot fully believe it is any of those things. Not entirely, at least. Perhaps, I should take a step back. Think about the past. Maybe if I remember more of the suffering that buffoon put me through, I’ll feel better about exacting my judgement upon him.

It was a lovely evening, the sky a shade of a beautiful reddish purple. The extravagant villa, a fitting location to admire the scene. “Come in, come in!” called a young man, beckoning me and the other guests to enter his home. That man was Montresor, a rather popular bachelor in the circles that we guests ran in. I heard that he was a very “bubbly” man, with a habit of making jokes. I was prepared for this, and at the time I actually looked forward to getting to know this man. “Ah, thank you for having us, dear Montresor!” one guest stated. “It’s so nice to see you again!” said another. I was about to make my way inside, intent on greeting our host as well, when all of a sudden, I hit the floor with a thud. “Careful there, friend” began Montresor, “you seem to have lost your footing!” The crowd of guests, most of whom were already inside, shared giggles and laughter with one another. I began to laugh as well at my own fumble, until another young man, a bit on the short side with a rather unpleasant laugh, began to help me up. “Sorry about that old chap, when in Montresor’s house its always best to greet him with a nice bit of humor!”, the young man stated. It was then I realized the young man, who I would shortly find out was named Sergio, was the reason for my fall as well as a close friend of Montresor.

I decided to continue laughing with the other guests anyways, a small prank was of no matter to me. It was a bit rude, but I suppose I shouldn’t have expected this dinner party to be a very serious one. “Greetings dear Fortunado, I’ve heard much about you!”, said Montresor. “Well thank you for having me.” I replied, “you and your friends certainly know how to make an introduction.”. “Harmless pranks, nothing more” said Sergio, an irritating grin forming on his face. “Now gentlemen,” said an older fellow, “You’ve just met, if that’s your first impression I would suggest you make the rest of this evening a good one, else you might incite anger from one off your guests.” I felt a bit refreshed at the old man’s words, finally a dignified figure. “Yes, yes, I’ll be sure to go easy on him. But I’m sure you would be fine either way, right Fortunado?”, said Montresor, grabbing my shoulder with a forceful shake. This shake was enough to disturb my glass of wine, which I hadn’t gotten the opportunity to enjoy, sending my drink out of my hands and onto my clothes. I could tell from the laugher erupting from Montresor, Sergio, and some of the more inebriated guests that this was indeed intentional. The small fire within me was beginning to strengthen.

After a few half-hearted apologies, and a roar of laughter from the other guests as I rushed to clean up the mess, I decided to take a small break from the party and walked to the porch overseeing the vineyard. “A bit improper, is he not? My name is Gianni. I’ve know that fool for a few years now, he never seems to know when to use his manners” said the older man from earlier, as he handed me a damp washcloth to clean some of the stains. It was nighttime, the cold air gave a nice reprieve from the heat I felt swelling within. “Now, you may feel tempted to confront Montresor about his behavior, whether he escalates his jokes or not I recommend you keep a level head.” started the old man, “You have a good reputation to uphold, and Montresor is a very influential man, though he doesn’t act like it.”.

I take the man’s words to heart, and together we walk back inside, where dinner had started. Dinner was almost uneventful. Almost. Just as we finished our meals, cooked to perfection, I extend a compliment to Montresor’s chef. “Oh, you liked it? Wonderful!” exclaimed Montresor, he was drunk now, and slurring his words a noticeable amount. “He walked, or rather stumbled, over to me, with Sergio and another guest, who seemed to be getting along with Montresor very well that night. I stood, in response, not knowing what to expect from this turn of events. When suddenly… “You may wear it home! There’s plenty of it!” yelled Montresor. All three men revealed their hands, filled with some leftover food from their plates, and proceeded to assail me with the mush. I was outnumbered, Gianni had left for the washroom, and the other guests were drunk as well. I was covered, hair, head, toe, all in food. Another mass chuckle was heard throughout the villa, and I, a fool once more.

I was filled with rage, my favorite outfit was ruined, I was a laughingstock, and that clown, that IDIOT had pushed things too far. But then, Gianni’s words rung in my head. I have a reputation. Friends, some of whom would be here to witness my outburst. I couldn’t let Montresor win, or at least not that easily. After cleaning up best I could, receiving a knowing pat on the back from Gianni, and meeting all the other guests in the main hall I had already planned to remain speechless for the rest of the night. Lord knows, nothing but venom would spew forth. But I cared not for words, even as Montresor made his closing speech for the night, likely making some joke at my expense, judging from the laughter and pointing from my peers. It was all a blur, for I had other things on my mind: Revenge. It wouldn’t be bloody, nor would it be passive. But it would come, someday. That fool may have won this night, but I was going to win the war, by god I would. And I did. I certainly did so, as he lies dead and alone in a prison, of both his making, and my own. And to the world, I was still Fortunado, a gentleman, who never raised his voice in anger towards another. I… am content with that. And I will be happy till the day I pass as well. That feeling? Perhaps I was just thirsty after all… Maybe I shall have some wine from my cellar, and pay him a visit just as I did long ago.

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Samantha Barrick How I began plotting- prequel

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Samantha Barrick How I began plotting- prequel

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It was today that the jamboree was being set up for us all to enjoy at dusk. I was getting prepared for the night with my wife. At approximately a quarter till 2 I received a knock at my front door. I go to open it. It  came to be Fortunado. He was dressed in a slim fitting grey suit, and an unmatching black hat. My excitement preceded me. “Well if it isn't the good man Fortunado!” I greeted him. Fortunado walked into my home with a bright look on his face. “The jamboree in town ladies and gentlemen! That means free wine! We all know I have the most sophisticated wine pallet, I can guarantee I shall know every one of them.” Fortunado declared, almost cheering for himself. “Ah yes, the jamboree, Me and Ms. Montressor is very joyous for the coming as well my dear Fortunado!” “Now what brings you here so early, if i could ask?” I spoke to Fortunato. “Well my friend, Montressor, I wanted to arrive to jamboree with you and your lovely wife, of course, if you don't mind.” Now I could sense a jab in his statement, but i let it slip past my head, as he had already begun “tasting wine”.

Now it was time that we started heading to the jamboree. Fortunato, Mrs. Montressor, and myself all started our journey to the center of town. Fortunado has not left my wife's side since we began our travels. I could not shake the feeling of betrayal, But perhaps I was over-thinking,  over dwelling? I brushed it off once again. “It's nothing” I whispered to myself. I suppose Fortunato had heard me. Because he had then said “Montressor stop mumbling to yourself! I can't believe you settled for a fool Mrs. Montressor!” The jabs… Again. But now to make me look like a fool in front of my wife. Of course I ignored it. I was looking at the scenery while we continued our descent to town. The crisp, brown leaves  had begun falling to the ground.They had fallen from the tall dark barren trees. Onto the brown musty ground. The leaves were under our feet with every step. Almost as if we could never escape them.  We stepped on them with every movement. As if we could not escape them. Crunch...Crunch...Crunch…

Finally, we had reached our destination. The jamboree. It was very dark, like a panther's fur. The fog was immaculate throughout the air. Fortuanado had almost ran to the wine tasting tents the second we had stepped foot in town. Me and lady Montressor had strolled down to the wine tasting ourselves as well. Fortunado had already begun “tasting” I grabbed a cold glass of the dazzling red wine. I had pressed the glass to my chapped lips and let it pour in. I remember vividly, the flavor. Cherry, a pop of sweet, with just the right amount of bitter, all at the same time. “Excellent!” I almost shouted. After a few hours of tastings with my dear friend and wife, Fortunado had begun getting drowsy. He was slurring his words, almost unable to walk. I had told my wife “Mrs. Montressor, please take my dear friend Fortunado and find him somewhere to sit and rest up a bit, if you wouldn't mind?” As I saw them walk away, I had made my way to the restroom to relieve myself of all of the wine. As i made my way through the jamboree to find my wife, I couldn't help but stare at the people gathered by the fruit stand. I made my way over to the large group to see what was the matter. They were all fascinated with A man who was turning grapes into wine. I stayed a bit longer to get a sample as well. It was nowhere near as good as the wine at the stand. I continued looking for my wife shortly after.

My eyes must have deceived me. There's no way that is what I have seen. As I continued my walk throughout town to find my wife and friend, I came across a park. I assumed this is where she would have taken him to sit, as i know my wife better than the back of my hand. What I saw made me drop to my knees. As I looked up I saw Fortunato and my mrs. Montressor with their lips on one another's. The cold crisp air dried out my eyes and wouldn't allow the tears to flow. I had run up and snatched my wife away from his filthy hands. “No Montresor it is not what it seems! I swear it! He had just grabbed me and forced himself on my lips, this would never be what I want!” My trembling wife spoke. I heard a cry escape her rosy lips as she fell into my arms. I believed her. I took her hand and walked off without another word to Fortunato. We arrived back at our house. I put her to bed and went straight to my study.

For hours I've been sitting here with pen to paper making a plan. A plan to hurt fortuando and betray him like he has done to me. I will make a very strategic plan to put an end to his demise. My only choice, death. The biggest joke of all. But how will I pull it off? I began writing vigorously to come up with a very detailed plan on how I will put his life to a halt. Ïinally the idea came to mw. In the next few days I had ordered what I needed from the local shop in town. I didn't care how much it would cost me, I needed my revenge. I had come up with the perfect plan. I had decided where, whe, and how it would happen. It was the perfect plan, and nothing, nothing at all could ruin it. In the coming days the key part of my plan was ready to be picked up. A cask of amontillado.

-Samantha Barrick

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I look into the mirror “ugh why is my hair already graying I’m only 42” I complain. I had to see Montresor today we have become quite close over the few years I just needed to make sure he trusts me enough so I can go through with it. I finished getting ready and went to Montresor house. When I arrived he lovingly greeted me with open arms. He had gray messy hair and dull gray eyes that could stare through your soul. Being so pleasant towards him made me sick but I smiled and joyfully greeted him. “How have you been? I missed that smile!” that sadly made him smile more. We went inside and I saw my dear friend Robert. “Hey how’s your daughter” I asked. “She’s doing great she just started school! He said. He was one of my few actual friends. We also sat down and had pointless conversations for hours. This was the perfect opportunity to tell them about the party I was having for a fundraiser. They both seemed very and willing to go which worked well for my plan. Later I asked Montresor about hosting in the catacombs around his family vaults. It took a while, but he finally agreed, and I am finally close to getting my revenge.

This had all started the day of Fortunato’s disappearance. He asked me to preoccupy myself because he had something to do. Knowing he wasn’t the brightest and not trusting Montresor I lingered around a little behind him. I saw him speaking to Montresor about amontillado they went into the family vaults and I stayed outside hidden waiting for them to return. When I finally heard footsteps, I only saw Montresor returning I became confused and waited for him to leave. Once he left, and a long period of time passes I sneek my way into to the vaults which is embarrassingly easy. I make my way down it is cold and dark with only some light making many shadows. There was a damp feeling in the air and the farther I went down I began to smell this putrid smell. I make my way to the end just see a wall with poorly laid bricks of a strange red color. I look around confused maybe I’d miss something in the darkness. I step back hitting the brick wall behind me I feel a squish and hear what sounds twigs cracking. I jump a little and curiously look at the wall thinking that it could be a trap door. I push on it and here more cracking I realize that the bricks are not cemented together so I began removing them. As I remove them smell becomes more and more pungent in the air. I see a weird figure that I cannot make out. I reach in the hole that I made to feel wet cloth and a gross mushy feeling. Taking my hand out I see a crimson red liquid and mind begins to think the worst. I try to push that back and believe I’m overreacting. Removing more bricks and praying that my thoughts are wrong I finally remove enough to get a clear view. I stammer back in disgust at what I see. I feel as if someone just stabbed a flood of emotions come over me. Without thinking I messily put the bricks back and somehow make it back to home. It felt like I had blacked out I had no idea how I was back, but I was to busy thinking about what I had saw to contemplate. “It was him” I sobbed. There was so much confusion in anger inside of that I vowed to make him pay for his crime.

To this day I dwell on the memory of everything that happened. I constantly ask why he did because I knew he hated him but didn’t think he’d go that far for such a miniscule thing. It was a day before the party happened, I was with Robert and Montresor preparing everything. I wanted to make sure we had plenty of alcohol for the guests. Roberts and his daughter were helping decorate the catacombs. Montresor was sitting there doing nothing like the lazy arrogant person he was. Hours went by as we worked and as we finished it was dusk. I had been chatting with Montresor trying to win his favor to make tomorrow easier. I went to bed that night with one reimagining my plan over and over again.

The next day the party arrived there were many people there and it was going very successfully. I made sure the guest got enough drinks but remembered to save a big portion for later. I went around and talk to everyone and at the peak of the night made a speech thanking everyone. “I would like to thank everyone for coming tonight and giving the such gracious donations. I also want to give a special thanks Montresor for helping and I’m certain it will be a lovely night” I announce looking straight into his eyes. The night went on and I began to flirt with him giving him more and more drinks. After all the guest have left, I lead the very drunk Montresor to the vaults “we are going to have a very fun night” We went through the same hallways I remember from a long time ago. It still had the same look and feeling, but the smell got worse. The smell hit with that same pungent air it brough back memories of that this only made me angrier. I led him to the back and foolish smirk formed on his face. He was too busy thinking to see the shovel that I was now grasping in my hand. “S-“  I cut him or at least the shovel. I hit him with it over and over again until I knew the deed was done. I kept staring at him in shock at what I just did. I didn’t even move when I heard foots steps “So I’ll just put the- what the” he said. I started to freak out what was I going to say. “He tried to hurt me!” I pleaded in panic. He didn’t say anything he just stood in shock. “What are you going to do asked” I asked. “We have to call the police” “NO” I yelled. “I can’t go to jail”. “We have to” he sighed I began to become angrier it wasn’t fair Montresor could get away with it and I had to suffer the consequences. I did it again without thinking I could not believe what I had done. I looked at both the bodies at the ground. What had I just done? The panic kicked in and I gain a newfound strength. I take both the bodies dragging across the rough floor and begin removing the bricks like I had so long ago. This time I was the perpetrator of the mess. I smelt the horrible smell again, but it didn’t affect like it did before I was to numb. I barely manage to get the next two bodies to sit next to the already rotting corpse. I put the bricks back and calmly to the bathroom and clean myself as I begin to go home. On the way out I hear a quiet whimper from within the corridors. It hits me his daughter. Everything that just happens becomes much clearer to me. What did I do? I panic for a while but eventually regain composure and walk up to the girl. She had been out here alone for hours everyone was gone, and it was almost pitch black. “What’s Wrong?” I ask. “My dad I can’t find him” she stifled out through sobs. “Hey, why don’t you come with me for tonight and we will find him in the morning” I say. She was hesitant at first but seeing she had no were else to go she complied. I took her home and I tried to never think about what happened again.

It haunts me to this day what I did. I try to make up for with good deeds, but it doesn’t work. I always wonder if people around know what I’ve done what would they think if they knew. I wonder what secrets they disclose and what everyone is hiding. I raised the girl as my own though when I see her face, I feel a sense of guilt. It feels like this is the punishment for what I did. We tried looking for her dad at first and it broke me. Eventually we gave and I began to care for her permanently. Though she never seemed to like me anymore I feel as if she knows. I think about what that misfortune every day. It feels so strange when I remember it felt as if I had not done and I was just watching everything.

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 Alejandra Castiblanco             It has been fifty years since I last saw Fortunato. In my opinion, he got what he deserved. I know everyone might be wondering why I did what I did, so I am here to tell my story. Fortunato and I were best friends since we were six years old, we grew up together and planned out our whole future. On a Sunday evening, we were at the theatre enjoying a show and the lead actress was just breathtaking. I remember telling Fortunato, “She might really be the one, I have to find her and talk to her after the show.” And so I did. After the show, we snuck into a casting party and there she was. She looked even more stunning up close than from afar. As I was trying to approach her, I was starting to get nervous but I knew my good old friend Fortunato would be there for me. I had locked eyes with her, but at first I was not sure if she was looking at me but her beautiful sparkling blue eyes just kept following me which made me certain. Fortunato pushed me to get closer to her and all I could think was if I was dressed to impress, “I certainly was” - I responded to myself and as I was shoved really close to her, and believe it or not, her soft voice melted my ears and her words came dancing in my ears like a soft melody. She said “Hi I'm Ellie, did you like the show?” With my broken voice I answered like in a rush, “I loved your acting” and “you look more beautiful up close I may say.” As she giggled, Fortunato gave her a glance as if she was a beautiful gem. But I didn’t pay too much attention to that because Fortunato and I are best friends and I trust him. 	Sixteen years later, Ellie and I have been married for the past five years and have two kids, a boy and a girl. Ellie usually stays home and tends to the kids and makes sure we all get something to eat and that the house is always clean. Fortunato and I are still very close, at this time, we actually live just down the street from each other. The kids loved Fortunato, everytime he came over to the house he would always have a surprise for them. He would also almost always bring flowers to Ellie, which should have been a red flag from the beginning. Of course he was just being nice considering how he’s always at our house he just wanted to give something back. But not even I gave Ellie that much flowers. Everytime he handed her the flowers she always had a big smile and while she was smelling them she would say, “Why thank you, Fortunato this is very generous of you.” I should’ve suspected my “good old friend” would eventually stab me in the back. I used to leave on business trips for a short period of time but as the Company grew the trips started to get longer and more frequent. In the beginning Fortunato used to go over the house while I was gone to check on Ellie and the kids, at first I didn’t think much of it, but as I was away from my family more often his visits became more frequent as well, which got me to thinking, but as the good husband I am I didn’t pay no mind to it and I put my trust into Ellie. Then one Saturday afternoon I come home from a business trip all the way from Rome and I come to find Fortunato and Ellie very close and cozy with each other and then I see them kiss from the window. I couldn’t believe what I had seen, I just had to get my wife away from him and get him out of my house, and away from my life. I bust down the door and they jump out of the chairs like if they’ve seen a ghost and act like if nothing was going on but I couldn't let them get away with it. I start yelling for answers “WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE!”, “SO WHAT? YOU JUST COME OVER HERE TO GET ALL COZIED UP WITH MY WIFE? IS THAT IT?” Ellie tried to calm me down and act like everything was fine and nothing had happened, “What are you going on about? We were just here talking having a regular conversation until you came in talking nonsense!” she claimed. “Oh really!” I exclaimed “Then how come I come home and see you getting so acquainted with each other's LIPS!” They both stood quiet and just stared at me. “I can explain,” says Fortunato but I'm so frustrated and irritated to hear him out that I can't even look at him. I couldn’t bare to be in the same room as them so I stormed out. I headed to the nearest tavern and got drunk out of my mind. I started having these thoughts of murdering Fortunato for taking the love of my life away from me, and all of a sudden I started coming up with a plan on how to murder him but I thought I couldn’t do it. Then a little voice inside me was telling me to do it because he screwed me over. I just decided to throw a party because I know how much Fortunato loves to drink so this will definitely catch his attention. I am going to get him so drunk that he's not even gonna be able to walk and leave him somewhere he can’t get out of with no food or water and let him die a slow and painful death. After planning my sinister plan, Fortunato has spent the last fifty years locked up until he was recently found buried with the truth. 

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 Alejandra Castiblanco             It has been fifty years since I last saw Fortunato. In my opinion, he got what he deserved. I know everyone might be wondering why I did what I did, so I am here to tell my story. Fortunato and I were best friends since we were six years old, we grew up together and planned out our whole future. On a Sunday evening, we were at the theatre enjoying a show and the lead actress was just breathtaking. I remember telling Fortunato, “She might really be the one, I have to find her and talk to her after the show.” And so I did. After the show, we snuck into a casting party and there she was. She looked even more stunning up close than from afar. As I was trying to approach her, I was starting to get nervous but I knew my good old friend Fortunato would be there for me. I had locked eyes with her, but at first I was not sure if she was looking at me but her beautiful sparkling blue eyes just kept following me which made me certain. Fortunato pushed me to get closer to her and all I could think was if I was dressed to impress, “I certainly was” - I responded to myself and as I was shoved really close to her, and believe it or not, her soft voice melted my ears and her words came dancing in my ears like a soft melody. She said “Hi I'm Ellie, did you like the show?” With my broken voice I answered like in a rush, “I loved your acting” and “you look more beautiful up close I may say.” As she giggled, Fortunato gave her a glance as if she was a beautiful gem. But I didn’t pay too much attention to that because Fortunato and I are best friends and I trust him. 	Sixteen years later, Ellie and I have been married for the past five years and have two kids, a boy and a girl. Ellie usually stays home and tends to the kids and makes sure we all get something to eat and that the house is always clean. Fortunato and I are still very close, at this time, we actually live just down the street from each other. The kids loved Fortunato, everytime he came over to the house he would always have a surprise for them. He would also almost always bring flowers to Ellie, which should have been a red flag from the beginning. Of course he was just being nice considering how he’s always at our house he just wanted to give something back. But not even I gave Ellie that much flowers. Everytime he handed her the flowers she always had a big smile and while she was smelling them she would say, “Why thank you, Fortunato this is very generous of you.” I should’ve suspected my “good old friend” would eventually stab me in the back. I used to leave on business trips for a short period of time but as the Company grew the trips started to get longer and more frequent. In the beginning Fortunato used to go over the house while I was gone to check on Ellie and the kids, at first I didn’t think much of it, but as I was away from my family more often his visits became more frequent as well, which got me to thinking, but as the good husband I am I didn’t pay no mind to it and I put my trust into Ellie. Then one Saturday afternoon I come home from a business trip all the way from Rome and I come to find Fortunato and Ellie very close and cozy with each other and then I see them kiss from the window. I couldn’t believe what I had seen, I just had to get my wife away from him and get him out of my house, and away from my life. I bust down the door and they jump out of the chairs like if they’ve seen a ghost and act like if nothing was going on but I couldn't let them get away with it. I start yelling for answers “WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE!”, “SO WHAT? YOU JUST COME OVER HERE TO GET ALL COZIED UP WITH MY WIFE? IS THAT IT?” Ellie tried to calm me down and act like everything was fine and nothing had happened, “What are you going on about? We were just here talking having a regular conversation until you came in talking nonsense!” she claimed. “Oh really!” I exclaimed “Then how come I come home and see you getting so acquainted with each other's LIPS!” They both stood quiet and just stared at me. “I can explain,” says Fortunato but I'm so frustrated and irritated to hear him out that I can't even look at him. I couldn’t bare to be in the same room as them so I stormed out. I headed to the nearest tavern and got drunk out of my mind. I started having these thoughts of murdering Fortunato for taking the love of my life away from me, and all of a sudden I started coming up with a plan on how to murder him but I thought I couldn’t do it. Then a little voice inside me was telling me to do it because he screwed me over. I just decided to throw a party because I know how much Fortunato loves to drink so this will definitely catch his attention. I am going to get him so drunk that he's not even gonna be able to walk and leave him somewhere he can’t get out of with no food or water and let him die a slow and painful death. After planning my sinister plan, Fortunato has spent the last fifty years locked up until he was recently found buried with the truth. 

# data[].attributes.body
The smell of damp and moist soil fills my nostrils. My boots, they are practically lathered with mud and muck. It is a gloomy scene here at Fortuntato’s funeral. Not for me of course, behind my dejected mask I am filling with awe and excitement. I can’t believe the drunk fool followed me into his grave. What a prideful idiot! It was almost too easy. However, it is vexing how his family without hesitation, assumed his demise. Wouldn’t they have sent out a search party of sorts? Its only been two days. The time has come as I walk with the rest of the group, not more that 30 people, dressed in our depressing black attire to a memorial monument for Fortunato. It’s only a stone’s throw away from the cellar, only a stone’s throw away from his grave…

“The funeral was lovely”, I blurt out.

“Yes it was, quite a mournful scene though don’t you think?” says a tall slim man of who I do not recognize from the crowd.

“And who might you be, good sir?” I reply to the pale strict looking face.

“My name is William James Benedict III, but you may call my Mr. Benedict”

“Well then, Mr. Benedict how do you know of the man Fortuntato?”

“I didn’t know him. But I do know wine, and from what I hear this fellow had quite the cellar. What would one do to perhaps buy it?”

My heart races. I can hear it pumping blood faster and faster and faster. I feel short on breath. Sweat starts to form on my forehead. Why does this stuck up fool need another cellar? I cannot not let anyone near, for they may discover Fortunato. He’s probably nearing his death in that wall after two days without food and water. Surely the stench of his rotting corpse will give him away from behind the brittle bricks, or perhaps if he is somehow alive he may be shouting with all his might as he confronts his mortality.

“Trust me Mr. Benedict you do not want to buy this cellar. It is not worth all the work that comes with it.” I tell him.

“I have no need for advising, perhaps I should speak to the man’s wife. Good day.” Benedict replies.

“Oh, I’m so sorry sir. I see that we have gotten off on the wrong foot. Speak to the grieving widow if you must, or perhaps I could invite you to a nice meal to discus this matter. Surely a man like you can’t pass up some world class cuisine?”

“If you insist. What is your name?”

“My name is Montresor. I was a close friend of Fortunato.”

Later in the evening Benedict, myself, and two of his business associates make our way to to a fine eatery. I hope with every ounce of my soul that this man will give up his desire for the cellar. His questions for the next hour or so, drive me to insanity. Perhaps he suspects my foul play.  No! That’s impossible, I will not let paranoia get to me. After what feels like an eternity we all finish our meals. Suddenly out of nowhere, like a snake in the grass, a tremendous wave of pain sneaks upon me. I feel my abdomen churn and burn in pain. I let out a whimper and a yell.

“Dear goodness! What is happening?!”

“So much for world class cuisine.” Benedict sarcastically replies

Every second of every minute I wish, I beg, I plead, for this agony to go away. What was in my food?! Was I poisoned? I get up from the table and leave. I barge out of the entrance of the building. My burning pain goes away for a brief moment, only to come back with strong nausea. I see a pot hole in the street and I vomit in it. Thankfully no one can see this digesting image for it is very dark, but my retching is probably terrible for everyones ears.

After a one disgusting minute of vomiting my meal, I turn around to go back because my stomach feels slightly better. BOOM! I feel a huge amounts of pain on my head and everything goes black…

Sounds are distorted. Vision is blurry. My back feels sore and achy. Finally I am awake and it is daytime, the sun is out and bright in the sky.

“Last night was terrible” I say out loud.

I feel a pounding headache in the back of my head. I wonder what could’ve happened. Perhaps I was attacked. Oh No! Perhaps someone knows!

I race to the cellar which is only a few minutes away. As I charge through the open doors, I see no other people and I grab a lantern. I run to the wall I made to seal Fortunato.

“Fortunato! Fortunato!” I scream!

-no response. He is dead.

“Um… is everything alright with you Montreser?” A voice says from behind

My eyes widen. I feel “caught”. I turn around to see Mr. William Benedict.

“All is fine. Why are you here?” I respond with a shaky voice

“Its funny, I could ask the same for you. No reason really, I just wanted to finally take a look at this place. Its a lot nicer then what you were saying about it last night. Well, I must go now, I hope your stomach feels better. Good day Montreser.”

My heart is racing. My hands are in fists and are shaking I didn’t even notice it. I walk back home. I live near the city square so I must pass through lots of people. As I go to unlock my front door I see a young man playing the guitar with a sign that reads “Just got fired from restaurant - I hope my music can get me a nickel at least.”

“Sorry to hear that” I say as I point to his little make-shift sign.  “How come you got fired?” I ask

“I don’t know why I thought I could be a cook! I needed the money so I lied when asking for the job and got it. I didn’t think I would be in the kitchen so quick. I heard from my boss that my food got some guy so sick he ran out of the building. Then it was over for me obviously” he explains.

Mixed emotions flare within me. I feel a burning hatred and blazing anger. And I feel fear. Why fear? I don’t know. Perhaps its due to running into Benedict at the cellar. Regardless I’m enraged. I grab the man’s guitar while he still is explaining his pathetic story and I smash it! I absolutely decimate it to many pieces.

The people of the loud and bustling city square go silent. Their jaws are dropped. They are in shock to see my outburst of animalistic rage. I see two soldiers run toward me and there’s someone they were talking with before. Who is it?  Its Benedict! He knows!

I drop what’s left of the shattered wooden instrument and flee into the woods. I don’t stop running. I keep going and going. My chest hurts and I feel a cramp but I don’t stop running. I see a cabin no too far ahead practically hidden in between two large redwood trees. I run inside. Its dark in here, pitch black darkness. The smell is awful. I hear a strange sound. As I peer with my eyes squinted I see two pairs of green reflecting circles. They look like eyes. I feel a metal chain resembling a part of a lamp and I pull it. The light flashes on to reveal the dead carcass of a deer. There is blood everywhere. But that’s not the worst part. Two mountain lions were devouring their kill as I stumbled upon this site. One leaps toward me, knocking me to the ground. I’m in so much shock and fear that I don’t even have enough time to scream before the deadly bite to my neck.

My eyes bolt open and I almost jump out of the bed. I let out a yell.

I see medicine on the table next to me and I have a bandage on my head. I realize I am in the town hospital. The doctor rushes in to the room.

The doctor quickly says, “Woah now, everything’s all right. Calm down. Stay in that bed, you got kicked badly in the head by a horse the other night. Some people found you outside of a restaurant and called for assistance. You’re a lucky guy.”

Two days go by. I lay in my bed staring at the ceiling deep in thought. So it was all a dream? My subconscious gone wild? Why did I yell for Fortunato in the cellar? What is this feeling? Guilt? It can’t be.

No! I feel no guilt! If that makes me a monster then so be it. What’s done is done.

-The End

# data[].attributes.body
"The Tragedy 50 Years Ago (Sequel to The Cask of Amontillado"

As I see the sunshine over the mountains, I think out to myself, "What have I done?" I can hardly get myself out of bed thinking of the torturous situation I put Fortunato in. It’s been 50 years since Fortunato was pronounced dead. People in the town still talk about him and I look the other way. I can barely hear his name without getting flashbacks of that night. Thinking of all the pain that he must have endured during that long death. “Stop thinking about that,” I say to myself. I decide to take a stroll into town to get some drinks so I can forget the tremendous mistake that was made years ago. Before my stroll, I needed to change into some clothes. I start to take off the clothes I slept in and put on my plaid trousers and pair it with my white button up. I look in the mirror and it seems to bland for the eye. I go to where I keep my chest of vests. Most of them are from when my father served in war overseas. He sadly died when he returned home. Said it was smallpox that killed him. I put on the black vest that matches perfectly with the trousers. “This is seamless.” I said looking in the mirror.

Once a week, I go to the wall that I consider forbidden and speak to Fortunato as if he’s still there listening to me. One night, I was at the bar with Luchesi tasting fine wines and bourbons. He got so utterly drunk that night and was dancing on tables and flirting with the women. “I’m going to go back now and get some shut eye.” I said to the drunken Luchesi. “All right sweet dear, have blessed dreams.” Luchesi said to me as he pinched my cheeks as if he was my grandmother. As I’m walking back home, I get stopped by a black cat. It looks calm and peaceful, but something about it makes me uncomfortable. Possibly that the theory that black cats bring bad luck. I never believed in such things, but now that I am hiding something enormous from everyone, I get concerned. The cat passes me by, and I just stare back wondering where and why this cat found me. I ignore the cat and continuing walking back to the comfort of my home. I’m awfully close to home when it starts to downpour rain and small chunks of hail. I’m taken by surprise but make it back home safely. “That was odd,” I say out to myself in a strange tone of voice. I take off the clothes I wore today to put on relaxing and comforting clothes. My shirt is silky soft while my pants are a soft wool. I pick up the newspaper I had brought in this morning and head to my chair. When I sit down, my eyes feel like they have iron steel on top of them from being exhausted. I start a crossword puzzle, but never had the chance to finish it because I had fallen asleep too quickly.

I return to the vault like one does every week. I hadn’t noticed at the time, but I was being followed. By who, there is no telling. Instead of worrying about who it was, I continue my path and ignore the stalker like person. The walk was abnormally quiet for a Saturday night. Usually there’s people laughing with their friends and family at bars and the lights shine bright over the streets. With all of these irregularities crossing my mind, by the time I know it, I have reached the opening of the vault. I stare deep into the entrance as the moon light glimmers only over the wide entry. Before taking my first step, I take a deep breath and inch forward slowly making my way inside. The vault was pitch dark and rather quiet. My footsteps on the dirt and rocks was the only sound you could hear. I focus on the sound my footsteps are making. This helps me concentrate on nothing but myself and what will soon be in front of me. I arrive at the wall and I look down towards my feet. Usually, when I come to visit the wall, I talk about anything to distract me from the fact that Fortunato is dead because of me. This time was different. I drop to my knees and yell out, “Fortunato! Fortunato! Please forgive me for I have let myself down and even more so, you. The things I have done are unforgivable, but please hear my cries and sorrows for I am truly miserable in this life.”

I begin to cry on my knees and cup my hands over my face. Suddenly, I hear faint footsteps in the distance. I wipe the tears off my face and quietly turn around the corner to see, long and behold, one of the servants of the owner of the bar. I hear a voice speak out to me and say, “Sir, are you alright? I heard yelling coming in this direction.” I respond quite fearful that he had heard the words that we’re said. “I-I’m alright. Thanks.” The servant questions me by asking, “If I may ask, why were you yelling out those words to the wall?” My heart at that very moment had sunk to my feet and my breathing had slowed. I couldn’t think straight, and words didn’t leave my mouth. All I did was stare at him until he finally said something. “I see you are at a loss for words, so I’ll do the talking. I know what you have done. You called out to Fortunato and we all know that he’s been dead for 50 years. There wasn’t even a body found. You were the last person with Fortunato, so you have always been suspicious to me. Now I have proof to tell authorities that you killed Fortunato.” These words pierced my heart with a dull blade that felt like a million times over. I respond with, “Please, Please don’t tell authorities about what has happened.” The servant looks me up and says, “Fine, but you no longer have my respect.”

We both leave the vault and act like nothing has happened. I take a seat at the bar and order a bourbon on the rocks. The bourbon burns my throat as I take big gulps. All I can think about is if I can trust the servant with my secret. For some, reason I don’t think I can. He thinks of me as nothing more than a murderer. As I’m in these thoughts, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I don’t have a chance to turn around, but someone is close to my ear. I recognize the voice and then I realize, it’s the servants voice. He spoke 2 words to me, “They know.” At the moment, I knew my life would be even more doomed.  After hearing the news that the servant told me, I look at him with mourning like eyes and say, “I shall be in the vault if you seek me out.” I’m almost certain that the servant didn’t expect for me to say those words based on the expression on his face. I rise slowly from the squeaking chair at the local towns pub and make my way to the forbidden wall, as I call it. I am aware that the servant boy has called patrols on who slain Fortunato and the body’s location. There is one thing left for me to do. I reach the vault and enter where the wall covering Fortunato’s cold corpse lays. I look at the ground and back up at the wall, thinking deeply on what a muddle I have made. When my eyes reach the wall, I say, “Fair well my fellow friends…even you servant boy.” I am now not a burden to the poor ole’ servant who discovered my horrid mistake and the town’s people who dealt with my drunkenness almost daily. But most importantly, I am no longer a burden to myself.

# data[].attributes.body
I lived in a small town in Italy. Purple valleys, golden sun, smells of bread and wine floating through the air. It was a peaceful place, mostly. I liked to stir things up a bit in town, I had a reputation for trouble.  My mother says my mischief will be the death of me, I think she’s dramatic.

I don’t really like school, especially because I have Montressor in my class, the wealthiest boy in town. He follows all the rules, quite boring if you ask me. But the town loved him and his family, my mother included. He lives to please his father, a very strict man. His mother on the other hand is the embodiment of love and kindness, almost wish she was my mother. But no, my mother is a baker at our family bakery, she treats her bread with more care than me. And my father died when I was younger, probably why my mother was so tough.

One day my teacher comes by the bakery and has a little chat with my mother. This happened to be the same day I got caught stealing coins from the fountain. Little did I know being dragged home by the sheriff would be the least of my worries. My stomach was in scrambles as we arrived at the door of my cottage. Felt like a lump of coal was lodged in my throat as the sheriff knocked. Each knock echoing through my body. Every hair on my body stood up as I saw the fire in my mothers eyes as she opened the door. The other side of Italy could’ve heard the scolding I received that afternoon. I was told, more or less yelled at, that I was failing in school. If I didn’t pass, I would be kicked out, thrown onto the dark, dusty, unpaved gravel streets of town.

So, I was forced to study with Montressor, in order to pass school. I hated every second. He would always nag me to focus while I fidgeted with the knick knacks in his room. It was the most boring experience in my life. Until I devised a plan, to make things a bit more interesting.

“Montessor” I beckoned, “would you like to do something fun with me?”

“ would it get me in trouble?” Montressor replied.

“ of course not” I assured him.

“ well after we finish studying” Montressor said

“ ugh fine”, I sighed in disgust

Later on that evening Montressor and I went to the town commons for our little game.

“ it’s getting kind of late maybe I should just go home” Montressor uttered

“No, no, Montressor this is the perfect time I promise it’ll be fun” I replied cunningly

A wagon full of seeds meant to be delivered to the winery was set still in the commons. No delivery man in sight. So, I walked over and called Montressor to help me grab a bag of seeds. He was reluctant at first. However I had convinced him that there would be no trouble, I had done it plenty of times before. As we were picking up the bag, a yell rang through the commons. It was the delivery man. Montressor looked at me with fear as I yelled “ run”. The delivery man, chasing behind us. Still carrying the bag Montressor and I managed to escape to the lake. The sky had begun to turn pink and the water glistened with total serenity. Until we disrupted it with our huffing, trying to grasp air into our lungs.

“ you said we wouldn’t get in trouble!” Montressor exclaimed

“ we didn’t get caught Montressor, calm down” I remarked

“No, I’m leaving, I don’t want to be a part of this” Montressor argued

“ wait, look at this view, I promise it’ll be worth it” I said,

Montressor walked back over beside me as we looked at the beautiful scenery before us.

“ What's the bag for then?” Montressor asked

“ Let me show you,” I replied.

I grabbed a handful of seeds and threw them as far as I could into the lake, observing every plop.

“ we did all this, just for you to do that?” Montressor mocked

“Try it, it's fun I swear” stated

Montressor scooped some seeds into his palm and launched it into the water as hard as he could. Then he looked at me as if relieved, and he did it again and again and again. We stood there catapulting seeds from our hands, laughing, talking, yelling. It was nice to not be alone for once, even if it was with Montressor. I think he would agree.

After our final throws we sat down looking out into the world. And I felt warm, comfortable, something I haven’t felt in awhile. Montressor started to talk about how much fun he had had, and then about his family. Back and forth we talked for what felt like hours. The sky grew dark and the stars began to sparkle. As we walked back to Montressor’s house there was a small group of people waiting in front of his gate. It was our parents, the delivery man and my dear friend, the sheriff.

“Where have you been” Montressors father scolded

“ we were playing by the lake” I responded

“ This delivery man here said he saw you boys stealing from his wagon, now Fortunato I believe but innocent little Montressor, well I couldn’t believe it” the sheriff remarked

Montressor and at each other, but he didn’t look fearful, he looked empowered.

“ It was me sir, I was the one that stole the seeds” Montressor claimed

“ Montressor wait” I exclaimed

“No” he snapped “ I did it, I don’t know what I was thinking, I was just trying to have some fun” Montressor said

Everyone looked confused,

“ are you sure?” the sheriff asked.

“ yes” Montressor replied.

I stood in disbelief, I didn’t understand why Montressor would take the blame. Before I could say anything my mother grabbed me by the arm and dragged me home.

“ Were leaving” my mother scolded the sheriff as we left.

I turned to face Montressor and mouthed “thankyou”, he gave me a nod before It was too far to see. As his figure blurred in the distance all I could think of was my friend, Montressor. I had a friend, a true friend, an unexpected yet loyal friend. And there it began, Fortunato and Montressor, truest of friends.

# data[].attributes.body
“Wake up Luciano.”

As my eyes fluttered open, I saw what seemed to be a blurry image of my brother. Reaching out, I felt the figure and, indeed confirmed it was my older brother Nicola. Widening my eyes a bit more, I looked around the room and looked back at my brother. Understanding my surroundings, I fell back asleep and laid back down.

I felt a kick on my back, surging awake.

“Hey!” I hollered annoyingly, flinging upwards comically as I rubbed my bottom. “What the hell?!”

Nicola gazed down at me in disappointment, putting his hands to his hips. He was fully dressed in clothes, looking professional and respected in his own right. He seemed to be a tall and slender man, of very young but very respectable clothing. I was a bit of the opposite, being a little more stubby than my elder brother.

“You remember what we were going to do today right?” Nicola lectured, his eyes glaring at me as if to burn my head off. “Get dressed, I’ll meet you at the manor at a quarter til 10.”

I walked towards the manor, fully dressed now, and looked around for my older brother. I gazed upon the looming manor, studying it and now realizing just how massive it was. Large iron gates stood in front of me, towering over twice my size, with lions on each pillar to show dominance. It had the title, Montresor Manor, and although it had been abandoned for a couple decades now, no one even dares to go there. The many rumors of the place scare little children out of their clothes. A presence could be felt behind me, as I felt a cold breath blow upon my neck.

“Boo.”

“AHHH!” I yelped, falling over and stumbling, my heart racing like I just won a Marathon. Stood over me was my brother, Nicola, laughing at me and rolling over. Nicola helped me up, patting me off and apologizing, and began to look at the manor as well.

“Alright. We’re finally here. Let’s figure out what really happened to this place, and see if the rumors are true.” Nicola states, as he walks towards the wall which separates him and the manor. He knocks on a lot of the wall pieces, before one of the walls seems to make a different noise then the other. Pushing on it, the side-wall opens up and gives an entrance into the manor. He calls out to me, asking me to come over. “Luci! Look at this. Let’s head inside!”

Reluctantly, I agree to his requests and walk inside of the Manor.

The manor was freakishly massive, although that would be a major understatement to have. The grass and trees were dying, and it looked like it hadn't been managed in decades. Nicola seemed to be fascinated, excited to explore, and pulled me along for the ride. It was good seeing my brother happy, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t having the life out of me slip away from fear.

“Luci, let’s look around for a key.” My brother mentioned, as he frisked around for things in the grass. I look up to my brother a lot, he always seems to be imaginative and intelligent. He was always an honors student, and had the highest marks in the academy. Now that he’s in college, he’s being paid to do what he likes and be a reporter. He hopes to one day be a private investigator, which I respect him for. Sometimes I wish I had the tenacity and courage he did, but we all work with what we have at the end of the day.

I help to look with him, scouring around the place. I notice an opening in the bushes, and I reach my hand inside. Fumbling around, I feel a very cold but noticeable item. Pulling it out, I acquired the key to the manor, with Montresor’s own signature on it.

I rush to my brother, screaming excitedly. “Nicola! I found it!”

My brother’s eyes widened as his face turned to a bright grin. He took the key and patted me on the head, obviously very proud of me. Walking up to the door, he entered the lock and opened the door.

The hinges on the door seemed rusty, as it made a loud squeaking noise as the door opened. The inside seemed run down but extremely spacious. Drapes and ripped cloth hung from the ceiling, and old vases and furniture was extremely misplaced. There were stairs leading up to the office and the 2nd and 3rd floor bedrooms, and a door under the stairs.

“Let’s split up.” My brother requested, before going off on his own. I wasn’t able to get a word in, and much to my dismay, I was now alone. Frightened, I decided to walk upstairs while my brother covered the ground floor. Every step I took made a creaking noise, and the wood of the house certainly showed it’s age.

I opened the door to the office bedroom, slowly tiptoeing my way inside. There was a lot of furniture in the room, with pages and other items scattered along the floor. I walk to the desk, searching around and frisking through. Feeling a leather notebook, I pull it out from the cupboard and blow air on it to separate the dust from it. I read through, looking at Montresor’s notes.

Flipping through, there seems to be a lot of notes about a couple of things. He seems to be a man of taste, and an expert in tasting wine, often locking his wine cellar to hide it from others. Another thing he seemed to speak of a lot was a man called Fortunato, and about how he very much hated the man. He spoke about how Fortunato insulted his family and disrespected the Montresor family name.

Fortunato was a very famous man who went missing more than half a century ago, and hearing about him in the notebook surprised me. Is this perhaps another clue to the mystery? I thought to myself. I grabbed the notebook and put it in my coat pocket, leaving the room and walking down the stairs.

I met up with my brother again, and we decided to head into the library. From looking at the layout in the house, the wine cellar seemed to be around this area. I told my brother about my findings, and he seemed very surprised.

“I did a lot of reading on the Fortunato incident. He seemed to be a friend of Montresor, but they did not suspect him when looking for Fortunato. They thought of him to be disappearing because he was avoiding some sort of tax or crime.” Nicola spoke, scratching his chin and thinking for a bit. He shook his head of the thought, and asked to continue to search for a way to open the wine cellar.

Nicola shifts around the back and stumbles upon a lever, pulling it. We hear the drop of wood, and look to the side as we see the opening to the cellar. He looks at me, smirks, and brings me down with him to explore. He grabs a wooden stick that he got earlier and lights it, giving us some light to see through. As we traverse deeper, the cellar seems to never end. The stone that holds it together continues to get moldier as we go down further, and we can’t help but notice the lingering scent of something foul.

The scent becomes more noticeable as we travel further down, much to our distress. We come across a pile of bricks, all cracked and old, and the stench is strongest here. To the side, there’s a dark passage that seems to be poorly lit. As we shine our torch to the blind spot, our faces turn to grimace and fear. There was a skeletal body with a note beside it, as Nicola took the note and read it.

If you are reading this message, I have passed. I am Montresor, the owner of this manor, and I want to say thank you for finding this note. This is my admit to guilt and fault of murdering my friend, Fortunato. I could not bear the pain of living in the same household where I selfishly killed my friend. For years and decades it creeped my mind, and made me insane. Yes, I murdered Fortunato.

As we read it, Nicola began to smirk. He patted my head and smiled, saying he was proud of me. I did feel good, and I’m glad that we solved the mystery. It seemed like everything got resolved.

I wish that was how it ended. The cellar began to shake, as we both held onto the walls for support. We saw parts of the bricks and stone of the cellar fall apart, and we both looked at each other and thought the same thing.

“RUN!”

We jolted out of there, the cellar falling apart and breaking down behind us. I ran for my life, my legs seemed to want to give up, but the noise of the stone behind us being destroyed kept me going. I tripped over a rock, falling down and hitting my face. I looked in fear as the rocks behind me rushed forward like a landslide. My brother grabbed my wrist tight, pulling me right before the rubble collapsed on top of me, saving my life.

We laid on the wooden floor, gasping for our lives, the stress shocking us ultimately. My brother started to laugh hysterically, before shaking his head and standing up. He helped me up, patting my back and giving me an assuring smile.

“I guess we solved that mystery huh?” He sarcastically commented, grinning and putting his hands on his hips. “Let’s go home and report what we found.”

I nodded in agreement, at the least happy that it was finally over.

# data[].attributes.body
I was in my early 20s when I was accepted to The Wine Academy of Spain to become a certified wine connoisseur and sommelier. It is the most prestigious institute in the world.  I come from a poor family of stone makers, so for me to break free from our poverished life was beyond words. I was finally getting away from our small village, Dieulefit, France, and travel to Spain. I didn't have much time before the session started. We weren't prepared for my journey or had the clothes that allowed me to fit in with such high class of people. All I had was a simple white shirt, a pair of knee breeches, and an old pair of boots that had once belonged to my father. My mother busied herself redesigning an old cloak that my grandfather had given me. She fashioned a patch over the chalice-sized hole over the left breast. She had done well in repairing the cape but it still showed its age. The patch had an odd design that she embroidered. It had a royal blue background with a snake sinking its fangs into a foot of gold with the words "Nemo me impune lacessit." I had to asked what the patch meant.

"All the well-to-do have a coat of arms and family mottos," she explained, "this is ours, now. It means Nobody angers me without a fight."

I had to pass myself off as one that comes from a wealthy family. The time had come for me to leave my family and travel to Spain, alone. My grandfather had slipped me something wrapped in a small leather pouch and told me to keep it close at all times. I placed it in the inside flap of my cape.

The sun was just breaking when I arrived at school, I was captivated by the beauty I had only seen in books. The school was built in the early 1700s, with exquisite Corinthian designs. The columns had decorative carvings that appeared to be flowers and leaves winding around them. The assonance of the water cascading down from the mountains into the small rivers that run through the vineyards was in rhythm with the wind bells blowing in the breeze. The early morning air was filled with fresh floral and fruity aromas from the vineyard. I knew I was going to treasure my time here.

I hurried to get settled into housing so I could explore the grounds before going to my first class. I saw a couple of well-dressed fellows in the square. One was well groomed with his dark blazer, freshly pressed pants and polished shoes. He seemed to hold himself with utmost confidence. As I proceeded to pass, he stopped in front of me.

He looked me up and down, “Grape pickers are prohibited in the square when students are                        present.”

“I just enrolled for the year,” I said defensively.

“New guy, huh?” it was more of a comment than a question. “My name is Sventura Fortunato                     and this is Vile Luchesi.”

“I am Abhinaash Montresor,” I proudly replied.

“You are not from around here. The way you dress is not of our caste.”

“I-I am of the Masons of Italy,” I said snobbishly. There was something about his tone and the                     distrust in his eyes was making me uncomfortable. “I need to get to class.”

“Do you have Ricardo Castellano for Sommelier class?” Luchesi finally spoke.

“Yes, I choose that class to strengthen my knowledge of wines,” I lied. My lack of knowledge                       was the reason I wanted to come here.

“His passion for wines and nature comes out in his trainings,” he informed. “If you ever need                     advice or guidance, go to him.”

“Such an excellent teacher, you spent the last 3 years in that class,” he said mocking Luchesi.                     “Either he isn’t that good or you’re just an imbecile.”

I was getting that awkward feeling again so I dismissed myself and hurried to class.

After classes I was exhausted. I went to my room, studied Food Pairing, and went to bed. This is       going to be harder than I thought.

I was woken up at midnight with banging on my door. It was “lights out” two hours ago. The banging continued, then, “MONTRESOR, GET UP!” I opened the door only to find Fortunato, Luchesi and Señor Castellano standing there, dressed like they were going on a witch hunt.

“Come on, get dressed and come with us,” Fortunato demanded.

“Where are going this late?” I asked, grabbing my cloak.

“Don’t ask questions. Let’s go.”

I followed the three of them through the darkness. No one would tell me where we were going or what we were doing. My heart was pounding and my nerves were shaky. We stopped at a door that I hadn’t noticed on my walk around the grounds earlier in the day. The door opened and we proceeded down the stairs. It was dark, but the sweet musty smell let me know we were in the wine cellar. I could hear talking further down a long tunnel. The passage opened up to a huge cave that was lined wall to wall with large oak barrels. The lighting exposed another twenty guys dressed as the three I had followed down. Fortunato tapped a barrel and poured a glass.

“Drink this,” he said handing me the glass.

I was still trying to figure out what was going on and before I knew it the glass was empty.

“We need to leave before we are expelled!”

“Relax, my family gives this place an obscene amount of money every year, just so they                                look the other way when I want to hold events. Tonight, is to welcome you to our                                          organization.  So, enjoy the night.”

A few weeks after, I had woken up late and had to rush to class. As I was taking my seat, Luchesi stopped me and told me that Fortunato had to tend some family business and he wanted to see me when he returned. For the next few weeks, I gave up on studying, my attention wasn’t on my lessons. Why did Fortunato need to see me? Why had everyone become his bootlicker?  Just before midnight, again there was knocking at my door.

“You were to come see me,” a voice said angrily. “I am disappointed.”

I tried to focus on the black figure but I knew the voice. “I didn’t know you had returned.”

“Here put this on and come with me,” he said with urgency. “He uncovered your                                             secret and we need to protect your family name.” He moved swiftly through the dark.

I put on the long black robe he had thrown at me. Fortunato had been talking so fast, I was confused. I rushed to catch up to him. By the time he stopped we were at the cellar.

“What are we doing here? What are you speaking of?” Questions were rolling out.

He took a breath, “The night of your party, you were speaking of your family at lengths.”

My heart sank.

“Come this way, I have something to show you.” I followed him to a hidden room. There,                            chained in the corner was Castellano, still in his bedclothes with a burlap sack over his head,                       pleading for his life.

“You belong to our brotherhood; all secrets remain here.” I could see the evil behind his dark                     eyes.

“What have you done?” I was in shock. My head was spinning.

The next thing I remembered, it was morning and I was back in my room. I must have had a nightmare. I cleaned myself up and headed to class. I found out the reality, fastened to the door: “CLASSES ARE CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.”

Over the next couple months, I couldn’t get the image of Castellano out of my head. People who knew and respected the beloved teacher never even questioned his whereabouts. I couldn’t stay, I was not doing well in classes, even Fortunato had been more distant than usual. I decided to take my studies down by the river. Hoping it would give me a clear head.

I didn’t hear him come up. “Meet me in the square at lunch tomorrow,” he demanded. Then walked away quietly.

The next day the square was packed more than usual. Every student, faculty member and even Grape pickers, as well as the Policía were in attendance. My heart was racing. I knew they had found Castellano. I was not expecting what happened next. The commissioner stood at the podium announcing where and how they had found our teacher. They had no suspects, but then he held up a small leather pouch.

“This was found on your teacher. We need to speak to the owner of this case.”

I froze. I recognized my pouch. But how did it get on Castellano? No one knew I had it. I looked around the crowd, hoping no one was looking at me. I caught eyes with Fortunato. He was standing near the podium with a giant grin on his face. He leaned toward the commissioner and whispered in his ear.

The commissioner stepped back and he stepped up with tears in his eyes, “You know who you are. You need to come forward and take your punishment. The bag that they found is an inferior cloth. We do not know who it belongs to, but we do know they are of the lower class and will NEVER be one of us.”

I couldn’t stay and I couldn’t go back to France. I would disgrace my family. I left that night for Italy. Fortunato had crushed my dreams and ruined everything my parents had wished for; a better life for their son. My blood was boiling and I swore if I ever again cross paths with him again, he will succumb to the same demise as Señor Castellano.

# data[].attributes.body
I sat on the steps in front of the school, a faded blue backpack slung over my shoulder as I scanned over everyone. None of them were the person I was looking for however, only one person would fit the role I needed them for. After a few minutes, a familiar ripple of an engine met my ears and I smirked. Jonathan Wright, the boy who doesn’t care about rules and who can get in anywhere. I glanced around before I stood and walked over to my target. I cleared my throat, grabbing the boy’s attention as he paused and looked at me. “What if I told you, I can make you rich?” I smirked a little, Jonathan arching a thick brow at me. Good, I had his attention. “I was given a task to find the legend, the myth about Fortunado. My employers want all of his valuables and the old wine that’s supposed to be with him. It’s all worth a decent amount of money. Only issue is that I need help.” I explained and Jonathan shrugged, nodding. Approaching footsteps sounded on the concrete and we both glanced over to see Kacey strolling over. So much for this being a two man job.

------

“There it is. This wine cellar was suddenly listed as private property two weeks after Fortunado went missing. This is most likely where he’s hidden.” I explained, tapping the computer screen. Kacey and Jonathan leaned forward, reading the text on the screen. I closed everything out quickly and grabbed my backpack, standing. “We gotta go. Come on, it’s a two and a half hour drive and it will be getting dark soon.” I urged, rushing out of the library.

Jonathan was nice enough to switch out his motorcycle for his car, driving us around. Kacey had been adamant about not coming with us, not wanting to break any laws. It was understandable, what we were doing was highly illegal; but we had this to do and my employer wouldn’t be happy if I failed. We forced her to come with us, scared that she would rat us out to the police. She wouldn’t shut up either, her high pitched voice constantly yapping about how she wanted no part in this, how she didn’t want to go to jail. It was annoying, like nails on a chalkboard. Jonathan eventually turned his radio on, blasting music on to drown out her whining.

The sun was setting as we got closer to our destination, Kacey finally closing her mouth to allow peace and quiet here. Jonathan pulled into an empty field, parking and shutting everything off while I glanced around. About 500 yards away was a brick building that appeared to be worn down and abandoned, not even a single guard around. Behind that building was a small mansion, it was quite easy to see too. I pulled out my laptop and quickly booted it up, going to my email to get the documents I had found earlier in the library. This was the place. I shut everything down, hiding my midnight laptop under the car seat while grabbing my bag. “Let’s go.”

I didn’t pull out a flashlight or anything, not wanting to alert anyone where we were. There were no lights on in the vicinity, but that didn’t really mean anything. We rushed through the fields, Jonathan being our main lookout. “Yo dude, this ain’t really that smart.” He whispered and I turned around to look at him, expression masked to an emotionless state. “Look, I know I tend to act out at school and stuff but this is actually illegal! I would like to at least try and go to college.” He hissed and I growled.

“We’ve come too far for you to give up on me now. Let’s go.” I stated firmly, running up to the door. There was a padlock on the latch for the door, thankfully it was rusted though. I dropped my bag to the ground and unzipped it, grabbing my crowbar out of it. I heard Kacey immediately protest but I ignored her, slipping the bar between the body and the shackle. With one good push, the shank breaks and the lock falls to the ground with a thud. Turning to the other two, I urged them into the storage barn after gathering my stuff.

“This place is huge!” Kacey commented and I blew out a hard breath, shaking my head. They were lucky no one was around to hear her…”How do you even know what you’re looking for?” She asked, taking a couple steps closer.

I arched a brow and glanced back at her, fingers fiddling with the bottom of her ruffled floral skirt. “You’ll just know. Now come on, the more important things are kept in the lower levels.” I huffed, shaking my head as I moved around the room for the cellar door. Once I found the worn oak door, I called everyone to me to head downstairs. “Search around for-”

“Ew get it off! Ew!” Kacey interrupted, screeching like a banshee. She was going to give us away.

I turned to see her trapped in some cobwebs and shook my head. “Search around, the older the wine the better. I’ll see if I can find the tomb.” I sighed, the other two reluctantly doing so. There were no obvious signs of anything that could be pointing towards our legendary man, but then again; if I were trying to hide a body I wouldn’t make it plainly obvious. I ran my fingers along the wall, trying to see if any of it looked different or tampered with.

My hand pressed into a brick and it moved slightly, causing me to pause. I hummed and wiggled it, feeling it loosen until it fell behind the wall and a small gust of air met my face. “Guys! Over here!” I called out, rushed steps echoing. Jonathan and Kacey rushed around a corner and over to me. “Help me bust this wall down.” I ordered, Kacey wrinkling her nose as Jonathan huffed. I grabbed my crowbar again and started busting the wall down, brick crumbling.

With time, we finally busted the wall down before freezing. “Is that…” Kacey started and I swallowed.

“That’s a corpse Tyler.” Jonathan murmured and I bit my lip. It was actually a corpse..

“I thought it was just a legend. But, we have a job. There’s not anything here, we should go.” I sighed, looking around. The supposed treasure of Fortunado didn’t exist.

“What?! No! We should call the cops! There’s a dead body!” Kacey hissed. I pinched the bridge of my nose and shook my head.

“And we’re trespassing. This body has been here for how long now? We’ll go to jail for trespassing. And stealing.” I huffed and she whined, crossing her arms. “How about this, I take the loot and we all split paths. I’ll contact you when I get paid, you get your cut and then we never see each other again.” I proposed and she stared at me.

After a few moments of silence, we all agreed. “Good. Now let’s pack up what we got and go.” I ordered and they all grumbled, complaining. I ignored it all in favor of rummaging the cellar and finding some amazingly old wine. This would be worth decent money. We gathered everything we could, filling my backpack entirely.

We cleaned everything up to the best of our ability, trying to leave no trace that we were here. I ushered the other two up the stairs and out of the storage building. I put everything back as it was, to the best of my ability. I didn’t have a lock, but it seemed like this place went untouched. Either way, I collected the rusted lock to prevent print placing as we bolted across the property. Dogs started barking and I cursed, urging everyone on. Light flicked on behind us as we all climbed into Jonathan’s car and took off.

------

In the end, we got away with stealing a quarter of a million dollars worth of old wine and antiques. An investigation was opened when the owners of the estate heard and caught us leaving, but what they found took precedent. So, we got off the hook. Kacey ended up moving town, needed to get away from everyone and her parents were more than willing to up and leave. Jonathan shaped up a bit, cut ties with me and made a new life. I, however, kept on doing what I was good at. It was a good life, one that worked for me. I hadn’t been caught, nor will I. Besides, this life was too fun to give up

# data[].attributes.body
My name is Anne and I am now 20 years old and living happily. I mean there are still issues and problems for example, my mom is very sick and my dad has passed away. It’s just me, my mom, and some servants. Right now we live in a huge estate that used to look very beautiful but it now has vines growing along the sides of every wall. The estate is so big that I haven’t even been able to explore the whole place. My dad that passed away has always told me not to go to the left wing of the estate. I always asked him why but he always dodged me and tried to change the subject. I was around 15 when I got so curious that I decided that I was going to sneak out of my room in the middle of the night and explore the left wing. Little did I know that my dad had found out my plan to sneak around. When he caught me I was in so much trouble and wasn’t aloud outside for a week. The thing is that I have always be an explorer and always wanted to go outside and find new things. My dad knew this and so he took my favorite thing away. That thing was exploring. I swear I thought I was going to die from boredom. Then around the age of 17 my dad passed away from an illness and then a year late when I was 18 my mother got very sick. For the past two years my mother has not left her bed do to being on bed rest. I was visiting my mother and she fell asleep and so I thought that this was my chance to explore the left wing after so many years.

I was walking down the hall on my way to the left wing when I heard the servants talking.

“hey have you hear that Anne is going to inherit the estate when her mother passes” said servant 1.

“yeah… but I kind of feel sorry for the poor girl” said servant 2. ”She will be all alone and in this big house. It has to be lonely.”

When I heard their voices coming closer I hid and listened in on their conversation. That’s when I heard they were talking about me and the topic they were on made me feel a bit down. Then they changed the subject to something I was very much interested in and I decided to listen in on their conversation.

“anyways, have you heard about the old cellar that is in the left wing. I heard that no one has gone in there in over 40 years or something.” Said servant 1. “The other servants seem to thing its haunted and refuse to go in there or even walk passed it.”

Servant 2 then replied “that is ridiculous! There are no such thing as ghosts and even if there were they can hurt us.”

This made me more interested in exploring the left wing and made me want to find this cellar. A matter of fact I didn’t even know we had a cellar. The servants then left and I continued on my journey to the left wing to find this cellar. It wasn’t too long until I found the cellar. I very excited so I went and tried to open the door but it was locked. Then I remembered that before my da passed away he left a key for my mother. I’m glad that it can be useful now. I finally got the door to open and I walked in slowly feeling the cold and dewy air hit my skin. It gave off a real creepy feeling and then there were cobwebs everywhere. In the dark room where a whole bunch of wine bottles and as I kept walking further it I looked at how worn down the cellar was. That was until I came across a wall that doesn’t look as old as the other walls. This made me extremely confused.

Apart from me being confused it started to see that it was getting late. I decided it was time to head back and see how my mom was doing. I walked into her room and seen that she was awake so I figured that it would be a great idea to ask her about the cellar.

“hey…mom…I-I was wondering i-if you could tell me about the cellar that is in the left wing of the estate?” I asked nervously.

My mom replied with “ honey, your father was an amazing man but he also made a few mistakes in his life. Do you remember your dads friend that went missing 40 years ago?”

I quickly answered my mother with “ yes, he went missing the day he had a party and then was never seen again. What about him?”

“well…you see your father didn’t really like him. The man used to play mean prank onyour dad and that made him very angry so your dad brought him to the cellar and gave him a whole bunch of wine and that made the man pass out. Your father then built a new wall and trapped him in the wall with no escape.” She explained in a scratchy voice.

“but mom what happens if people find out?” I asked in a worried tone.

She immediately responded with a serious voice “ nobody will ever find out.”

After this conversation I fell asleep in her room and was woken up by doctors an servants panicing. When I saw this happening I started to get scared.

I got up and screamed “What is happening!”

The room went silent and then I heard someone say that we lost her. That’s when I broke down and cried like there was no tomorrow. I just couldn’t stop crying. In my head I was thing that she was fine just last night. What happened?

It been about  3 years since my mother passed away and I inherited the estate. For the last three years I have not been into my mothers room and have not been to the left wing. I finally came to the decision to have a new start. This will be the biggest step in moving on from all the sad and bad things that have happened. About six months later I had the estate torn down and rebuilt and had the old cellar filled and blocked off. The only people I had left are the servants. They have stayed with me through everything and have never betrayed me so I kept them around and even let them live in the main house like we were a big happy family. This made me so happy that I wasn’t alone even though I lost both of the most important people in my life. I still have people I can lean on for support. about 2 years later some of the servants came down with illnesses and it was contagious. The whole house got sick and more than half of the servant died. I thought to myself am I just meant to be around death or is death following me. I wonder if my future will be better if I just move all together.

# data[].attributes.body
The year was 1780, Fortunato and I attended a function, where he did his usual antics. Up to this point I had never had any problem with it as it had not been directed at me. He had a high level of respect for me or so I perceived. This was the night where it would all change though. Fortunato, even though had pulled many jests,  his venturing upon insult was when things changed and our relationship was never the same. Of course I did not let him know this because I would need this information to be kept secret in order to plan my future revenge. The function he had told me was a costume party. I spent lots of time picking the perfect costume, finding a great mask for the event. When I arrived, I found out I had been fooled. I was the only person with a costume, I had fallen victim to one of his jests. Usually they were tolerable, but this time Fortunato had caused me great public embarrassment, showing a clear lack of respect. This was the first straw.

I had not spoken about this incident since it happened in order to make Fortunato believe that all was forgotten. I kept acting like everything was normal, for years. I even allowed some chances for redemption. These were not used by Fortunato, who increased his disrespectful jests, public humiliation, and insults towards me, infuriating me each time that it happened. I continued to attend functions, invited often by Fortunato, I would often even jest back at him, in a light manner, but not with insult, in order to play his games and make him believe all was well. Deep down, every time I saw Fortunato, I smiled at the thought of finally getting my revenge. He must have thought that I was smiling at his jests or at the fact that I was spending time with him. It worked perfectly, he believed we were becoming even closer friends, going so far as to saying. “Montressor is my best friend, his sense of humor and taste for wine are unmatched… except for mine”. While this publicly seemed like a friendly remark, it infuriated me further, seeing as it showed how big his pride was to publicly make remarks about him being better at things than I was. I laughed, the people there believed I was laughing at the joke, but in fact I was imagining and hearing him screaming in agony in my fantasy of revenge. The simple thought of his future pain was far more amusing and satisfying than his overused, disrespectful, jestly remarks. While his continued signs of disrespect deeply infuriated me little by little, by this point I had not yet made the full plan of how I would seek revenge, instead electing to keep gaining his trust. I would often invite him to my home, to have him try out new collections of wine I had bought. While he saw this as just acts of friendship, I was getting him used to being in my home, drinking wine, as this was how I would seek revenge many years later. He would often remark “ Montressor, I am sure glad you let me check your wines to make sure you don’t get those of bad quality as your taste is not like mine”. Remarks like those were filled with pride but utterly disrespectful, implying I do not have the capability of choosing the correct wines. Even though it angered me, I elaborated more situations similar to those, in order to keep increasing his pride, as the higher it is, the easier it is to use it against a man. In my years of experience, it seems as those with the highest pride are the easiest to outsmart as they foolishly do not believe such a feat can be accomplished. I started to acknowledge how amusing and intelligent his jests, and jokes were. This caused him to do them more and more. Our mutual friends started to see me as the one who would always be joked about and who would not do anything about it. This was just what I wanted them to believe, but they were very wrong. In one of the worst insults to me, Fortunato once uttered “Montressor, your wife sure seems to enjoy my jokes about you ”. This was crossing the line as using one's wife in a jest is greatly disrespectful. I had never once uttered a word about his family. It was at this point, my official planning of my final revenge and punishment against Fortunato began. My thoughts began to wonder as to the best way to carry it out, I had many options. I had built his trust, and loyalty for years already, meaning I could lure him in many ways to his doom.

Although it took me a while to plan out the perfect revenge, the core elements I had always had in mind. First, his pride would be the best way to lure him as it deprives him of critical thought, instead choosing to defend it at all costs. This caused me to realize that a great portion of his pride comes from his self described “great taste” for wine. I started to venture more and more to find the perfect wine and story to lure him to his doom. I many times heard him speaking about the rarity of Amontillado and how fine of a wine it was. This seemed like the perfect way to target his inner pride. I decided I would get him at a party, on a date where there would be many people, in costumes, and where normally odd actions would not be suspected upon.  Carnival was the perfect date. Many people were out and intoxicated. I decided I would inform Fortunato that I had acquired a cask of Amontillado or at least something that passes as such, paying the full price for it. I would inform him of how I was on my way to ask another friend about it since he has great taste in wine, almost as good as Fortunato. This was guaranteed to trigger his inner pride and he was almost certain to want to try the Amontillado simply to prove he could tell it apart from other wines and to prove he had the best taste for wine. After luring him into the wine cellar, I planned to tie him there, and leave him inside a wall, to rot for all the things he did to me. Never to be found.

# data[].attributes.body
Sequel (with a twist)

Everyone knows the tale “The Cask of Amontillado”. It is something they tell during Halloween hoping they spark some sort of emotion. It never works, especially when you have been hearing the same story with a different outcome for 18 years. It is the morning of graduation, a day I have been looking forward to this day for the past year. It has definitely been larger but don’t tell my parents. “Halen! You are going to be late!” my mother shouted from downstairs. I can smell the crisp bacon and the burnt toast. My mother is not the best cook. “I’m coming!” I yelled from my bedroom. Running down my old wooden stairs, I grab some bacon, I skipped the brown toast, and hugged my mother. “I’ll see you after graduation mom, I love you!” I would hug her and run outside to begin my walk to school. The mother air is crisp in my lungs. The cold wind bites at my exposed ankles. I have always been the one up for an adventure and as soon as I graduate, I am getting on a plane to Italy to explore the famous wine cellular that everyone seems to know so much about.

You see, in my imagination, this wine cellular is just a normal wine cellular. The story is a myth told to spook young children. Of course, there are those who believe it and come up with every reason on why it is true. But now I am sitting in a noisy airport about to find out for myself. “Flight 8261 is now boarding.” the intercom says. I sit in my seat with the excitement of an adventure in mind. After a long and restless flight, we finally land in Italy. I exit the plane and collect my luggage. When walking out of the airport, you are greeted with those who have clearly lived their lives. Their smiles wider than you could imagine, making the wrinkles on their more prominent as they open the door to my taxi. As I get into my taxi my driver asks where I am being driven to. “The catacombs please.” I reply. He looks at me from the rear-view mirror with an expression that I cannot make out. Is he confused? Or is he surprised that, that was my destination. The drive is surprisingly long, but the scenery is gorgeous. The snow-covered hills, the small towns filled with people bundled up with scarfs and coats. “Are you sure you would like me to drop you off here?” the taxi driver asks. I look out the window, getting an eerie feeling in the pit of my stomach. “Yes, I am sure” I reply. I step out of the car with my backpack in tow. It is small than I expected. I reminds me of a small cottage that you would see in Ireland. Grey stone, brown wooden door, and the strong smell of… wine. The overwhelming scent began to give me a headache, but I had to move forward. Taking off my gloves, I pushed open the catacomb’s door. There were stairs descending into the cellular, pitch black at the bottom. The eerie feeling had returned, something in my mind telling me to turn back, but my pride will not let me. I walked down the concrete steps with my phone in hand, I turned on the flashlight so I could see in the nothingness that lied ahead of me.

I expected to see more than what I did, cobwebs coated the walls, you can hear dripping of water in the distance. I am not quite sure what I had expected, maybe a huge sign tells me if this was all a hoax or not. I ran my fingers over the walls of the catacomb. I felt nothing, until a sharp slice on my middle finger. I shined my flashlight on the wall the just cut my finer to discover a hole. A hole with sharp corners like someone was trying to break their way out. I set my phone down on the ground with my light shining up. I used all my strength to pull out the bricks that coated the wall. Once I finally pulled one out, the wall was hallowed. It appears the part of the story that includes a wall being built was true. When pulling out one brick, I knocked the others loose, giving me every opportunity to pull some more off the wall. Once I finished my hands stung with cuts and knuckles throbbed with bruises. But as I suspected there was nothing within the wall. “Ha! I knew it, it was all fake.” I mumbled to myself. “What are you speaking of exactly?” asked a mysterious voice. I would jump with fright. “W-who’s there?” shaking with fear, I grabbed my phone and began to walk slowly towards the door. “I asked a question and still have not received an answer.” The deep voice grumbled. Walking faster, I made my way to the steps but before reach the top. SLAM! The door slammed shut. “As I have said before, my question has not been answered.” he said commandingly. “I-I don’t want any trouble. I was just coming to see if the tale was true.” I stuttered. “And exactly wait ‘tale’ would you be speaking of?” he would reply. The way he responded, the way he formulates his words, made it seem like he has lived for years yet has no sense of modern day. Yet again I would reply, “The tale ‘The Cask of Amontillado’. A-are you the owner here? I did not know this was private property, I am so sorry! I would just like to leave!” I pleaded. He was silent for a couple seconds, but the seconds felt like minutes. “Ah I see. There is no tale to be told because there is no tale that is true.” he spoke again, “I shall let you go, but you shall never come back.” I nodded but realized that you could not see my head moving in the dark. “Ok, yes! Thank you so much!” I hurried up the stairs and push open the door. To my surprise the taxi was still there. I ran to the car and swung the door, climbing inside. “Are you ok miss?” asked the taxi driver. “I am surprised you are still here! But no, we need to go. Now!” I demanded. Again, the taxi driver looked so confused. Rotating his entire body towards me, he said “Ma’am you were inside all of 2 minutes, at most. Would scared you so bad?”. I sat there shell shocked. “T-two minutes? I was in there for more, maybe even 2 hours. Then the owner came down and scared me half to death, you could have informed me this was private property.” I began to tremble more. He looked at me with such eyes of concern and replied, “Ma’am, you went in, the door shut, and then 2 minutes later you were out. There is also no owner of these catacombs. This is not private property.” Confused, scared, and annoyed I asked him to take me to my hotel without saying another word the entire trip. I know what I had seen, and I know what I experienced. But from what the taxi driver has told me, could it be possible that it is true. That I somehow went into a time warp, as crazy as that sounds, and spoke to Fortunato. There is no way. One day I will go back, and I will discover the truth.

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My dearest friend, Fortunato, was such a wonderful man. That is, until he joked too far and warranted his own death. I must confess now that I was in fact the one who killed him, and I am not sorrowful nor do I have any feelings of guilt. But I am surprised it took Fortunato’s old friends and family fifty years to figure out what happened to him. As I sit here dying in this cold and damp prison cell, I will explain how I got here. After I had sealed off Fortunato in his tomb, I quickly ran back up to the cacophony of talking and laughter and joined the festivities once again. I drank a little and danced a little, content that Fortunato would no longer burden me with his incessant jokes. However, that happy feeling did not last long. I soon was overcome with paranoia that the guests would get suspicious of Fortunato’s whereabouts, so I ran to my bedroom and hid. I sat in the dark for God knows how long, not bothering to shed light in the room due to my fear that someone was after me with an interrogation. Once my paranoia dwindled, I peeked outside to find that many of the party guests had gone home, and the ones who were still there were in the process of leaving, some stumbling around drunk. I came to the conclusion that no one even knew Fortunato was dead, and that fact gave me enough comfort to fall asleep. The next morning I started my day like nothing had happened, and kept that routine for the next fifty years.

What changed this routine was Lady Fortunato’s suspicion and research about her husband’s “disappearance”. She never fully believed that Fortunato had just gone missing and never returned; her reasoning was that she had given her husband everything he could ever want. She had told her husband’s old friends about her suspicion, and the vote was unanimous; Fortunato must have been murdered. I am not sure how they came to the conclusion that I murdered him, one day I happened to awake to the sound of pounding on my door. I had no time to even utter out a polite greeting. “Murderer!” Lady Fortunato shrieked, surrounded by a diverse group of men and women alike. I assume that many men had come straight here from work, since they had various tools with them. I was then dragged away to some makeshift courtroom in my own house! “Look, ladies and gentlemen, I am opposed to this pretend play you have set up in my living room,” I reasoned. “We will not hear any of your lies! I have had fifty years to ruminate on my husband’s so-called disappearance and I am thoroughly convinced that it was you who killed him! It was on a night in the carnival season! That would’ve given you more than enough leeway to lure my husband away from everyone!” Lady Fortunato yelled, her face turning red as a cherry. ‘I have to be careful now, this wretched woman is about to uncover my secret,’ I thought nervously. “Montresor, I cannot think of any location in your estate I would rather search than your wine cellar. It is easily dark and vast enough to hide anything down there.” Lady Fortunato said with a wicked smile. I thought for sure she knew exactly what was going on, but I had to trust that she just happened to be making a wild guess, for if she really did know the truth, she would have killed me by now. I was broken out of my thoughts by the sound of her yelling “Come, everyone! To the cellar!” and was swept away once again to Fortunato’s tomb. The shouting of the crowd instantly amplified due to the echo of the cold, damp cellar. The crowd searched every nook and cranny, going to far as to remove bricks from parts of the wall to see if there was anything behind it. Seeing that made me very nervous, if they kept that up they would surely find Fortunato’s body. We all continued further and further into the cellar, until we reached that back wall. The wall that Fortunato was behind. Thankfully, the crowd was getting tired and decided to give up searching here. ‘If they leave this place having turned up nothing, then they will never suspect me again!’ I quietly said to myself, excited. But of course, as soon as they turned around, someone accidentally dropped one of their tools by the wall I built. And it made a hollow sound. Those people worked to tear down that wall at an almost inhuman speed. But they should not have brought women with them to view this awful sight. Many of them fainted, some men even turning around and sprinting right out of the cellar. The sight in question was Fortunato’s rotting skeleton, with insects swarming all over him. I cannot begin to describe the stench. Lady Fortunato’s face was pale white, but she and I both knew this was the evidence she was looking for. “I cannot hide this fact any longer. I did in fact kill Fortunato.” I said. The women in the crowd were sent out to alert the police, and I was placed in jail that same day, my sentence was for life.

I am still in this disgusting prison cell, and I am dying. I wrote this account to explain how I lived with myself after committing such a heinous act. I suppose it will help give me peace of mind. I don’t care if I go to Heaven or Hell, and I don’t care what happens to me in my last living moments. I just want to die already. I have lived my life to completion and my actions have caught up with me. To anyone reading this: just remember, even though I murdered a man and now face the consequences, that does not mean I am sorry for what I did. Nemo me impune lacessit.

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After The Cask of Amontillado  Alicia Lopez

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After The Cask of Amontillado  Alicia Lopez

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It’s been two weeks since I sealed away Fortunato in his own wine cellar, it was quite genius considering all of the horrible things he has done to me. Leaving him to rot away in a small space with only his drunken thoughts and some wine bottles to keep him company. He had it coming I must confess. Over those two weeks I’ve watched as Fortunato’s friends and family hopelessly searched for him all over New Orleans. Made me laugh a little on the inside, they don’t know what really happened to poor old Fortunato.

I wondered whether I should stay home and drink some wine or take a walk by Fortunato’s mansion to absorb my victory and walk around the ground where he is sealed below. The search for the fool was still ongoing as it’s been a month and a half since he went “missing”. I decided to take the walk, considering the thought of whether it would make me suspicious or not. I walked through the stone path and took in the smell of fresh cut grass, deep in my thoughts of if the police or the housemaids found Fortunato’s body, or if there was any left of it, and concluded me as the suspect...what if… I snapped out of my thoughts as I accidentally bumped into what appeared to be a young man in a black suit, about my height and had long black hair. “Terribly sorry!” he said in a voice lower than I expected. “Oh! You must be Montresor, I’ve heard some uh.. things about you”. I wondered what kind of things, probably not good. “Indeed I am, and who might you be?”.”I’m Marcel, Fortunato’s older brother, as you probably heard he’s missing” he said in an upset tone. “Fortunato had an older brother?”.”Yes I’ve heard, he’s been missing for awhile now hasn’t he?” I said making a devilish smile in my head. “Yes, no luck at all, not even a suspect. We’re starting to lose hope, me and my mother just want him found, dead or alive I sadly assume at this point” Marcel said. “Well, best of luck to you both, I’ll let you know if I find anything”. “Thank you Montresor, have a good rest of your day” he said more cheerfully for some reason. I walked back home, after meeting his brother for the first time I felt slightly guilty at what I’ve done, but the feelings left in a hurry as I reminded myself of the things that fool has done to me.

Two months have now passed since Fortunato was bricked off from the world and the search for him has come to a halt, the police came to a closure that he has passed and will stop searching. After I overheard the news I have never felt a greater weight lift off my chest. He will be forever forgotten, as deserved. I decided to pour myself a celebratory glass of wine, or two. I’ve never slept better that night. A week later I saw that the police came back to Fortunato’s mansion on a cold night, it looked serious. I snuck over and found a wall to hide behind, I attempted to walk over to it as stealthily as possible but failed as two people came up behind me, I turned around to see a girl and a tall guy, the girl being short with blonde hair and a black dress, the guy wearing a suit and had short brown hair. “Is that you Montresor? What are you doing here” the girl said. I remembered who they were now, Adelia and James, friends of Fortunato, the other fools who made fun of and laughed at me. “I came over here to see what was going on, it didn’t look too good.” I said trying to sound concerned. “I’m not too sure what’s going on either, come on Adelia lets see if they’ll let us in” James said, as they walked towards the entrance. They were allowed in. I stood by for about 30 minutes and finally saw James and Adelia come out, but with tears pouring out of both of their eyes, I rushed over to them to see if they'd tell me what happened, surprisingly they did. A housemaid found the brick wall while she was cleaning and saw Fortunato’s skeleton through a tiny hole and alerted the police.

James told me Fortunato was wearing his jester costume while only his skeleton remained. The tiny space almost full of empty wine bottles and the brick wall busted and broken on the inside, clearly struggling to break his way out but no luck. “I don’t understand who would do this, he did not deserve such a cruel death like that” James said. I had mixed emotions, fear, anger, sadness, happiness, it all came at me at once with that one sentence he said. “Who would do this?” Adelia stated in a concerned and sad tone, I'd never heard her like that before. They both looked at each other and then at me all of a sudden. “That day of the party, when Fortunato wore the jester costume, we saw you walking away with him, that was the last we saw of him. We thought nothing of it until now” Adelia said with growing anger and confusion in her voice. The weight in my chest came back full force. “You trapped him there didn’t you! You did it! You were the only one who hated him!” Adelia yelled. The police looked over and walked our way. “Is there a problem here?” The cop said. “He killed him, officer! This man Montresor trapped Fortunato in that brick prison and left him there to rot!” The cop looked at me in an intimidating way, I attempted to run but he caught me in the first 7 seconds. “I thought I would get away with it all, but I was wrong, I guess running was a bad move and it made me look instantly guilty.”

I have no regrets about what I did two months ago. Fortunato deserved everything that came to him in that brick hell. Although I may have hurted his friends and family, as long as he was gone it was all that mattered. Now I sit in prison for who knows how long pondering about my win-loss. Perhaps I should’ve given Fortunato that cask of amontillado before sealing him and his fate away.

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It was the day of the first ever annual wine festival in my beautiful Italian town. The wine festival was only a few minutes away from my palazzo, so I decided to stop by. When I arrived I saw hundreds of delicate wine bottles sitting on top of elegant, white stands. Everyone at the festival appeared to be very sophisticated and refined. “What a beautiful, sunny day to taste wine and spend time with such dignified people. I shall come back with proper attire,” I said to myself. That was when a seemingly tipsy man wearing a ridiculous, flashy outfit walked over towards me. “Hello Sir, my name is Fortunato! Would you like to taste my brand of wine?”, he asked.

I declined, but he kept insisting. I reluctantly followed him and led me to his stand where he poured himself a glass of wine. I had expected him to pour me a glass, as he had begged me to try his foul wine, but it did not happen. He then went on to blab about his plans for the upcoming carnival and his hatred for his competitor, Luchesi. “What a pompous fool! I do him a favor by coming to his stand and he only talks about himself,” I thought. He finally asked for my name. “My name is Montresor. I am going to lea-,” I began. “Oh My! Did I hear someone say Amontillado? Where?!", Fortunato interrupted. As he quickly turned and left, his vile drink splashed all over my face and stained my clothes. I stood there in utter shock and horror. “It must have been my imagination,” Fortunato said as he was coming back, “ Ha! That’s where my drink went. You should thank me for fixing your drabby clothes.”

That was the last straw. “This arrogant, disgusting fool! This heinous creature dares to humiliate me, disrespect me, and mock me?!” I thought. I could not let him get away with what he had done. I have endured enough of his harassment, his torment, and bullying. My brain searched for millions of ways to get my revenge. Right then it hit me. The carnival, Luchesi, Amontillado. I was going to use everything this dreadful man used to torment me, against him. “Thank you, Fortunato”, I said with a laugh, knowing very well of his inevitable doom.

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Montresor, a well know name in a few ways. Although most of his life he was just my grandfather, his name means something else now. For it was found out he was directly responsible for the death of a man named Fortunato. After that was found out he was out of my life for a while. Then after a while, I got a letter in the mail. It was from my grandfather, this was the first time in many years I had heard from him. The letter explained that he was very sick and would die soon and would like the family to come to see him before he dies. Near the end of the letter it explained how a letter of this type was sent to every person in the family who is still alive. I had decided before finishing the letter I would go, I always loved my Grandfather me and him had a connection that the others in the family seemed to not have, I even wondered if anyone would show up. When I arrived I was welcomed by one of the servants. As I walked in the manor was in a state I could only describe as In need of work. The servant led me to his room where my grandfather was resting. When I entered the room a doctor was there saying something about medication that would no longer help. “Almira, my favorite granddaughter you came,” My grandfather blurted out over the doctor, “I am so glad you came.” He seemed happy enough to see me. He ordered the doctor to take a step back to let me get close to the bed. When I got close he gestured for a hug, with almost no hesitation I gave him a hug. “It has been to long my dear Almira,” he said as he hugged me back. “Am I the first person that arrived?” I questioned. “I think you might be the only one that will come,” he began to say; “after what I did was found out you were the only one who treated me the same.” This was true no one in the family liked to mention him; some even changed their names so that they would not be associated with him. We talked for a while; he explained what had happened to him before he did what he did. “You know what?” he began to say, “I would do the same thing again, listen to me Almira, no one and I mean no one should be allowed to get away with dragging our name thru the dirt.” Confused on what he was trying to say I went to ask but I was cut off by him saying something that put me in a state that I couldn’t say anything. He told me, “If anyone humiliates you bringing you and our name shame, you must not let that go unpunished, kill them if necessary.” I had no idea how to respond to this, I guess the doctor noticed it was time for me to leave because he intervened telling me it would be best for me leave the room. Being in my current state I was not going to argue and I left the room. My grandfather had started to get riled up so the doctor gave him something to make him calm down. Still processing what was just told me some time went by I could not tell, when the doctor came out of the room he explained that my grandfather had slipped into a coma. After asking a bunch of questions about that I was told to just wait that’s all I could do. This gave me a lot of time to think about what was expected of me by my grandfather. This is one of my favorite people, maybe he is right. After a few days of waiting with no one else showing up the doctor came out of the room with a serious look on his face. He explained to me that my grandfather had just died in his sleep leaving me everything he owns including the very manor I was standing in, not knowing what to do I walked onto the porch and realized things would be very different now.
A while after the death of Motresor, my grandfather, it became official that I was the new owner of his manor. People still avoided the manor even though he was dead. I felt like I was in a completely different world. When I would go to the local park people would see me and try to avoid me in a way that I wouldn’t notice, this was unsuccessful however, I always noticed. After a few months however I noticed someone new at the park that would never say hello but would not avoid me, which is a nice change. After a while I decided to meet this person. I had never really talked to people especially if I was not introduced to them from someone else, so this was a first for me. “Hello, my name is Almira, may I ask your name?” I said in a way that made it clear this was not a normal action for me to being. The young man looked at me as if to make sure I was actually speaking to him. I had never gotten this close before noticed his eyes were a hazel, and his facial hair was more defined and groomed then first glance. “Well are you going to answer my question?” I snapped. He proceeded to sit up as if to show he is preparing to answer my question. However he did not answer my question. He looked me in the eyes and said, “I know who you are, you are Almira Granddaughter of Motresor.” This caught me a little off guard because most people who know that much avoid me at all costs. “So you aren’t afraid that I am going to be similar to my grandfather?”I asked. “Well no, you are not your grandfather, so it would not be very nice to expect the same things out of you.” He answered in with his very calm and monotone voice. He stood up grabbed my hand that I had extended out after offering my name and shook it. “Nice to meet you Almira.” He said. Again I asked for his name. “You will find out.” He said with an expression on his face that left me with more questions than answers. After this interaction I noticed a crowd had started to form wondering what was going on, it seemed that he noticed it as well leaving after saying, “Well it was to make your acquaintance Almira I will take my leave before this interaction becomes public record.”  He said with a grin and walked off. After he left everyone around proceeded to scatter leaving me alone again. For the next month every time I would go to the park he would be there. Sometimes we would have conversations about our all sorts of things.

After the month of us talking in the park we realized we share a skill in Chess playing. Naturally we began to boast about our skills, to the point we began to “discuss very loudly,” as he would put it, about how we think that we are better than each other in chess. One time we were discussing it a crowd formed around us, and then he said in a fairly louder voice as if to notify everyone who was around us, “Almira, we shall have a chess match to truly see who is the best.” Naturally I couldn’t refuse, this was a challenge of my skill and pride, there was no way I could decline such a challenge. After I accepted this challenge demanded to know the time and place. “Right now.” He blurted gesturing to the chess table in the park. After we sat down we began. It started Well for me I understood his strategy fairly early, or so I thought. With each move I could tell that something wasn’t going the way I originally thought. Moving much faster than my opponent I thought I had it, then I tried to go for check mate prematurely, then I realized. The strategy he had been using all along was perfectly set up to counter a play like this. It felt like every move after this was predetermined by him. Everything I did felt like just a predictable mess of a move that would bring any chess player shame. Then finally, “Checkmate,” He said. I had lost, in front of everyone watching, I was utterly humiliated. Then out of nowhere, what my grandfather said flashed in my mind. I had not thought about what he had said in a while. When everyone left, I went back to the manor and thought about what had just come into my mind. For the next few days the thought kept going thru my mind. “Kill them if necessary.” Those words echoed in my head. He was right I had to punish him for humiliating me like that. My grandfather was right, wasn’t he? I debated with myself for a while until I decided to invite him to a rematch of our duel at my manor. He would never deny a chess duel request; he was too proud of his winning. After he accepted I knew what was going to be done. He arrived right on time, and had the servants show him to the location I was. “So, when do you want to begin the game, you don’t need to hurry I can beat you anytime you want.” He boasted. “After a drink in cheers for we now know who is the smartest,” I said as I handed him a glass of scotch. As he begun to drink, I could see the worry in his face as he noticed I was not drinking anyway. For I knew that both drinks were laced to make sure he drank one of them. As he passed out I realized that there might be no turning back from this. I then took him into the wine cellar.

After tying him to the wall right next to the chains previously used, I began to mix the masonry. When I was about half way done putting the stones back in the wall he woke up. He seemed panicked and unsure of his surroundings. Then he looked directly at me, with this look in his eyes of genuine fear. “Is this some sort of sick joke?” he cried. “This was no joke,” I said to him, “No one makes me or my family look like a fool.” His faced seemed to panic as if he was trying to find a way out. Then there was a look of calmness on his face as if nothing was going to happen to him. Confuse on his new look I asked, “Why are you so calm all of a sudden?” His response surprised me, “You are not going to leave me here to die.” Such a bold claim made me wonder if he was crazy, I clearly had every intent to kill him. “Do you know why you are not going to kill me?” he asked. To humor him I asked. “It is because you are not your grandfather.” The reason I ever actually spent time with him, he told me I was not my grandfather and that he should not judge me because of the mistakes of my family, and here I was making that same mistake. “You are better than your grandfather.” These words, would going against my grandfather be better than him, wasn’t he right I kept saying to myself doubting it more and more each time I said it. No. It wouldn’t be right to do the same thing especially to the only person who gave me a chance. I had made a horrible mistake, as I realized this he passed out. Scared I had tied him up to tight I proceeded to tear down the wall as fast as I could when I got thru the wall I ran over to where he was and untied him. Still out cold I dragged him up stairs and had one of the servants call a doctor. I laid him down in the guest bedroom and awaited the doctor. When the doctor arrived he helped him. To think I almost did this to someone I didn’t even know their name. After the doctor came out of the room he explained that he was ill but would get better. As I entered the room I see that he is awake. He notices me in the room, and we just stand there. We experienced something together that no one should but once it has happened it can not every be forgotten. Although he was a bit more skeptical when coming to the manor we remain acquaints, and eventually friends.

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The Cask of Amontillado Sequel

I wake up in bed next to my beautiful wife Alessandra ready to start my day.  I go downstairs to make my wife and me a nice breakfast. I call her down as her food is ready. Alessandra walks down the stairs and takes a seat at the table where we begin to enjoy our breakfast. She tells me that the annual carnival is today and that if we could go. That reminded me how exactly 1 year ago today I trapped Fortunato in the catacombs. My mind started to race thinking about Fortunato and if he is still alive, if he is dead, or if someone may have found him. My wife snapped me out of it and asked me what happened. I told her that I was just thinking about the carnival and how I was excited to go with her.

I and my wife are getting ready to go to the carnival, but little does she know that I am planning on going down to the catacombs to check to calm my nerves… We make it to the carnival, and I tell my wife that I had to go to the bathroom. I go to the catacombs and check to see where I trapped Fortunato. I check the stones and there is a big hole where I last left him. My heart starts beating and I began to panic. I quickly look around me to see if he is near me. Not a sign of him down here so I immediately start to run towards the carnival looking for Alessandra making sure she was ok. I run around the carnival trying to scream her name, but I couldn’t find her. I leave the carnival and start making my way back to my house to find her. I enter my house and a see a letter at my house saying to meet me at the River Tiber. I head over there super nervous and furious that Fortunato even came near my wife. I arrive at the river and I see Fortunato standing on the bridge with my wife in iron shackles. He shouts at me “You have trapped me inside that disgusting cell! For a year! Now you shall suffer the same pain I went through.” And in the blink of an eye, he throws Alessandra into the river. I charge at Fortunato and pushed onto the ground and dove into the water after her. The water was murky, and she sunk to the bottom due to the iron shackles. I searched for 20 minutes and found no sign of here. I get back up onto the bridge and Fortunato is gone.

I get on my knees and began to burst into tears. I start to think about how exactly 1 year ago I took everything away from Fortunato, his family, and his life. One year later now he has taken everything from me, my wife. I’m in complete shock. I don’t know what to do, where to go. I eventually gather myself and bring myself to go back home. As I sit down in my house, I’m full of regret. I shower and immediately go down to the catacombs and stare at the hole in which I buried Fortunato one year ago.  Suddenly I hear rumbling on the other side of the catacomb. I turn the corner and sees Fortunato standing there with a musket in his hands and shots me right in the head… I jump out of bed shocked and drenched in sweat and look over to see my wife Alessandra lying in bed next to me.

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I hate the cold; I mean I really do. I would take a sun swept dessert over a mildly chilly afternoon any day I would not even have to think about. My balcony felt like an arctic tundra. Just a night ago it was sunny and beautiful. One of those gorgeous days where the sun felt wonderful beating against your skin, and you could not have a care in the world. Italy’s weather was one of the main reasons I decided to stay here, that and the wine of course. With one hand gripping a glass and the other resting on the balcony I decided that I had gotten my fill of cold weather for the day, no the year, and rounded myself ready to reembrace the hearth in my living room when I heard it, a knock. Not a particularly loud sound or an incredibly soft one; simply just a knock. I wont lie it took me by surprise. I send my servants away when the sun is highest in the sky and it was nearly dusk now with the sun nearly set. It was enough to make me stop and reassess my surroundings. Nothing, of course. With old age comes many misfortunes but none bother me quite like hearing these infernal phantom sounds.

To keep the chill at bay, I started a blaze within my hearth. With heavy stacked logs, kindling, and of course just a dab of oil the fire was lit and already beginning to warm the room. With my back to the embers, I began to feast. Tonight’s course consisted of roasted quail, baked potatoes, green beans, and of course a glass of Italy’s finest wine, one of the few things I still splurged on in my old age. The servants had done just as I told them too and left a prepared meal for me. I did not mind it not being freshly made or warm, the blessed silence of eating alone was all I craved tonight. Halfway through my joyously bland meal I felt a chill come over me. Confused and more then a little annoyed I turned to stoke the fire once again, only to find it empty. When I say empty, I mean empty. No wood, cold to the touch, and not even any charcoal. It looked as if it was scrubbed clean, brand new even, completely unused. To say I was concerned would be putting it mildly. I jutted out of dining room chair so fast it fell back. Then I heard it, not a knock but footsteps. Distinct and clear as day I heard them. First to my left, then the right, all over me all around my home. It was as if a silent invisible army marched straight through my humble abode. I fell on my back scared, no terrified; then it stopped, just as quickly as it began. I did not sit in silence however, for I heard the crackling and felt the warmth of a fire. My head shot behind me and both my eyes locked on the hearth. There it was, the large logs I had set on it barely even burnt yet. I sat there on the floor for what felt like an eternity, then at once the sound of the fire was overtaken by that of knocking. This time however I heard a voice call out, one I recognized. “Montresor? Montresor? Let me in you old goat! Come now the night is cold, and I brought wine, let us share it together it’s been weeks since anyone’s seen you!” Dana’s voice was particular and unique, it was one of his best features, and partly the reason I had made the effort of maintaining a friendship with him throughout all the years. “Hold on, i am coming,” I said discombobulated as ever. I opened the door a crack and peered out, he stood on my front porch, with the lush garden I kept in such pristine condition to his back. “Good evening,” I said sheepishly; “I pray you excuse me tonight I feel a tad under the weather Dana,” my voice was weak and unassertive, I still felt like I was on my living room floor in pure shock. “That is nonsense, I did not walk all this way for you to simply retire to bed this early,” Dana quipped. “My friend please tonight is- “my mouth hung open, but no sound came out, for all I could focus on was the piercing stare of Fortunato. He looked decrepit, decomposed, and where eyes should lay there was two spheres of glowing green fire. My reaction was measured and appropriate, I slammed the door in Dana’s face, cursed him, and told him to run while he still could. For the remainder of the night, I sat in the corner of my bed chamber, with a fire poker in hand and waited for the sun to rise. With the sun nearly fully risen and its warmth starting to fill my old bones only then did I have the courage to move. I retraced my steps and returned to the spot where the Spector stood. Nothing. Although the soil was loose, I could see no footprints or any indication that what I saw was real. By this time my servants had arrived ready for a day’s work. I told each and every one of them that their services were no longer required and to vacate from my land immediately. For the rest of the day my mind raced and I that the only real action I could do that would matter, was to return to where it all began. My family catacombs to the place where I buried Fortunato so long ago. I needed to know if my mind had simply finally left me, or if what I saw was true.

Although the sun stood proudly in the sky the was still cold. I bundled myself in as many furs and leathers as I manage, picked up an antique lantern with enough oil to power it for hours and a large hammer big and sturdy enough to break a brick wall from the servant’s guest house and made my way through the gardens towards the catacombs. I noticed that the dew of the morning still sat on many shaded shrubs leaves. As I approached the tombs, I took one less breath of full fresh air lit my lantern and decent began. I remembered exactly where he was, or where he was supposed to be and made my way towards his burial site. Eventually I came to the wall. The final barrier between me and the truth. With labored breath and sore joints I broke a hole through the old brick with the hammer picked up my lantern and stepped inside, and low and behold there he stood. His disgusting body still wrapped in the chains I left him in. “You should take pride Fortunato, even in death you still plague me more then any man,” I said with a laugh. I had seen all I needed to see, with a grunt I picked up my lantern and turned to leave but as my head swiveled to where the hole, I made should be I was met with nothing but pure rock. Then he fell on me like a thunderbolt. Fortunato fiery green eyes met my own and his deplorable mouth opened saying one string of words, “this is not your grave; but you are welcome in it.”

# data[].attributes.body
Prequel to "The Cask of Amontillado"

Hello there, my name is Montresor. I am a well educated man, with a keen sight for wine if I must say. I live in a small town in Italy called Morterone. We only have 35 people living here in our town but I quite like it. I know everyone and we are all good friends, so it works out splendidly. My favorite things about our small town is probably the warm sunny days, flowers bloom are year long, and the wonderful parties neighbors throw every now and then. My favorite person in my small town, well… was my favorite person, was a man named Fortunato. We had grown closer over the years and we often spoke of our love of wine. He also was such an expert in this category. Fortunato was let’s say a carefree man who likes to tease, which I did not take to heart, really. I always kept in the back of my mind that he is simply a jest. An entertainer if you will!

However, one day Fortunato decided to go a little too far with his so called jokes. I attended a party with all 35 people in Morterone there. I walked through the door, and he began with his teasing again. First, he started mocking my dark hair. He then went on to say my suit looked like it came out of a circus wardrobe. Funny really, but how annoyed I was. I was actually quite surprised with myself at how much it bothered me, because its really unlike me. I decided to just simply forget about it and carry on with the party. I walked into the kitchen to help carry refreshments out into the parlor where everyone was mingling. I was carrying a tray of drinks, when I stumbled on the rug and spilled the drinks all over the Mayor. Everyone laughed at me instead of asking if I was alright and helping me get myself together.

To top it off Fortunato said, “Ah look! Montresor does not know how to dress or walk properly!”

Everyone laughed even more after his rude comment. I had felt completely humiliated! I picked myself up off the floor, quickly apologized to the mayor, and I showed myself out the door, avoiding eye contact with anyone I saw on my way out. As I was walking home, I kept replaying the incident over and over again in my head. How could Fortunato say such a thing? I thought he was my dear friend. I got home and I still could not get the awful images out of my head. Just thinking about it made me furious! Fortunato thinks he can just walk all over me like that and get away with it! I thought to myself this is the last time he will ever make one of his awful jokes about me again. I must finally take my revenge after all these years. The jokes about my hair, my clothes, my voice. All of it came back into my mind and filled me with rage.

I trudged down the stairs into my wine cellar for a quiet place to think. I paced around the cellar trying to figure out how I could get my revenge on Fortunato. I then looked to my right, and I saw the old fireplace. It had been sealed off for years, so it became just a small empty space in the wall. Just then, the perfect idea came to mind. I’ll just push him into this little space and seal him in here. Of course I will have to give him a few drinks before he even gets near it, or else he won’t be feeble enough for me to easily push him in there. I thought I should practice the things I will say so I do not raise suspension or suddenly burst out into laughter thinking about what I’m leading him into. I began to act out my lines by saying,

“Oh Fortunato, you’re here! I was hoping you could make it.”

I thought about how I could lure him into the cellar, and then it came to me, I’ll just say, “I have this new wine you must taste. It’s down in my cellar. Come, you have to try it.”

I then began to gather some bricks and cement so could seal off the opening once Fortunato is in there. I went to the market to get the supplies, went back home, and began to ponder. I started to second guess my intentions.

“What am I doing?” I said aloud. I never thought I would be planning this sort of thing. Everyone in town knows me to be kind and patient, and here I am. I wondered why I had suddenly changed into this unspeakable man. Only then it all came back to me, about why I am planning this. It’s because of the anger in my heart. It struck me to my very core. The hurt, humiliation, and complete embarrassment Fortunato has caused me, and to think I called him friend. No friend would treat someone as I have been treated. I felt as if I had been greatly betrayed.

I decided to carry on my plan of revenge. I was humiliated at a party, and I will end the humiliation with a party, so I quickly made invitations for a last minute garden party, and gave them to everyone in my town. I went to Fortunato’s home last as I was handing out the invitations. Seeing him made my blood boil, but I had to contain myself. For I knew I would soon get my long awaited revenge on him. I got home, prepared food and drinks for everyone, and got dressed for the garden party. I could not stop thinking about my plan of leading Fortunato to his doom. I no longer felt pity for him or had second thoughts about my intentions. I had to put an end to Fortunato and the embarrassment I felt once and for all.

# data[].attributes.body
“HAHAHAHA” Montresor continues to laugh. After exiting his palace. Sortunato which is a close cousin of fortunato, is standing right behind a big wide tree. He starts getting concerned, he doesn’t see his cousin exit out with Montresor. As Montresor proceeds to leave and go to the wine tasting party, Sortunato notices that he left the palazzo door opened. He rushes in screaming “FORTUNATOO ARE YOU IN HERE? I saw you enter with montresor.” He gets no response whatsoever. He then enter a room downstairs “NOOOOOO how could he?” Sortunato shouts as he finds his cousin Fortunato’s body laying there unconsciously, meaning he was dead. Sortunato starts shedding tears and mourning his not just cousin but his bestfriend.“I Promise, I will avenge your death.” He exits out the catacomb palazzo.He stops outside and takes a moment to process, everything that he just witnessed. “SKKRT” the sound of a car getting closer. “Hello there are you lost” Montresor yells. “I was searching for montressor.” Sortunato replies. “I am him, what am I good for?” Montresor exclaims while he chuckles. “Let me introduce myself, my name is Sortunato I am a wine taster, and I heard you had a wine and I was very much curious on having a taste, which I know might not be possible right now because I came out of the blue.” Montresor seems to be excited to be known,he responds “you are welcome to come on Friday, but first we shall talk and get to knowing each other com tomorrow.”

Little did Montresor know that,Sortunato was spying on him when he had entered the catacomb with fortunato.Montresor shouldve thought outside the box. Like how did Sortunato know the exact location that he lived in,was he there before he murdered fortunato? Instead he immediately portrayed how unhumble he was and cocky that he believed his wine has been in the mouth of everyone. As soon as Montresor enters the palazzo he starts seeing fortunato everywhere, which not seeing him literally, but his concious wont leave him alone. He goes to sleep because tomorrow he’s looking forward to getting to know more of the wine taster Sortunato. “KNOCK,KNOCK” someone was already at the front door in the morning. Montresor gets up very fast and gets ready, “This shall be Sortunato , I cant make him wait long, I need to show a good and responsible attitude!” Montresor starts zooming to the door. “Goodmorning Montresor I am here like we had agreed yesterday.” Sortunato exclaims. “Come inside, you are very welcome.” Montressor replies. As Sortunato enters the palazzo he examines every single detail of his house, he notices how everything he has is set up nicely, but he was curious on where he left his weapons. As Montresor was giving him a house tour, Sortunato does not hear any words coming out his mouth he is just jotting down ideas on how he wants to take his revenge and kill the man who assassinated his cousin. I try to keep in my tears from falling, the anger that is leveling, it was too much for me to handle, I didn’t want to wait any longer, but I had to wait in order to make him suffer and feel the pain that he put my cousin fortunato through. “Do you want to sip on some wine? Of course not the cask of amontillado you will have to wait until tomorrow Friday.” Montresor laughs. “Of course” I proceeded to say knowing that he would lead me to the catacomb where he places all the wines. “Well don’t get all creeped out I usually keep the wines down in the catacomb, which is a very unpleasant place.” We started sipping on the wines and started talking about our likings and our dislikes, we had nothing in common I had to play it off,as if I had liked anything he mentioned. “Farewell I’ll see you tomorrow it was nice getting to know you a little bit better.” “My pleasure it was nice seeing how we have some things in common, come by tomorrow you are welcomed.”

I made it back into my house it was still quite early,it gave me time to get a piece of paper and make myself a little sketch to plan out the day that I have been awaiting nonstop. “Tomorrow I will show him that I do not play when it comes to my family.” Sortunato shouted and laughed so evily. He might think he could be the only one with a cold heart, and how he feels resentment and made it okay to kill. But I myself have maybe the coldest heart when it comes to a situation like this, I won’t feel any pitty for him nothing will make me change my mind. I continued to go to the nearest store, to get a sleeping pill, which I plan to put on the wine that he will drink as well. I know that it last about exactly an hour which gives me time to get my weapons and dig him up not alive but dead. I will get in my rest for today to wake up energized and ready to go on my plans. The sun has risen, I shall be on my way to that Monstrous Montresor. As I arrive to his palazzo I leave all my equipments behind the tree, that I hid behind that tragic day. I proceeded to knock, Montresor finally opened the door. “Come in my dear friend.” We headed straight down to the catacomb, I started feeling very excited and eager. “Make yourself comfortable, the amontillado wine is right there in the counter ready to serve, go ahead serve yourself I will be right back.” Montresor said. I quickly grabbed the pill and the served wine for both of us, inserting the pill watching it dissolve. I heard footsteps, “I served wine for both of us, and I was waiting for you!” I exclaimed. “Cheers to the wine.” Montresor said. A few minutes passed by, I hear “ZZZZZ” it was Montresor sound asleep. I speeded my way to tie him up in the casket that was down there. I went outside to get my weapons that are going to be put to use.

“SORTUNATO WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Montresor yells. I was standing there with a very angry expression. “I am not who you think I am,the day I was outside your house, I was maliciously trying to get a hold of you, I saw you enter the palazzo with my cousin, YES my cousin is Fortunato.” I shouted. “I am really sorry, until this day I feel so much guilt and I know I did wrong, but you have to understand I did it of so much anger I had, he embarrassed and made me look like a fool infront of everyone.” I had no time to be hearing cheap excuses. I let him know right away that he killed one of the most valuable people in my life and nothing could ever repair the pain I feel. “I promised him I would avenge his death, and here I am.” Montresor continues to beg for his life. “CRACK” shots were fired. “You should know that whatever goes around, comes back around.” I said before he took his last breathe. I buried him so deep that there was no possible way he could be found. I exited right away, I felt such a relief. I shouted “KARMA IS NO JOKE.”

# data[].attributes.body
	So, you have all heard of the tale of "The Cask of Amontillado?", but what exactly happened to make Montresor kill one he used to call a friend? Well, it all started on a bright and shiny day in Italy, Montresor was walking down a busy street trying to think. You see Montresor believes that he is losing his reputation and is disappointing his family’s name. He needs to figure out a way to gain back his reputation. Right then he bumps into Fortunato an old friend of his, then he is struck with an idea. Fortunato is well liked by everyone and is great at throwing parties, that is what he needs a party. A party where he can impress important people and gain back his reputation. “Hey! Montresor, my old friend, it has been a while. Sorry for bumping into you.” Fortunato said happily. “It is no problem Fortunato, I expect nothing less of you dear friend, you always seem to be rushing to do everything and not pay attention to your whereabouts. But it has been a while we sure catch up, it has been a while since we have thrown a party together, so what do you say, want to plan a party with me” Montresor said putting on his most charismatic front. Fortunato not thinking much of it immediately agreed, excited to have a chance of cheering up his friend and making him lighten up for once. They both started to walk together to talk about there plans. While they were doing this Montresor was planning on how to impress the people coming to the party and get his reputation back. But little did Montresor know; Fortunato was planning something as well. 
	The day of the party is here, all the guest has arrived. The guests are all educated, wealthy, a taste for fine things, big people to impress. They are all dressed in the finest material, with just a sophisticated and elegant aura around them. The venue that Fortunato pick out was fitting for the event, it is a formal occasion which includes a sit-down three-course dinner. It is a large and airy white room with a lot of natural lighting. The table it fitted with a lovely sky-blue tablecloth with beautiful golden plating set and a flower arrangement centerpiece. There is a space for dancing in the middle of the room. Montresor is checking his reflection in the mirror that is right next to the entrance to the dining area. Montresor was confident, he had the perfect plan to impress everyone tonight. He got dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, he put on his most charismatic mask. He made sure to invite everyone was important, everyone that could give him back his reputation. After he is done with all of them and he is up in a higher position he will watch them all burn. As he was thinking out how exactly he would do that he heard Fortunato coming, “Hey!” Fortunato said from down the hall “It seems that all of our guests have arrived, are you going to go in” Fortunato said once he came up on Montresor. Montresor putting on a smile said “Yeah! You go ahead of me; I will be in there in a minute”. Fortunato agreeing went in ahead. As Montresor looked back to the mirror, he dropped his façade for a second and said quietly to himself “How annoying he is, sadly he is still useful”. While Montresor put back on his mask, in the dining room Fortunato starts to execute his plan. 
	Fortunato walked into the dining room confidently, he was very excited to pull this prank off on Montresor. Montresor has been so tense lately that Fortunato just wanted him to relax a little, play a little joke on him. Everyone will love it; it will be so funny. He knew this was a fancy event but he thought that it would be fine, everyone enjoys a little laugh once in a while. The prank is simple and harmless, he is just going to set a bucket on top of the door, it was filled with some liquid glue, feathers and some glitter. Fortunato asked some of the guest to help set it up discreetly, they agreed and everyone thought it was going to be hilarious. Some of the guest have also notice they Montresor was stressed out as well, they all seemed to try and give him space. That only seem to make him more stressed so they hoped that this would make him feel better. Fortunato was glad that he wasn’t the only one that notice that Montresor was stressed, he was filled with more confidence that this plan would work. At that moment Montresor decided to walk into the room. As the bucket fell on Montresor, he closed his eyes prepared himself for impact. The glue was the first thing he felt, it was very stick and was really sticking out against his black fitted suit. The next thing he notice was the bucket hitting the ground and then he decided to open his eyes. He looked down at his suit and saw all of the feathers and glitter sticking to him. He was covered from head to toes in it. He was in shock and was disoriented for a second. Everything was ruined, his hair, his suit, his shoes, everything. Everything was ruined, and that is when he heard the laughter. Everyone was laughing at him, and right in front of him was Fortunato, who was laughing the hardest. Then at that moment he realized that Fortunato did this, he humiliated Montresor. Montresor was a laughing stock, no one will take him seriously ever again, he will never get his reputation back. Montresor had to collected himself again, put on a carefree mask, laugh with everyone else. “Haha, good one Fortunato. You really got me” Montresor said lightly. Fortunato was thrilled, his plan worked and it looked like Montresor took it well. “I am so glad, I wanted you to lighten up for once. You seemed stressed” Fortunato said happily. At that moment Montresor dropped his smile and said quietly so only Fortunato could hear “I will have to get you back one of these days”. Immediately after he said that he went back to smiling and laughing with the guest like nothing happened. Fortunato froze for a moment, very confused, but then he decided to let it go and began laughing and joining the party as well. It was probably nothing, Montresor was probably just trying to scare him. Montresor would never hurt him, they best friends.

# data[].attributes.body
So, you have all heard of the tale of "The Cask of Amontillado?", but what exactly happened to make Montresor kill one he used to call a friend? Well, it all started on a bright and shiny day in Italy, Montresor was walking down a busy street trying to think. You see Montresor believes that he is losing his reputation and is disappointing his family’s name. He needs to figure out a way to gain back his reputation. Right then he bumps into Fortunato an old friend of his, then he is struck with an idea. Fortunato is well liked by everyone and is great at throwing parties, that is what he needs a party. A party where he can impress important people and gain back his reputation. “Hey! Montresor, my old friend, it has been a while. Sorry for bumping into you.” Fortunato said happily. “It is no problem Fortunato, I expect nothing less of you dear friend, you always seem to be rushing to do everything and not pay attention to your whereabouts. But it has been a while we sure catch up, it has been a while since we have thrown a party together, so what do you say, want to plan a party with me” Montresor said putting on his most charismatic front. Fortunato not thinking much of it immediately agreed, excited to have a chance of cheering up his friend and making him lighten up for once. They both started to walk together to talk about there plans. While they were doing this Montresor was planning on how to impress the people coming to the party and get his reputation back. But little did Montresor know; Fortunato was planning something as well.

The day of the party is here, all the guest has arrived. The guests are all educated, wealthy, a taste for fine things, big people to impress. They are all dressed in the finest material, with just a sophisticated and elegant aura around them. The venue that Fortunato pick out was fitting for the event, it is a formal occasion which includes a sit-down three-course dinner. It is a large and airy white room with a lot of natural lighting. The table it fitted with a lovely sky-blue tablecloth with beautiful golden plating set and a flower arrangement centerpiece. There is a space for dancing in the middle of the room. Montresor is checking his reflection in the mirror that is right next to the entrance to the dining area. Montresor was confident, he had the perfect plan to impress everyone tonight. He got dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, he put on his most charismatic mask. He made sure to invite everyone was important, everyone that could give him back his reputation. After he is done with all of them and he is up in a higher position he will watch them all burn. As he was thinking out how exactly he would do that he heard Fortunato coming, “Hey!” Fortunato said from down the hall “It seems that all of our guests have arrived, are you going to go in” Fortunato said once he came up on Montresor. Montresor putting on a smile said “Yeah! You go ahead of me; I will be in there in a minute”. Fortunato agreeing went in ahead. As Montresor looked back to the mirror, he dropped his façade for a second and said quietly to himself “How annoying he is, sadly he is still useful”. While Montresor put back on his mask, in the dining room Fortunato starts to execute his plan.

Fortunato walked into the dining room confidently, he was very excited to pull this prank off on Montresor. Montresor has been so tense lately that Fortunato just wanted him to relax a little, play a little joke on him. Everyone will love it; it will be so funny. He knew this was a fancy event but he thought that it would be fine, everyone enjoys a little laugh once in a while. The prank is simple and harmless, he is just going to set a bucket on top of the door, it was filled with some liquid glue, feathers and some glitter. Fortunato asked some of the guest to help set it up discreetly, they agreed and everyone thought it was going to be hilarious. Some of the guest have also notice they Montresor was stressed out as well, they all seemed to try and give him space. That only seem to make him more stressed so they hoped that this would make him feel better. Fortunato was glad that he wasn’t the only one that notice that Montresor was stressed, he was filled with more confidence that this plan would work. At that moment Montresor decided to walk into the room. As the bucket fell on Montresor, he closed his eyes prepared himself for impact. The glue was the first thing he felt, it was very stick and was really sticking out against his black fitted suit. The next thing he notice was the bucket hitting the ground and then he decided to open his eyes. He looked down at his suit and saw all of the feathers and glitter sticking to him. He was covered from head to toes in it. He was in shock and was disoriented for a second. Everything was ruined, his hair, his suit, his shoes, everything. Everything was ruined, and that is when he heard the laughter. Everyone was laughing at him, and right in front of him was Fortunato, who was laughing the hardest. Then at that moment he realized that Fortunato did this, he humiliated Montresor. Montresor was a laughing stock, no one will take him seriously ever again, he will never get his reputation back. Montresor had to collected himself again, put on a carefree mask, laugh with everyone else. “Haha, good one Fortunato. You really got me” Montresor said lightly. Fortunato was thrilled, his plan worked and it looked like Montresor took it well. “I am so glad, I wanted you to lighten up for once. You seemed stressed” Fortunato said happily. At that moment Montresor dropped his smile and said quietly so only Fortunato could hear “I will have to get you back one of these days”. Immediately after he said that he went back to smiling and laughing with the guest like nothing happened. Fortunato froze for a moment, very confused, but then he decided to let it go and began laughing and joining the party as well. It was probably nothing, Montresor was probably just trying to scare him. Montresor would never hurt him, they best friends.

# data[].attributes.body
While I can’t be too annoyed that my wine store has not received a respectable amount of attention yet, it would be nice to receive more than three customers throughout the day. Until I save more money, I can’t afford to move or expand my shop to compete with those around me. I pick up a broom and get ready to close the store. Behind me, I hear the door open and a familiar voice say, “How’s your wine business doing, Dante?” I turn around to see my old rival Boniface looking at me with a smug grin. “As well as yours I suppose.” Boniface scoffs, “I wouldn’t be comparing our stores if I were you, I plan on expanding very soon.” Hearing that my rival’s wine store was doing better than my own angered me greatly, but I knew I needed to maintain composure, “Surely, if you tried some of my wine you’d think otherwise. May I offer you a drink?” I pour two glasses of Merlot wine and hand one to Boniface. As I take a sip of wine, I notice through the glass that he pours the wine on the ground. “No thanks, I’m not interested in such swill,” Boniface condescendingly tells me, “I believe there is a reason why my winery is more popular with locals.” “Well, I’d be more inclined to believe in the quality of your winery if, perhaps, you were to give me a tour of it.” Boniface at first seemed uninterested with the idea of showing me his winery, but I knew he couldn’t refuse the opportunity to boast about his collection. “Alright Dante, I will visit your shop again tomorrow. I’m sure you’ll be more than ready to take a gander at my collection.” As Boniface exits my store, I pondered all the ways he would meet his demise.

As I finish cleaning the mess Boniface left behind, I close my shop and take a walk to ease my mind. The scenery of nature, which was usually able to calm my thoughts of murder, was beginning to become dull. Perhaps, if I were to tread off the path I would commonly follow, it would help take my mind off the events that transpired. While the change of scenery was pleasing, the uneven terrain made it much harder to navigate. While treading slowly, a root that I didn’t notice caused me to fall to the ground. Before I managed to rise back up, I could hear a creature moving rather quickly; the sound of fallen leaves rustling was getting louder. It wasn’t until I heard a hiss that I recognized a venomous snake was slithering towards me. I stood up as quickly as I could and tried to stomp my slithering foe. The snake managed to sink one of its fangs into the bottom of my shoe, but it was unable to pierce my skin. The snake, unable to free itself from my shoe, was now at the mercy of my attack. I fractured the snake’s skull with multiple strikes to its head. With each stomp, I thought more and more about Boniface. With every thought, I began to strike harder until the snake was undoubtedly dead. While I will never forgive the snake for attacking me, I thank it for giving me a wonderful idea.

A wide grin covers my face as Boniface comes to visit the next day. “Well, you seem quite pleased with the number of customers you received today,” Boniface says sarcastically, unaware of the true reason behind my smile. “I’m just excited to see if your wine is as good as you claim.” Boniface wasn’t convinced by my statement but was more than ready to tout his collection to me. “Follow me, Dante, I hope my collection won’t cause you envy.” While following behind Boniface, I’d occasionally let out a snicker as I thought of his grim demise. “Is something of the matter, Dante?” Boniface would ask me. “Sorry, I find it hard to believe that your collection of wine could be any better than mine,” I’d snark. Eventually we reached his cellar and the tour began.

I could hardly remain focused, as he explained the history of the wine in his cellar. Not only was his collection unamusing, but his explanation of the taste for each one was rather undescriptive. “I’m sure you didn’t invite me to your cellar just to show me the most uninteresting of sherry’s,” I would say to rile up Boniface. “Be patient, Dante, once I’m done informing you on my commonly ordered wines, we shall sip upon my favorite.” After having to listen to his dull chatter, it was finally time to take a sip of wine. “Before we both take a sip of my prized bottle of wine, I need to make sure your palate is as good as mine.” Boniface pours me a glass, “Tell me, what type of wine is this, and how would you describe its taste?” I grab the glass and take a sip. It tastes just like the wine I offered him yesterday. The audacity to serve me the same wine he dumped on my floors made me want to shatter the glass and stab him with the shards. I finish the glass and tell him plainly, “It’s a merlot and it tastes dry and full bodied. There are also hints of vanilla and it was likely aged in oak.” Boniface was surprised by my answer, “Honestly, I didn’t think you’d be able to tell wine from booze, but perhaps I underestimated your abilities. Very well then, we shall both take a sip of my favorite bottle of Amontillado.” “You possess Amontillado?” I ask in shock. Boniface smirks, “I told you my collection far surpasses your own. After one sip, I guarantee you that your wines will taste like swill in comparison.” Boniface pours two glasses full of Amontillado, and hands one to me. “Boniface, before we take a sip, do you mind telling me the contents of the bottle behind you?” Boniface places his glass on the table and turns around to examine the bottle I pointed towards. I quickly grab the vial of snake venom I hid in my pocket and pour it into his glass of Amontillado. “This is just a bottle of cheap sherry that my mother gave me before passing away,” Boniface explained to me. “Oh, never mind then, forgive me for bringing it up. Let’s just enjoy this bottle of Amontillado together.” Boniface was completely unaware that his glass would bring him closer to his mother. I waited for him to take a sip before dumping the contents of the glass. Boniface’s was at first perturbed, but as the venom began taking effect, he became dreadful. “How could you – why would you do this?” Boniface spouted while gasping for air. As I began walking back up to the surface, I told him, “No one insults me with impunity.”

The lack of competition brought forth more customers and my business was becoming rather successful. I had no regrets for what I did to Boniface. I finally had enough to expand my winery, and eventually I moved into a luxury house, got married, and had kids. Years went by, and I still hadn’t regretted what I had done to Boniface. As I became more and more wealthier, I decided that my family needed a crest and motto. I decided on a huge human foot d'or, in a field, crushing a serpent whose fangs are imbedded in the heel. The motto underneath read “Nemo me impune lacessit”, which was Latin for “No one insults me with impunity.” As I became older and bed ridden, I had all the time in the world to ponder if I regret what I did to Boniface, and not a shred of doubt crosses my mind. My family is now wealthy and well-known, and I heard news of my grandson expecting to have a child soon. Last I heard from him, he told me that if he has a son, he would be named Montresor.

# data[].attributes.body
I looked over to see what time it was and realized I had been getting ready for hours. It had been 4 o’clock, and now it was a quarter to 7. Glamouring myself for this lavish reunion was a long process, but now it was time to head over. The car had already been awaiting me. “Welcome miss”, my chauffeur had said to me. I patiently sat in the car, enjoying the beautiful scenery and spectating the marvelous sunset. As soon as I arrived, I saw my husband, Fortunato. He had already been at the party, chatting away with his friends over drinks. I grabbed myself a glass of wine and soon began to greet everyone. I spotted Luchesi, chatting away, sipping his favorite wine. I began walking towards him. “HELLO…”Luchesi exclaimed at me. We hadn’t seen each other for a while, and it was so good to finally see him again. We talked for a bit, making conversation about what we had been up to. It had now been 1 hour since I arrived and noticed I haven’t seen Fortunato and his friend Montresor. I began asking around if anyone has spotted them, but no one has either. Now all that was left to do was search for Fortunato myself.

My first thought was to look for him in the house. I checked from corner to corner, room to room, and I still couldn’t find him. I had already asked the many guests that were inside if they had seen him and he said they hadn’t. So now the only people left were the servants and housekeepers. I headed over to the kitchen where they were preparing drinks and appetizers. “Have any of you seen my husband, Fortunato?” I asked them. One of the servants replied, “No. I believe he came to the kitchen for some more wine, but he soon left with Montresor. However, I did hear Montresor asking about some wine called Amontillado. I automatically thought of his favorite wine, stored in the wine cellar for years and years. I started walking to the steep stairs which leaded to the dark wine cellar. I don’t like going down there, knowing there is no light of any sort, but I needed to find Fortunato. So, I grabbed a candle, lit it, and was on my way to the cellar. As I got to the last step, I could not see anyone. There were just long dark hallways, and not a single sound. There were spider webs, all formed around the walls. “Is anybody here? Fortunato...” All I heard was my echo. I was contradicting whether or not to look into the dark, lonely hallways. The only thing there was was bottles and bottles of old wine. All of a sudden, I heard footsteps. “Who could that be, I wondered”. “Fortunato, is that you?” No ma’am. It’s me, Montresor” he said. “It’s nice to see you, but have you seen my husband” I asked him. “Oh no. I came down here to grab a bottle of my favorite wine, the Amontillado.” I noticed his white shirt was dirty, but for what reason? And why does your shirt have dirt on it, I asked him. “I was walking, and since it’s so dark here, I didn’t notice a rock on the floor and tripped,” he told me. Well, I was asking around and a couple people told me you might have come to the cellar to look for the Amontillado with Fortunato. “No, he wasn’t feeling good and decided not to come with me” he said. “I’m pretty sure he’s around here somewhere. I’ll help you look for him” he told me. So, we went upstairs and spent the rest of the evening searching for him. The night had ended, and I still had no idea were Fortunato might be. All the guests were leaving, and my best option was to head home, hoping he would come home sometime. I stayed awake the entire night, waiting for the front door to open, hoping he would come in.

Days and days passed, and still no sign from him.  My only thought was that he left me, but for what had I done wrong to him. It was the only possible thought going through my head. So, I began to make peace with myself, even after many nights of crying, all alone. What if something happened to him, I would say to myself. But life continued and I wouldn’t let this hold me back. I made a new family. I got married, started travelling the world. And soon enough, I had kids! Life was great and peaceful. Years and years have gone by, and not a single soul heard from Fortunato. Sometimes, I think about him. There was never any closure on what happened to him. There was even an investigation, but they never found anything. Maybe it was for the better. However, one day, I got a call. It was Montresor. I wondered what he was calling me for, for I had not spoken to him since I last saw him the night Fortunato went missing. We talked for a while and what he told me left me astounded. My brain could not wrap around what he had said. He confessed what he had done to Fortunato. I began crying profoundly. Why would he ever do this. But at this time, there was nothing to be done.

My mind couldn’t comprehend this in the slightest bit. All these years I believed a made up thought of what might have happened. This would have never crossed my mind in the slightest bit. But I have a family now, and kids, and he’s gone. Even though I missed him, nothing could be done, and I had to continue my life, just like it was before. However, now I have closure and my life can go on, enjoying life with my new family, and I wouldn’t trade it in for the world.

# data[].attributes.body
Sequel

A long night awaited after I locked Fortunato inside the wine cellar. I felt no guilt whatsoever; it needed to be done. Fortunato made me feel embarrassed and hated by the crowd, for what have I done wrong to him? He wanted to get attention from the crowd to look clever however, I wasn’t going to let it pass. Fortunato was a great man no doubt I had not done one thing wrong to him! I felt an overcoming feeling after putting that one brick that portrayed his last second of light. It was all over! I felt free again... however, a few weeks later, I could not stop thinking about him. As I walked pass the wine cellar one night, I started getting flashbacks. The guilt started to build up night after night. These thoughts wouldn’t leave me alone nonetheless, I had to find a way to set free.

As I came home after an exhausting walk around my garden, I strolled across the kitchen hearing creaks from across the hall. I simultaneously started to walk towards the hallway, hence the commence of voices came to my head mumbling, “They know what you did.” I rapidly turned around to find nothing but my shadow. The house turned as quiet as a moonbeam. I rapidly walked up the stairs and locked myself in my room. I could sense the smell of the malodor of my skin from the draining walk I took earlier, so I instantly turned on the shower and hopped in. I couldn’t explain the sensation from the warmth of the water running through my ears down and between my toes. This was the relaxation I needed from all the voices bombarding my head.

After the alleviating shower I took, I fell asleep faster than a baby. I woke up the next day to a beautiful sunrise. The suns beams portrayed through the shades. I’ve never felt so much ease. I had to start forgetting about what I’ve done. It has been holding me back and pushing me away from the wonders of life. So, I immediately packed my bag a left to the coast of Monaco. The mesmerizing waves hitting the shore were one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen in my life. The water was glistening from the sun portraying its light. I felt like I was in a dream and I could just forget all my problems. Just about thinking to start a new life here, I decided to go try what France is most known for; croissants. As I walked towards the bakery that rapidly caught my eye, a taxi had stopped me. He asked me If I needed a ride up the mountain towards the bakery. I hopped in and off we left. I walked inside the bakery and the smell of pleasant, delightful baking croissants was the best thing I’ve ever smelled. I walked up towards the cashier, payed for one, and sat outside by the coast. It was so relieving however; this was just the beginning.

Right after I finished my croissant, I decided to head to my hotel and relax for the day. I threw on swimming trunks and headed down to the lap pool overlooking the mountain. The air felt as crisp as a ripe apple. I dunked my headed under the water to wash my tears. I had to let out my feelings that I’ve been holding in forever. The view was simply captivating. I could stay here for hours and hours nonetheless I had to get out of here and tour Monaco’s history. After taking a tranquilizing bath, I headed down to the lobby where I requested a taxi. Headed to an extravagant aquarium called Musée Oceanographique. It overlooked the coast of south Monaco. The quite sea breeze that flowed through my hair felt indescribable. The walk around the museum was exquisite. Viewing its architecture made me fall more in love with French history. I went inside and toured the aquarium. I finished the tour and off I went on a walk along to find a beautiful garden where I could sit and enjoy a stunning view. I walked a few blocks down to find an exotic garden where I could sit for a while and think about life. I planned my itinerary for the next several days in France.

As the days passed my flight home was in a few hours which brought me into packing my bags and heading to the airport. I got on the plane and off I left back home. I settled back home, unpacked my bags, and cooked some pasta. Took a warm shower and it was bedtime. I suddenly woke up in the middle of the night. The overplaying thoughts of Fortunato screaming in the cellar would not stop going away. I had to get rid of these flashbacks and start a new life! I woke up planning and thinking about my next steps.

The thought of me really leaving this dreadful house and moving to a whole other country was a must do. So, I planned my flight back to Monaco during the next week and off I left. Landed back in land of peace and went looking for apartments to rent. Had to find one facing the coast so I could enjoy every croissant with a beautiful view. As the days passed, I found the perfect apartment where I could spend every second of my life. Went furniture shopping in the city and made myself feel at home. This was the best thing I have ever done to myself. Leaving behind my past and starting again stress free. I made new friends here and went on walks, dinners, and last but not least bought tons of croissants. This was the first time in a very long time where I felt happy…just happy. I dreamed of this feeling for so long and its finally happening. Cheers to new friends, delicious croissants, and extravagant coastal views.

# data[].attributes.body
sequel

# data[].attributes.body
sequel

“Jack you have a long-lost brother”. I was sitting there confused as my mother just told me this crazy news. “Mom that is great news I can’t believe you didn’t tell me this before were does he live.” “He lived in the sunniest most beautiful place on earth Florida”. I was very exited to go see him until once again she hit me with unbelievably bad news. She told me he was killed out of revenge a long time ago. Everyone knows me and how I hate revenge. So, I knew that I was going to do what I always do when someone gets revenge and that is go and hunt them down and eliminate them like they deserve to be. “Are you sure that you want to do this jack” I knew in my heart that it had to be done so I told my mother that I have no other choice but to go do this.

I start packing my stuff up to go on this long journey to the most beautiful place ever. I get my weapons food and a lot of other things that will help me on this trip. “I just want to ask again jack. Are you sure this is the right thing to do?” “I am positive mom this is a very necessary situation. Nobody messes with my family.”  It may be a family I have never met but family is family, and I must defend that. “Mom here I go ill see you soon I’m off to go hunt this man down.” She wished me luck and gave me a hug and just like that I was off. I start my journey and right away I encounter a river that is in the way of where I need to go but no worries I got past, and it was smooth sailing from there. After a long journey I reached the most beautiful sunny place on earth and when I arrived my jaw dropped because of how beautiful it was. It also made me question how someone would kill my brother in such a beautiful place but I was in no place to just sit here I had to hurry and find Fortunato so I can give him what he deserves and that is death. I started looking and was excited to do what needed to be done. I go on to this little shack that I find is abandoned so I have somewhere I can sleep at night because I know that after long days of searching, I am going to be exhausted at night. I then go start my search I start asking around and trying to at least get a description of what Fortunato looks like. I come upon a mysterious man who said who knew exactly who it was, so he told me where I need to go to find Fortunato. So, I started making my way through town slowly to make sure I did not miss him going to his house. After about an hour of walking I arrive at Fortunato’s house and do not see anything or hear anything, so I went to the back and found an open window and climbed right through. I start the search and I am efficiently looking through the whole house, but I really do not see anything. I go downstairs and find this wine cellar and it looked miles long. So, I knew this is the only other place he could be. I started walking and like I knew was going to happen I came face to face with Fortunato himself. “Hi jack I see that you found me” I responded with “Well obviously that’s why we are talking right now.” He got mad at the sarcasm and came at me with a sword, so I pull mine out and we get into a sword fight. I asked him “why would you do that to my brother revenge is never the answer”.  “Jack revenge is always the answer that’s why you are here right now.” I got angry and started fighting at the highest level I could and cut him in his leg and he fell. “This revenge is different, this is family and family come before everything”. I cut his arm next then right after I finish the job and Fortunato falls right next to my brother.

I then go outside again, and the sheriff was waiting for me outside and I really had no choice but to accept it so I let him cuff me and I was off to the local jail. I was very upset, but I knew in my heart that what had to be done was done and I avenged my brother even if it meant I would have to be put on death row. A few days later my mom came to visit me, and she was so upset. I was confused why because I avenged her other son. “Jack now I have to lose both of my kids, I have to live without both of you.” I just sat there so baffled because I did what I hate the most and now it is costing my own mother to be in pain because both her kids are gone. I walked away back to my cell because I couldn’t bare to see my mother in pain and from there, I just waited for what was going to happen.

# data[].attributes.body
sequel

I walk back out to the carnival after the murder hoping no one would notice Fortunato missing. As soon as I walked out Luchesi comes running up to me. “Have you seen Fortunato? I got a new wine and I want him to try it.” ”Um no. Maybe he went back home” I said nervously. Luchesi knew something was off but he decided to ignore it. “ Oh okay, I’ll catch him another time.” said Luchesi as he walked away.

Its been about a day since I killed Fortunato. Many people have began to notice Fortunato missing. Every second of everyday I find myself regretting the murder. Luchesi seems a little upset about not being able to find Fortunato and he wanted to get his mind off things. “Can I go down to the wine cellar to grab a bottle of wine?” Luchesi asks me. “NO!” I screamed. I didn’t know what to say, he caught me off guard. I saved myself by saying “Theres plenty of beer up here in the fridge. You can drink those.” Luchesi definitely knew at this point that I was hiding something. “Are you okay?” Asks Luchesi. “Yes, I’m fine.” I mumbled. Luchesi walks to the kitchen to get the beer.

Luchesi pretended to drink all the beer in the fridge and asked to sleep at my house because he was so drunk. I told him it was fine as long as he didn’t go down into the cellar. “Why is it such a big deal if I go down there?” Luchesi asked. “Its not a big deal just do what I ask or stay somewhere else. I’m going to bed i’ll see you in the morning. “ I said. In the middle of the night I hear creaking. The same creaking that the wine cellar door makes. I quickly get up and run to see if Luchesi is still asleep. I look everywhere and can’t find him. I run down into the wine cellar to see if he’s there and I can’t believe what I see.

I run over to where I trapped Fortunato and he’s gone. Now I know that Luchesi has Fortunatos body. That night I get a knock at the door. I peep through the whole and see two skinny figures standing outside. I yell through the door “Who are you and what do you want.” The voice on the other side yells “It’s Luchesi open up.” I slowly open the door and I see Luchesi and Fortunato both standing infront of my door.

They both barge in my house as if it was their own. “How are you still alive?” I asked. Fortunato looked at Luchesi and they both laugh. Fortunato looks at me and says ”The real question is how are YOU still alive?” Luchesi and Fortunato grab both my hands and drag me down to the wine cellar and do exactly as I did to Fortunato.

# data[].attributes.body
	Aftermath of Amontillado

	I started venturing my way out of the vaults, I felt heavy, weary, dreary. Every step I take I feel as if I am getting heavier, as if something was pushing down on my shoulders. I stop for a second and look back at what I did and think to myself, was killing him really the best option? I turn back around and head towards Fortunato and set him up against the wall and give a little bit of remorse.  At once, I turn back around and navigate through the slick, rusty and dirty brick hallways back to the staircase. I keep my head down when I walk up the stairs, feeling the metal post and cracks as I guide my hand up the railing. I hear the squeaks and cracks of the spiral staircase up to the basement where I open the latch and get out. I close the hatch and walk away from the vaults of rich wine and go home.
	
-About 2-3 years later.
	
	Every day, every month, every year my regret gets deeper and I start to feel worse and worse for what I have done. At least they found the body and I got away with such a crime. I think to myself if there was an easier way of acting revenge, if there was a better way other than killing him. I did it so brutally and gross. I could have maybe made him move, stay away from me, or just simply ignore him from then on. My emotions got over me and I regret what I have done. Every day I start telling myself and reminding myself that what I did was good and was worth it, but I feel the weight on my shoulder getting heavier and heavier, as if I am going to collapse soon. It hurts knowing what I have done and who and how many people I have hurt because of it. After a while of silence, I hear my name called. “Montresor! Get out here!” I get up from my wooden rocking chair, I go out into the living room and I see my family, and friends all gathered around celebrating Christmas eve. They ask “Why don’t you join us? It’ll be fun! Come on!”, I don’t necessarily feel happy enough to do this sort of stuff, so I go back to my room after saying “I’ll be out in a bit, I promise.” I sit back down in my chair and I feel an overwhelming breeze come from the window.
	I start rocking, reading a book to take my mind off the feelings, but it is not enough. I feel as if someone dug into my heart and ripped me apart. I feel like a black hole, a void, I feel empty. Killing him was not the best option the more, I think. I overhear a conversation from the living room about going to the state fair for Christmas eve. I was asked to join, and I politely said yes. As excited as I am to go to the state fair, I try and take my mind off Fortunato. We head out and about 30 minutes later, we arrive, and it was joyous to see all the Christmas decorations up. I started to smile for the first time in a while and I head over to ride some rids with family, including the children. The Ferris wheel seems like a good idea and I point it out to the kids. “Hey! Look over there! Let us go ride that.” I say in a jolly tone, they excitedly agree. 
While on the ride, one of the kids bring up Fortunato, “This was Fortunato’s favorite ride!”. My heart sank, visions of his face and those vaults in my head, my smile dropped, and I felt limp. I felt grossed out and my entire mood changed. I felt an overwhelming amount of guilt. As soon as  the feelings went away, they came right back to hunt me down and make me suffer even more. I try and push and justify the reasons behind my killing, his over inflated ego, his gross-drunken self, his uncontrollable mind. None of it works anymore as I feel more guilty the more, I think about him. I get overwhelmed, I get lost in my feelings and I cannot think straight. I tell the kids “this is my last ride for the night kiddos.”. I get off and go sit down on a bench alone, I feel lost, lightheaded, and head hurting. I am overwhelmed with guilt. I start losing my mind and shaking at the thought of his last moments, ever. I uncontrollably lose it all and as the guilt comes through, I drive to a police station nearby and I confess. I confess and admit that I know where he was and who killed him. “I know who killed Fortunato, I know where his body was, I know how and what killed him.” I spoke. I was cuffed and dragged into a interview room and was asked many questions in which I led them to exactly what happened and where it happened. I was lost, I had so much guilt and I could not take it anymore. I felt ill as I showed them the proof in which was everything that was used, plan and everything. 
After all this, I felt a little better knowing that the killer is not loose anymore. And that I was locked up and found guilty of the crime. I forever still feel the weight on my shoulders and the pain I have caused everyone he knew by ending his life and not telling anyone. Guilt is still there, but the pain gets worse. I know this jail cell is where I belong. It still did not feel right to me. My thoughts told me to do more, as I deserve it. My guilt kept getting stronger, I could not take it or even fight back against them it was that bad. Soon enough, I decide to hang myself; I use the bedsheet and hang myself. I end my life like I ended Fortunato’s. 

# data[].attributes.body
Aftermath of Amontillado

I started venturing my way out of the vaults, I felt heavy, weary, dreary. Every step I take I feel as if I am getting heavier, as if something was pushing down on my shoulders. I stop for a second and look back at what I did and think to myself, was killing him really the best option? I turn back around and head towards Fortunato and set him up against the wall and give a little bit of remorse.  At once, I turn back around and navigate through the slick, rusty and dirty brick hallways back to the staircase. I keep my head down when I walk up the stairs, feeling the metal post and cracks as I guide my hand up the railing. I hear the squeaks and cracks of the spiral staircase up to the basement where I open the latch and get out. I close the hatch and walk away from the vaults of rich wine and go home.

-About 2-3 years later.

Every day, every month, every year my regret gets deeper and I start to feel worse and worse for what I have done. At least they found the body and I got away with such a crime. I think to myself if there was an easier way of acting revenge, if there was a better way other than killing him. I did it so brutally and gross. I could have maybe made him move, stay away from me, or just simply ignore him from then on. My emotions got over me and I regret what I have done. Every day I start telling myself and reminding myself that what I did was good and was worth it, but I feel the weight on my shoulder getting heavier and heavier, as if I am going to collapse soon. It hurts knowing what I have done and who and how many people I have hurt because of it. After a while of silence, I hear my name called. “Montresor! Get out here!” I get up from my wooden rocking chair, I go out into the living room and I see my family, and friends all gathered around celebrating Christmas eve. They ask “Why don’t you join us? It’ll be fun! Come on!”, I don’t necessarily feel happy enough to do this sort of stuff, so I go back to my room after saying “I’ll be out in a bit, I promise.” I sit back down in my chair and I feel an overwhelming breeze come from the window.

I start rocking, reading a book to take my mind off the feelings, but it is not enough. I feel as if someone dug into my heart and ripped me apart. I feel like a black hole, a void, I feel empty. Killing him was not the best option the more, I think. I overhear a conversation from the living room about going to the state fair for Christmas eve. I was asked to join, and I politely said yes. As excited as I am to go to the state fair, I try and take my mind off Fortunato. We head out and about 30 minutes later, we arrive, and it was joyous to see all the Christmas decorations up. I started to smile for the first time in a while and I head over to ride some rids with family, including the children. The Ferris wheel seems like a good idea and I point it out to the kids. “Hey! Look over there! Let us go ride that.” I say in a jolly tone, they excitedly agree.

While on the ride, one of the kids bring up Fortunato, “This was Fortunato’s favorite ride!”. My heart sank, visions of his face and those vaults in my head, my smile dropped, and I felt limp. I felt grossed out and my entire mood changed. I felt an overwhelming amount of guilt. As soon as  the feelings went away, they came right back to hunt me down and make me suffer even more. I try and push and justify the reasons behind my killing, his over inflated ego, his gross-drunken self, his uncontrollable mind. None of it works anymore as I feel more guilty the more, I think about him. I get overwhelmed, I get lost in my feelings and I cannot think straight. I tell the kids “this is my last ride for the night kiddos.”. I get off and go sit down on a bench alone, I feel lost, lightheaded, and head hurting. I am overwhelmed with guilt. I start losing my mind and shaking at the thought of his last moments, ever. I uncontrollably lose it all and as the guilt comes through, I drive to a police station nearby and I confess. I confess and admit that I know where he was and who killed him. “I know who killed Fortunato, I know where his body was, I know how and what killed him.” I spoke. I was cuffed and dragged into a interview room and was asked many questions in which I led them to exactly what happened and where it happened. I was lost, I had so much guilt and I could not take it anymore. I felt ill as I showed them the proof in which was everything that was used, plan and everything.

After all this, I felt a little better knowing that the killer is not loose anymore. And that I was locked up and found guilty of the crime. I forever still feel the weight on my shoulders and the pain I have caused everyone he knew by ending his life and not telling anyone. Guilt is still there, but the pain gets worse. I know this jail cell is where I belong. It still did not feel right to me. My thoughts told me to do more, as I deserve it. My guilt kept getting stronger, I could not take it or even fight back against them it was that bad. Soon enough, I decide to hang myself; I use the bedsheet and hang myself. I end my life like I ended Fortunato’s.

# data[].attributes.body
	Aftermath of Amontillado

	I started venturing my way out of the vaults, I felt heavy, weary, dreary. Every step I take I feel as if I am getting heavier, as if something was pushing down on my shoulders. I stop for a second and look back at what I did and think to myself, was killing him really the best option? I turn back around and head towards Fortunato and set him up against the wall and give a little bit of remorse.  At once, I turn back around and navigate through the slick, rusty and dirty brick hallways back to the staircase. I keep my head down when I walk up the stairs, feeling the metal post and cracks as I guide my hand up the railing. I hear the squeaks and cracks of the spiral staircase up to the basement where I open the latch and get out. I close the hatch and walk away from the vaults of rich wine and go home.
	
-About 2-3 years later.
	
	Every day, every month, every year my regret gets deeper and I start to feel worse and worse for what I have done. At least they found the body and I got away with such a crime. I think to myself if there was an easier way of acting revenge, if there was a better way other than killing him. I did it so brutally and gross. I could have maybe made him move, stay away from me, or just simply ignore him from then on. My emotions got over me and I regret what I have done. Every day I start telling myself and reminding myself that what I did was good and was worth it, but I feel the weight on my shoulder getting heavier and heavier, as if I am going to collapse soon. It hurts knowing what I have done and who and how many people I have hurt because of it. After a while of silence, I hear my name called. “Montresor! Get out here!” I get up from my wooden rocking chair, I go out into the living room and I see my family, and friends all gathered around celebrating Christmas eve. They ask “Why don’t you join us? It’ll be fun! Come on!”, I don’t necessarily feel happy enough to do this sort of stuff, so I go back to my room after saying “I’ll be out in a bit, I promise.” I sit back down in my chair and I feel an overwhelming breeze come from the window.
	I start rocking, reading a book to take my mind off the feelings, but it is not enough. I feel as if someone dug into my heart and ripped me apart. I feel like a black hole, a void, I feel empty. Killing him was not the best option the more, I think. I overhear a conversation from the living room about going to the state fair for Christmas eve. I was asked to join, and I politely said yes. As excited as I am to go to the state fair, I try and take my mind off Fortunato. We head out and about 30 minutes later, we arrive, and it was joyous to see all the Christmas decorations up. I started to smile for the first time in a while and I head over to ride some rids with family, including the children. The Ferris wheel seems like a good idea and I point it out to the kids. “Hey! Look over there! Let us go ride that.” I say in a jolly tone, they excitedly agree. 
While on the ride, one of the kids bring up Fortunato, “This was Fortunato’s favorite ride!”. My heart sank, visions of his face and those vaults in my head, my smile dropped, and I felt limp. I felt grossed out and my entire mood changed. I felt an overwhelming amount of guilt. As soon as  the feelings went away, they came right back to hunt me down and make me suffer even more. I try and push and justify the reasons behind my killing, his over inflated ego, his gross-drunken self, his uncontrollable mind. None of it works anymore as I feel more guilty the more, I think about him. I get overwhelmed, I get lost in my feelings and I cannot think straight. I tell the kids “this is my last ride for the night kiddos.”. I get off and go sit down on a bench alone, I feel lost, lightheaded, and head hurting. I am overwhelmed with guilt. I start losing my mind and shaking at the thought of his last moments, ever. I uncontrollably lose it all and as the guilt comes through, I drive to a police station nearby and I confess. I confess and admit that I know where he was and who killed him. “I know who killed Fortunato, I know where his body was, I know how and what killed him.” I spoke. I was cuffed and dragged into a interview room and was asked many questions in which I led them to exactly what happened and where it happened. I was lost, I had so much guilt and I could not take it anymore. I felt ill as I showed them the proof in which was everything that was used, plan and everything. 
After all this, I felt a little better knowing that the killer is not loose anymore. And that I was locked up and found guilty of the crime. I forever still feel the weight on my shoulders and the pain I have caused everyone he knew by ending his life and not telling anyone. Guilt is still there, but the pain gets worse. I know this jail cell is where I belong. It still did not feel right to me. My thoughts told me to do more, as I deserve it. My guilt kept getting stronger, I could not take it or even fight back against them it was that bad. Soon enough, I decide to hang myself; I use the bedsheet and hang myself. I end my life like I ended Fortunato’s. 

# data[].attributes.body
3.05 English 3 Mariah Matta

If there’s someone that would do anything for his company it is Montresor. After the devastating news of his friend Fortunato going missing, he has been carrying the legacy of his wine company. Montresor expanded his company to a beautiful house next to the old wine cellar. The old rustic look of the castle with the golden tinted doorknobs was home to Montresor and Rebecca. I visited for the first time a couple of months ago to help my best friend move in, her name is Rebecca, and she is the sweetest person you will ever meet. She spends her days in the castle helping Montresor bring new and improved wine flavors while she spends her nights laying in her silk sheets with her orange cat Mr. Muffins. I don’t really like Montresor because he seems like a prude, but Rebecca adores him, she can be a little oblivious, so I sometimes stop by to make sure everything is okay. Montresor calls me “Hating Heather” because he believes I’m too judgmental but in reality, I’m just honest with him because Rebecca is a great partner to his company.  “Today is the day!” shouts Rebecca with joy, “Yes our fourth annual wine tasting party” replies Montresor. I like to stay quiet when it comes to their business, but I do come around to help with decorations. I always noticed Montresor wasn’t the best boss, He would get controlling on what things Rebecca could and couldn’t do with no logical explanation. I was not a fan of that but it’s not my place to get intrusive between Montresor and Rebecca ‘s relationship. “Set up the lights! put down the glasses! and grab our wine! the guest will be here in ten minutes.” Whatever he says gets done, like I said he’s a man with a lot of power.

He invited 200 people to come to taste the pink grapefruit Rebecca and Montresor came up crafted. “No good wine, not a good party” he would say. This was going to be the most high-class party I have been a part of, each guest gets to bring home a whole bottle of wine! Not to mention there was going to be live instruments being played while everyone is being served fancy crackers and cheese, I spent three hours cutting into dice shapes. Anyways, as time passed Rebecca and I continued setting up the party by decorating and bringing up wine from the old cellar next door. As we walked down the cellar had random bricks and dried cement near the entrance, but we didn’t pay much attention to it. As we continued to walk, I smelled a horrible smell come from behind one of the walls. “This smell is atrocious, if this is the wine there is no way it’s good.” “Heather I’m sure it’s the pipes gone bad, let’s hurry back up before Montresor starts to wonder where we went” I grew suspicious, but Rebecca convinced me that it was nothing we made our way back up to the wine room before the people arrived. We dropped off the wine and headed outside to let our guest in. With the biggest smile, she said “welcome everyone please find a spot to sit.” Once everyone came inside Montresor started with his fancy speech “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for coming to the fourth annual wine tasting hosted by yours truly Montresor, I have been working so hard for countless months and believe that I have finally created the perfect pink grapefruit wine drink, while you guys are being passed around your drinks I would like your honest opinion on something I am very proud to be the producer of.” Although the guest loved the drink he never even mentioned Rebecca's partnership with the drink, I was outraged. I could see that she was upset so we went back down to the wine cellar. “We are leaving now to get the wine you made.” after I said this she followed me back to the cellar. Just when things couldn’t have gotten worse the smell underground was so bad. “I don’t want to be here, Montresor will be upset” “Rebecca he is the last of my worries” I replied. As we walked to the back wall the smell grew stronger, I couldn’t help but see where it was coming from. Rebecca started moving the old bricks and what we found will forever change my life. “I’m sick to my stomach, we have to leave!” Rebecca and I left the cellar in complete shock. “it’s... it’s a... dead body!” I knew I had to call the police, so we went up to Rebecca’s room to get the phone. “Montresor had to be the one who killed that man, he’s the only one who had access to the cellar!” Rebecca said. I truly felt so bad for my best friend, she adored him, but she was right, there was no other explanation because this was the first time we had been down there. I picked up the phone and called the authorities. Once they arrived, we showed them the dead body and notified them that Montresor was the killer. Instead of them investigating they knew right away that it was Fortunato's body. They started asking us questions rather than Montresor. “Why are you worried about me? I don’t own the cellar or the castle!” After two hours they walked into the party and questioned Montresor. Rebecca and I stood in her room, in shock. Once they were done speaking, they agreed that the wine cellar would be closed down, but the dead body was a “clear suicide.” “How could this be?” “He would never do something like that!” I felt hopeless Montresor took advantage of his power again, a man who could get away with murder was someone I couldn’t be around. After this Rebecca moved in with me and we left his wine company and telling everyone what he had done. I’m not sure if anyone believed us but if I caused any more chaos, he would be coming for me next.

# data[].attributes.body
Scarlet Mendez-Paniagua
 In 1840, a man named Fortunato, who is not a very fortunate man- was lured into a catacomb in Italy by his “frenemy”, Montresor.  Montresor was insulted by what Fortunato had said to him. Fortunato was only trying to be truthful with his “friend”. Montresor knew that Fortunato could and would not refuse to drink an expensive, delicious bottle of Amontillado. That is how Montresor knew he would be able to get his revenge. Montresor lured Fortunato to the catacombs where the amontillado was, and Fortunato was enclosed with bricks into a tight space by Montresor. Five days later Fortunato’s friend, Luchesi decides to go down to the catacombs to find Fortunato screaming “Help! Help! I’m stuck down here.” Luchesi runs towards the sound of Fortunato’s call for help. “Fortunato is that you? Where are you!” said Luchesi.  “ Luchesi yes it is me ! Please help me. That back-stabber Montresor closed me in here”.
After Luchesi found Fortunato stuck he decided to help him get out. “Go and get help! Get me out of here please!” said Fortunato. “I will go up and grab some tools and helpers to get you out of there just hold on.” Luchesi said. Luchesi goes running to get out of the catacombs. Luchesi gets to Fortunato house and everyone was there talking about where he could’ve gone or what happened to him. Luchesi then explains what happens, or what he thinks he knows, “ I found Fortunato down in the catacombs. He was sealed in a tight place with all of these bricks surrounding him. We have got to go help him get out!” Everyone was completely shocked that he was alive and where he was. They all started to look for tools to help him get out. Luchesi found a great number of hammers so he took them with him. 
“Come on people we need to go!” yelled Luchesi.
One of Fortunato other friends said” WE should bring him food he is probably starving.”
So that is what they did. They all went down to the catacombs with their tools and food to get Fortunato out of there. “Hellooo!Hello!!!Anyone out there?” said Fortunato. Fortunato then heard many voices “Yes, we are here to get you out of there” All of Fortunato’s friends then got to work. All Fortunato heard was the hammering. He was so relieved that he was getting out. “Uh oh I can’t get this last part there is too much cement on this brick” said Luchesi. “What! What do you mean you cannot get it? Hurry go get another tool. GET ME OUT OF HERE!” said Fortunato. Luchesi rushed back to the house to get a stronger tool. Once he had the tool he ran back to the catacombs and everyone was just waiting for him to get Fortunato out. Luchesi finally got him out. “What happened are you okay? How did you get in there” said Luchesi. 
“Montressor told me there was Amontillado down in the catacombs so I came with him and he closed me in here just because I was a bad “friend” and I insulted him “said Fortunato.  
Luchesi then said “What exactly did you say to him? You know he is a sensitive person” 
“I-I-I cannot remember what I said” said Fortunato.
“Well thank god we got you out of here are you hungry?” Said Luchesi.
Fortunato said” Yes! Yes! Of course. I am starving. I have been here for years it feels like. Please where is my food? “
Fortunato’s other friend then handed him his food and Fortunato scarfed the food down. He was so hungry he felt like he was going to die. He ate his food so fast that everyone gave him a judgmental look. 
 Weeks go by and Montressor has not been found. Fortunato and Luchesi decide that they want to go and look for him. 
“Luchesi have you heard from Montressor” Fortunato said.
“No, I have not. Have you?”
“Of course not, but I want to find him and punish him! That backstabber deserves to go through what I went through.” 
Fortunato and Luchesi spend 3 days trying to find him. Montresor was smart he went into hiding. Montresor was hiding in a different city about 36 minutes away from where Fortunato was. 
Fortunato was so happy and excited that he finally found Montresor. 
The next day Fortunato and Luchesi went to go pay a visit to Montresor.
“We’re here Fortunato” said Luchesi.
They finally arrived to an abandoned house and went to look for Montresor.
Once they entered the house, trash was all over the floors.
“Ugh this is so filthy. This is like torture as well” said Fortunato.
They walked into a room that was full of clothes and it looked like someone has been staying there.
Montresor walked into his room and found Luchesi and Fortunato there. 
Luchesi and Fortunato put a bag over his head and kidnapped him and took him to the catacombs. On the way there all you heard was “Help! Im soryy! Get me out of here”
Fortunato did not care because Montresor did not care when he was in the catacombs. They got to the catacombs and sealed him in the same place that he sealed Fortunato. They used bricks just like Montresor. Fortunato was not sure how long he should leave him in there but he then decided. 
“5 days. I will leave you in here for 5 days just how you did me” Fortunato said. 

# data[].attributes.body
I am Fortunado, heir to my father’s winery and proud host of many wonderful parties. Tonight is the date of one of those parties, a New Year’s party! Tonight is the night my friends and I cast away the past and welcome the coming year and all the joy it will bring us. 

When the night was in full swing I raised my glass of wine and declared to my guests “I propose a wine drinking contest!” I explained the rules; we would each taste six different wines and identify them by taste, smell, and all the other qualities of wines. Montresour looked at me smugly, “I know much about old wines and am sure to win this contest of yours, Fortunato. I accept your contest.” We both began the contest and submitted out guesses one by one. I noticed Monstresor becoming increasingly frustrated, but when I encouraged him he simply gave me a sneer and turned away. I shrugged, and continued my evaluation of the wines.

After the contest ended, the judge stood and declared “The last wine is… Amontillado! And with his correct guess I declare Fortunato the winner of the contest!” The word contest was not even out of the judge’s mouth before Montresor stood up quickly from his chair and ran to the gardens, leaving the rest of the party and I to laugh at both his misfortune and my victory.

I followed Montresor out into the cold gardens for fear of him losing his way and perishing on my property. When I caught up with him he shook his fist in my face and declared: “I curse you, Fortunato, and I curse your wine! Know that I will have my revenge.” 

Montresor then turned on his heel and made swiftly for the front entrance of the gardens. “Montresor!” I cried after him, “Montresor!” But he was already beyond the walls. I turned and made my way inside my home, wishing that my friend Montresour would have a peaceful rest tonight.

# data[].attributes.body
Matthew Desrosiers.
On a night of a full moon Fortunato and I were walking down a gravel path with bushes and on those bushes were these beautiful white moonflowers. As we walked Silence filled the air. Fortunato told me of a wine tasting event in one of the nearby restaurants earlier today so now we’re are going to meet up with some friends we both know. “You nervous Montresor?” “N-no, well maybe a little this is my first wine tasting in a big restaurant you know”. The question threw me off but also filled the deep void of silence. “What about you Fortunato are you nervous?” Fortunato replies, “I think it’s a good day for a drink under the night sky. Full moon is shining bright among the stars that fill the night sky”. I look up for a minute and smiles “like always you’re correct”. Fortunato and I laugh as we get near the restaurant. After a long walk, we arrived at the restaurant down-town. We walked in and all we could see was the bright light from the green cloth on the wall with flowers designed on the wall, and bright red couched seats aligned with gold chair legs with a candle at every table. I was speechless. “Fortunato when you said it would be a wine tasting event, I didn’t mean it would be fancy”. “Well, Montresor to be a successful sommelier you need good wine to taste”. Everyone laughed at my dumb statement as I suck up the shame. We all take our seats as the crowd calms down. The waiter walks up to our table and asks “how may I help you” Fortunato replies “yes I would like the island Duck with Mulberry Mustard with sparkling wine pls” “May I get the Slow-Simmered Burgundy Beef Stew with the Malbec please” We all have ordered and now we wait. After a while, we got our food and then it started going south. Fortunato would laugh at my responses and make fun of them sadly everyone was staring at me the entire time which made the minutes feel like hours. “Montresor what made you become a sommelier,” he asked to humiliate me in front of everyone. “oh you know just to give people some knowledge on what kind of wine you should be drinking if it’s cheap or expensive because I don’t think expensive wine is all that better” I replied hoping I gave the right answer to not get tossed around like some fool who works as a clown. Fortunato laughs at my response once again “Hahaha no wonder you’re not famous for being a sommelier like I am”. My friends laugh as just the rest of the people who were in the restaurant who wasn’t even in the conversation. “You know what Fortunato I might not be as famous as you but at least my ego isn’t as big as your whole fortune and karma will come one day. I stand up quickly to start trying to walk out the door but before I could make a full stand Fortunato tugged on the cuffs of my tux. “Sorry Montresor I shouldn’t have been so rude.” I sit down and as I do Fortunato splashed his wine in my face ruining my tux. I stand up and I slap Fortunato in the face, and I walk out of the restaurant into the rain after I got out of the restaurant I started running as far away as possible away from him. I stopped falling to my knees in the dark with little to no light but the moon shining on me. Fortunato, you will pay for your sins of what you did tonight I will make you suffer for what you did you will feel my wrath from this day I won’t forget this I’m coming for you, Fortunato!

# data[].attributes.body
This is a test.

# data[].attributes.body
AJ Delano

# data[].attributes.body
As I walk out of the cold damp vaults and make my way up the spiraling staircase with every step, I feel the pit in my stomach and the sickness only growing stronger. I ask myself, even though I hated Fortunato was killing him really the smartest thing. I mean surely, I am smart enough and could have come up with something else to get rid of him without killing him, his big rich ego, and drunken self. At last, there is nothing I can do now what has been done is done. I reach the end of the palazzo and make my way back into the crowds and the festivities of the carnival. As I am walking past a large group of people, I hear my name being called, “Montresor!” I turn and come face to face with Luchensi, “Montresor why have you not been out here with the rest of us enjoying all the festivities?” I muster a good hearty fake laugh and come up with a quick excuse “Why I have been sadly working tonight for a while but have decided to take a break and take part in the festivities.” “Ahhhh” Luchensi says “Well have you seen Fortunato? “He and I were supposed to test who really has the best taste in wine tonight, but it seems to me he must have forgotten.”. At the mention of his name the sick feeling comes at full force “I- I must sadly tell you I don’t know where he is, but if I see him, I’ll be sure to tell him you wish to see him.” “Thank you, Montresor, now go drink and enjoy the carnival!”. As I walk away from Lunchesi the waves of sickness grow.
I push my way through the crowd trying to get away from all these people crowding the streets. A cold sweat begins to break out across my forehead as the guilt becomes more and more overwhelming. I hear people calling out my name “Montresor, Montresor!” but I shake them off with a wave and keep walking. The thoughts of what just happened consume my head. I see Fortunato’s face vividly in my head as I placed the last stone into the wall. Did anyone see me come in with Fortunato but leave with out him? What If this was the flaw in the plan and now, I get caught? No, I cannot think like that my plan was flawless. No one will ever know. My thought’s get interrupted by a man on the street, “Here you look a little parched, here’s some wine for you” “Thank you” I take the wine and keep walking drinking a little as I walk along the cobblestones into the dark night. With every step I take it feels like eyes are piercing into me, as if everyone I’m walking past knows exactly what I did tonight in the vaults. I take a big gulp of the wine and with each step I drink more and more of it and stumble my way around. All the images of those around begin to muddle into one image and the world is blurry. I try to walk straight but keep bumping into the strangers in the streets. “Hey, watch where you’re going!” I stand frozen in place, his voice sounds exactly like Fortunato’s….. but that cannot be. I turn around and see his face “Fortunato! How’d you get out there’s no way possible you could have gotten out!” I stumble backwards in shock and fall onto the ground. When I look up, I see the face of a man I’ve never seen before looking down with a concerned look on his face. “You must mistake me for someone sir, are you alright though you look a little pale?” I stumble over my own words, “I- I’m okay pardon me I did not mean to cause such a scene.” and with that I hurried and got up and walked away as fast as my drunken state would allow. With every crowd that I passed by I could hear his voice and see his face, he was not only plaguing my thoughts but now the world around me everywhere I turned. I walked not knowing where my feet were taking me stumbling along calling out into the dark Fortunato’s name. “Fortunato! Fortunato, I’m sorry for what I did but it had to be done!”. I kept calling out as if expecting for him to answer me, and sometimes he did when I would look upon the faces of other people and see him there staring back at me with a haunting look then saying my name “Montresor, how could you, what did I do to drive you to hate me so much?”. The guilt was becoming to much and I did not know how much more I could take. My wandering feet led me to where the crime was committed. Through the suites and rooms down the spiraling staircase and back to the dreary, damp vaults. I walk down the path lined with bones from human remains until I find myself face to face with the wall where I know on the other side Fortunato lies. “Fortunato are you there? Fortunato…?” I waited for a response, “Why are you here Montresor!? Is the guilt too much to bear, is hearing my voice and seeing my face haunting you?” It was like he was there the voice was so crystal clear as if he were right there in front of me. “I can’t do this anymore it’s too much! I can’t see you and hear your voice just leave me alone!” I said sobbing overcome with guilt he responded, “No, this is the price you pay for what you have done, I will haunt you till the day you take your last breath!” No that could not happen I can not do that. That is when the though came to my mind, “Fine then if it will happen till my last breath let that be now then…” and with that I pulled my knife out from my pocket and plunged it in my heart. I took my last breath next to the place where all this misery and guilt had started, with the death of Fortunato.

# data[].attributes.body
My name is Luke and what I found today changed my life forever. I am a rather smart young man. I normally know when something will go bad or if something will go good. But what I found in Mr. Montressors wine cellar today changed my life. So let's start from the beginning I was put in charge of making sure Mr. Montressors wine cellar was kept clean, you know nothing crazy. But as I roamed the room I noticed a crack in the bricks on the back wall so I did my job and started to mess with the bricks and clean them. But as I started doing that the bricks began to move. I started to press them harder and harder and one of the bricks pressed all the way through and hit the floor with a loud “bang.”I jumped up saying to myself “what was that.” I then started to tear down some bricks to get a better look. When I got some room to stick my head through I saw a skeleton. I jumped out of the whole I made and ran up the stairs in a wild panic and slammed the door to the wine cellar. As I slammed the door Mr. Montressor walked by and said, “in a hurry, young man. Make sure it is clean down there.” I said “Yes sir it is all clean” and headed to the local restaurant to get my mind off the skeleton.

I enter the restaurant in disbelief. I say to myself as I sit in the booth by myself “why would my boss have a dead person in his wine cellar?” A young waiter came to my table and nicely asked “what can I get for you?” I responded “a glass of water will be fine” in a sad tone. She asks “what is wrong?” I respond “oh nothing, just a little terrified.” She says “well my name is Layla I’ll be right back with your glass of water and we can talk about it.” She goes and gets my drink and returns. Right off the bat I can tell Layla is very interested in what I have to say. So I began to tell her “I found a dead person in the wine cellar of my bosses home.” She is in shock and is left speechless. I thought to myself “should I have even told her this?” She says after being in disbelief “well have you thought of telling your boss.” I respond “NO I haven’t.”As we continue to talk back and forth for an hour we both decide to go back to the house and clean up the mess and put back the bricks and act like I never found anything. So me and Layla both rushed back to the house to clean up. As I open the door Mr. Montressor is waiting at the door. He says “where did you go my peasant?” I replied “nowhere sir just to get lunch and take a break.” He then says “so who’s the girl?” I responded “she is my friend from the restaurant.” He says “well hurry up and finish the job down there before someone has to pay.” Me and Layla look at each other in a scared way. So we hurry down to the wine cellar. As we walk down the stairs me and Layla hear a noise sounding like bricks are falling and hitting the ground “bang” “bang” “bang” one after another. We get to the bottom of the stairs and see all the bricks have fallen and the dead person is exposed so much you can see them from the stairs. Me and Layla have no clue what to do next. We literally sit there in a panic. “Layla, what are we gonna do now?” I said. Layla responded “don’t look at me you're the one who got me into this mess now we are gonna die.” “Die I said Die what makes you think we are gonna die.” Right after I said that Mr. Montressor comes down the stairs and says “Yessss!!” “you two have discovered my biggest secret now someone will have to pay.” Me and Layla begin to look at each other in fear and disbelief. I look to my left I see the dead body and I look to my right and see Layla shaking in fear. At this moment I have no idea what to do or say. So I shout out “let us live and we will not tell your secret to anyone.” Montressor replies “at least you aren’t as foolish as him who has been dead for 50 years didn’t even know he was gonna die now did he.” I look in despair. He then grabs both of us and chains us up next to Fortunato and says to us “at least you can share stories and die together unlike Fortunato he wasn’t as fortunate as you are.” He began to talk in a weird way about death and how bad starving is the worst way to die knowing you can’t do anything about it. He asked me “what were your final words” as he put the last brick up “ I will survive I don’t know how or what but I will survive.” He begins to laugh “oh i hope you do.” He turns to Layla and asks “what are your final words.” Layla says “Look behind you.” A man that was very angry had a dagger in his hand and asked Montressor any last words and he said “no”. And was stuck with the dagger in the back puncturing his lungs causing him to suffocate.

The man began to help me and Layla out of the bricks. I asked “what is your name,” and he said “Fortunato.” Me and Layla were in shock. We were full of questions ready to explode “how did you know?” He said nothing and quiet helped us out of the wine cellar. Police and paramedics were there to help us and check us out. Overall as I lay in my bed in my room after one of the scariest days of my life and almost coming so close to a terrible death. I wonder how he knew? How did he get out of that brick wall? We may never know.

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This black hole in my mind, soul & body deteriorates me. Every second that I breathe I fall slower & slower into regret. Regret that’s rooted from Fortunato’s murder, the murder that I executed. His shadow haunts me, I know he’s here… he follows me everywhere & darkens my sorrowed rotten heart. I distanstingly find pleasure in other’s misery, I thrive in the desolated grieve that I can cause upon others but the microscopic voice in my head that stems all these insidious urges overpowers what I once found be a perplexing ecstasy of joy from other’s misery. Now it’s all gone. All the joviality I already had very little of, it’s now instead replaced with this hideous depression taking over every last bit of me. I wish I could blame it on my upbringing but I can’t. No matter how cruel & horrifying they treated me I know it’s always just been inside of me. But now after many years of a high I’ve crashed down toa rock bottom graveyard of pity.

As a child I was very troubled. My happiness was completely masked by my father’s resentment towards me as he blamed me for his wife’s passing. The house I should’ve considered a “home”, was sinking in this black oil that consumed the entire household into it’s dark nether. I had little knowledge about my father as he was quite a mysterious man, all I know outside of home was that his job held a position so high that workers were often frightened of him. To this day, I still reminisce the one day my father gave me any sort of positive affirmation. It was a Saturday evening where I was sitting on the sidewalk outside my house reading a book, absorbing knowledge word by word. Even through all the wind and noise engulfing any surrounding noise I could still hear his footsteps come upon me as he said, “Son, I see you have finally decided to do some good with that pebble brain of yours.”, I nodded. It may seem to others an extremely backhanded compliment but to me it held so much importance. The only interaction between my father and I was the corrupted mind game where he constantly siphoned my joy little by little. This little affection caused me to seek for love from anyone and everywhere I could possibly manage to grasp.

Now, years after murdering Fortunato I’ve not been able to keep sane. I constantly feel his presence eating away at me. He wants me to confess, he wants his family to receive closure. For once, I have purpose… I’m going to write a confession and release it to the public. I recap all the events that night. It hits me like blinding lights puncturing my lungs the more I realize the gruesome act I committed. I begin writing but tears fill my eyes and mark the paper, I don’t cry because I killed him, I cry because I feel nothing, I feel no sorrow for Fortunato but only for myself. Why is this malevolence Inside of me? Why was I chosen to be the bearer of all this? I write for days and days going to into every little detail of the murder from the reasoning behind it to, to how it’s affected me to this day. I drop a package at the sheriff’s station containing all the information needed to find Fortunato as well as my written confession. I walk home in the rain recapping my life but I know what I must do. Once the sheriff’s read my confession and find the body I’ll be held in prison. I guess you could say the route I choose is cowardly but it’s what I feel like is right for me.

My days are already withering away day by day. I’ve spent the last year growing elderberries in my backyard, in large consumptions it causes death due to its cyanide. Word has gone around about how I murdered Fortunato and it’s only a matter of hours before I’m taken into custody. I walk to the backyard and pluck all the elderberries of my branches and bring them back to my bedroom. They look so beautiful but yet they’re so deadly. I eat them one by one until I can only imagine I’ve eaten over 100. I begin feeling dizzy and the room starts getting blurry & I suddenly realize this is it. The end of my pain, the end of my suffering & the end of my torture. I can finally find peace.

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Me and Fortunato were very close friends we had been friends for years because our mothers were best friends we were always around each other. It was a very interesting and loving friendship to say the least. However, it would soon come to an end. I had just moved out and wanted to start a life of my own. Then again I was still very close with Fortunato so we decided we could move in together. We were both working and starting our new life we were the best of friends. We started to bicker a lot more than usual and I started to believe Fortunato didn’t want live with me anymore. At first it was towards the little things that we argued but then the fights turned physical and we would then reflect and think about how we shouldn’t be fighting this much we have been best friends for a long time.

“I feel as though things have changed. Maybe we grew apart “claimed Fortunato. “Maybe but we can’t just decide to not live with each other because right now we are not agreeing with each other” I said.  Then as the days go by I found a lady friend her name was Bella. Me and Bella had just met and it was an instant connection. I started to like Bella but I wanted to take things slow start to be close friends and get to know her more. Me and Bella were spending quite a lot of time. “I should just live here” Bella once said jokingly. Since we were beginning to become much more connected to each other. So, I wanted to make it official and ask Bella to be my lady. She had the same feelings towards me so we were now dating. Whilst meeting and getting to know her she met Fortunato. They were getting along and Fortunato became a part of the friend group. Little did I know Fortunato had the same intentions I did with Bella and Fortunato knew how I felt about dearest Bella. However, I didn’t find this out until one day me and Bella came home from a casual stroll and Fortunato had prepared a romantic dinner for Bella.  This caused me and him to fight and led to me kicking him out of the home. Fortunato later on came by to gather his things and we started to argue. I couldn’t have been more appalled at the fact that he tried to get with the lady he knew I was with.  I felt disrespected and I felt so much anger towards him. Meanwhile Bella stayed with me in the house instead of Fortunato.  He is considered nothing to me… being my best friend since we were babies and him disrespecting me and my lady like that? No I want revenge I will come up with a brilliant way to seek it even if it takes me years or centauries I am a victim of a thousand injuries.

I  will  seek revenge till I get it Fortunato really got me mad.  Very unforgivable manner that disrespected me and my fair lady. And to those that are concerned this is only the beginning more will come and you will be hearing the story of my revenge becoming successful.

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   What Happened Before The Cask of Amontillado    by       Aisha Vazquez
											    12-11-2020
											        English 3
	Everything was fine, I was peaceful, I was happy. I had my love; Lady Montresor, I had my wealth, I had everything. Then I met Fortunato, then The Amontillado got involved, and so did the Doctor. I remember begging him, begging him to do anything he possibly could to help my wife. I even cried, I had to cry. “I am in need of your help!” I cried vigorously, as he opened the very obvious wealthy door of his. He was so cruel and cold, didn’t even take longer than a second to reject and deny me. His peer didn’t seem to be too fond of me either, considering that he’s the one who told the Doctor to not waste his time on. It still plays in my head clear as day, “Just ignore him, Jaquer. He’s a mere simpleton. We have no business with him.” After I rushed down the steps that were leading to his door, I sunk down to my wifes’ level. It hurt me to see her this way, it still brings tears to my eyes.
	As the days pass, I do nothing, I rarely eat; with the exception of eggs and milk mainly. I couldn’t bear to look at my reflection in the mirror. That man isn’t me, that man is a soulless person, miserable in agony even. My eyes are sad, they look dull, full of emptiness and no life whatsoever. My heart is beating, but does it matter? I’m in pain, inside and out. Suddenly, a light bulb turns on above my head, and I realize I need to do what needs to be done. I gather myself and make myself look presentable and prepare for what is ahead of me. The world. I went to parties, I made myself approachable, I smiled and I was sincere. 
A knock on my door startles me, I wonder who it is, but soon after that thought crosses my mind, my dear acquaintance I’ve met at a party reveals him. As I allow Antonio in, I offer him a drink as a representation of hospitality, to which he declines and announces, “I shall not bother you long,” he said. “In fact, I come to ask you to a celebration! An old friend of mine has come back into town after a long journey. He says his invitation is open to all who wish to come! Do you care to join me tonight?” Wow, this is perfect, I must accept. “Of course, Antonio! Where shall we meet?” I asked enthusiastically. Antonio then proceeds to give me the invitation with all of the details. As I go over the minor details in the invite, I come upon a name. Fortunato, which is the host. Intriguing name, I must admit. 
	As the night approaches, I walk towards the door to enter the party with Antonio,  we knock on the door and I’m immediately taken by surprise as to who opened the door. The same man who encouraged Doctor to close the door on my lady and I that day, reveals himself as Fortunato, the host. I suddenly hate the name Fortunato, it isn’t intriguing, it’s repulsive. I float around the party and make myself known and talk to plenty of others. We collectively speak about the host, to which the person reveals that he was born into his wealth, therefore he must be respected. According to them, Fortunato is, “Well-spoken,” and “Educated.” This is hard to believe when he so easily denied my wife of aid in her last moments. He was an honorary man, according to everyone here. Everyone loves him, respects him, idolizes him. Unlike me. Fortunato doesn’t seem to remember me, which is unfortunate because I remember him as if I just saw him yesterday. The party ends and I go about my way back home, the next couple of days were eventful. I did not stalk Fortunato, I just happened to see him at random times of the day. For instance, I saw him walking down the streets alone. He must be on his way to a very important event, since he praises himself so much of a man who handles important matters. 
	My plan is going accordingly. I’ve somehow gained Fortunato as a “friend,” to his knowledge. I’ve spoken to him at a number of events and/ or occasions. Which leads to the moment of the day that almost made me lose my mind, Fortunato sparked a conversation about my family, he genuinely showed interest. I was taken back, of pure shock. He feels comfortable enough to open that can of worms up for a conversation? Fine then. I tolerate the conversation, and watch as he drinks more and more, to the point where he can’t even pronounce his words correctly. He’s falling apart, and that is the whole purpose of this. The time is approaching us slowly, he will pay for what he did. 
	I do not surround myself with him for the satisfaction of company, I surround myself with him to gain his trust. He is the reason my wife is dead, my lover, my lady. He insulted me, in my time of need, while I was begging and crying for help on my knees, he did not even bat an eye towards me. I’ve discovered something about Fortunato over the time we’ve spent, his one true weakness. Fortunato is a man of his pride, he holds himself very high on the spectrum and believes he has the best knowledge on wines. He’s underestimated me, my family. The Montresors are important people and we have a history. We have been wealthy and even built our own home. Fortunato’s ignorance irritates me, it’s enraging. Lady Montresor and I were so unbelievably happy together, we were meant to spend the rest of our lives together. This man will pay for what he has done. Then, it occurs to me, he clearly has no self control when it comes to wine, he loves to drink, and with my luck, the carnival is coming to town, which is surprising but the weather is incredibly nice in Italy right now. Fine then, it’s setted. It will all take place at the carnival. 

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Aaron Esquenasis
There was a boy called Montresor a few years ago, and he was an incredibly social and optimistic kid. Montresor suffered a lot during school, children constantly humiliated him, but that never stopped him from being an enthusiastic kid because he had realized that he had everything that he needed in his life, which were his parents, until sadly one day his father died, and Montresor’s mother was so torn about this situation that she began drinking a lot of alcohol and she started using drugs, at some point she did it too much that she died, and in that case, Montresor is left all alone. He stopped communicating and began suffering from extreme anxiety and desolation. Another kid who went to school one day, his name was Fortunato, was loved by all, who made Montresor wanting. Montresor eventually graduated from high school and he was so happy to fail to recall the people who humiliated him, but when he started going to a university and he met once again Fortunato, he started feeling joyful or happy. The good thing was that Fortunato never remembered Montresor, so after school, they just started being close and they made a good friendship.I was a troubled child, always wanting my parents’ love and affection way back in the day.  Having a father who drank too much and always seemed like he always wanted to blame me for the death of my mother which much sooner rather than later began to grow a huge whole between us that masked and covered the happiness and love that every boy my age would want from his dad.  My house was filled and cluttered with darkness and disparity, and most of the time we had no guests or friends over and the only people I had was the one person who despised me so much and didn’t care at all that I was his kid.  My father, you could call him a peculiar and out of ordinary kind of man to many and held much of his power and authority over the ones who worked for him in his job where people were constantly frightened by him and were always worried about doing something that he didn’t like.  It was a rare occurrence and pleasure of fear of mine at least one time or another that I would get so close to getting my father’s affirmation and appease that it really appalled me.  It was a rather dark, stormy rainy kind of day and the house was sad with the rose bushes in the front of the house looking dead from the lack of love and water , and I was extremely bored so I decided to read some of the short novels from my father’s diary that he forbid me to read.    There I sat with a book in hand that had a huge dark curling hole in it that went through and through while being, I was trying to submerge my mind into any knowledge that I could and he came in with that drunken, dirty smell of his yelling on the top his lungs and said to me “Montresor” , you finally galvanize me with the act of trying to do something worthwhile”, for once in your life.  I replied with the only thing I could think of on the tip of my tongue which was the same that I always answered with when he yelled and questioned me on something I say “yes father”.  I only seem to remember the bitter and constant hate that I received from him that seemed to impound my head and alter my thoughts and me not being able to think that I would never please him or for him to want to love me.  So, I sought love from whomever would give it to me or who I crossed paths with.In school I was always the kid who was trying to make friends with peers in my class, but I was always left out.  School was located right in the dead center of town that no one seemed to have heard of it was in “the” most beautiful building that you could ever imagine and see.  It had stain glass windows and 2-ton ivory French doors for each class.  The colors on the walls burst with pops of blue and light green and it was a very inspiring and beautifully decorated place to be.  The truth is I felt more at home there with all my nice teachers and the principal to talk with then where I had to lay down and close my eyes at night.    I tried desperately to make friends with my same interests and the same novels that they read but as time went on I soon realized that I was always known as that kid who came from a troubled and disconnected family.    No one seemed or looked like they enjoyed my company or my presence for that matter.  Due to my lack of friends and confidence I had in myself, my father soon became determined and objective that something had to be wrong with me and that was the only reason for everything going on.  My father began to seek more and more for someone just to sit down with us and examine me for themselves and find answers to all of the problems that my father said that I had, that I didn’t.     It truly astonished and puzzled me that he was so apparent and always demanded that something was wrong when nothing was.     The thought once crossed my mind that my father was the only person in the conversation that had something wrong and different with him and not the other way around.     We always seemed to drive up and enter the same exact doctor’s office that we came into last week that had a lobby fall of much sicker people who needed attention and far more medical care than I did.  The reason for this is that my father was so ashamed and embarrassed of himself that he did not want to get an actual doctor say on the matter, because he thought they were stupid.    The doctor’s house was plain white with the trimmings on the sides of the building degrading and coming off and the vines that were once canvassing the front porch with beautiful flours of all kinds were now looming and tightly sticking to every inch of the house.  Making all the people who came inside sicker and more depressed with the atmosphere of the dark and shadow bearing house now fully covering it.  The first time that I actually had the chance to lay my eyes on Fortunato was in my last year in school, but my that time I was so overwhelmed and overloaded with all of the hate and misfortunates that I had with my father.  It seemed as though that many things would gradually start to turn around and become far more enjoyable and life living for me, that there was a thought in my head circling around hundred times that this person would be my friend and that I would finally have a friend of my own.  A glowing and mood changing spotlight was taken abruptly from the grasp of my hands like a mocking flower from a scary storm cloud full of lightning and thunder on a bitter cold winter’s day.  At first, I thought he too would be my friend, until he rejected me by laughing and snickering under his breath preferably more times that I would be more willing to admit and announce.    It was the day when the sun never came and storm clouds and thunder you could hear well throughout the sky and in yonder where a whole day’s worth of rain and huge amounts of hail became storming right down , when I declared war and revenge on Fortunato.  I thought of little less than anguish and abandonment.  Summer came running and yelling sunshine and my class dispatched themselves into many paths like a bunch of running trolls on the brink of escape and freedom.    So I decided to go up north where it was desolate and no one was near so I could get away and came back several years later after I sought for revenge and death for Fortunato who defamed me and broke me down.  In that time, I stayed in a small cabin along with three other people who I didn’t know but just seemed like good people out in the middle of nowhere on the top of a steep, cliffy hill.    It was here when I made my first friends who had nothing bad to say about me and who liked me for who I was.  Forgiveness crawled into my heart next to the little gatherings of memory’s that I have made with these three people as I began to open more up to these people and give them by whole, and I soon began to live freely and happily once in my life.    A fewer year into my lovely, thrilling stay at their home my young friend Anne suddenly died and not one person knew how it happened.    There I felt the cold, and bitterness dwelling up once again my body that I had once unfortunately felt in my last life.    I decided to turn back and return to the life that I once lived but I ran fearfully away from.  My father was so sick and had been bed ridden for the past several months and had to cheaply hire a caretaker for him, because he lost his job and was unable to afford anything more luxurious cause the people at work hated his guts.    It really wants a sad time for me to console my feelings and my desperation for his love and affection once again because he never showed it before now.  I was left in this world all alone just with myself, with nothing but just a large settlement and some money under my name that was given to me by my dad.    I went into church gatherings and worships much less frequently than I had before, but one that I will definitely not forget that changed both my life and my old-time enemies’ life as well, “Fortunato”.

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			 The Cask of Amontillado Sequel
I sigh as I open my eyes to see yet another day… It seems as if life is endless and repetitive… I spend day after day, and night after night, here in this lonely house. Things need to change. I helplessly wander out of bed and walk around aimlessly hoping some life changing event of some sort will happen to me. All I can do is hope for the best I guess… As I dawdle around, my eyes stumble upon the door to the catacombs. I can’t seem to look away… it’s like something is telling me to go down… A sudden realization comes to me. Today, exactly 50 years ago, I mercilessly murdered my dreaded enemy Fortunato… What a man he was… if you can even call him that. What a sad excuse for a man. Well, I got the last laugh in the end. That guy had it coming to him if you ask me. It was just a matter of when… As my eyes remain focused on the entrance to the catacombs, what seems to be a little voice in my head appears to be telling me to go inside. I tried my best to fight the urge off, but curiosity got the best of me. I sighed as I slowly entered into the depths of the deadly catacombs.	
As I slowly wandered through the silent darkness, I finally came to where it all went down 50 years ago… This is where Fortunato met his untimely death. Except- wait a minute. I thought I sealed this off all those years ago?! The same bricks that had once upon a time sealed this area off are now… gone?! What is the meaning of this? Is this some sort of sick prank! No...there’s no way… right?	! RIGHT?! I took a deep breath and took a peek inside. I cannot believe this. I must be imagining things right now. It’s- it’s- it’s EMPTY?! There is not even a trace that Fortunato was ever here! I will figure out who is behind this… This is one unfunny joke! I sat there trying to think up who might have done this, and why, when all of a sudden I heard a faint noise in the distance. I froze out of fear. Who could that be?! I live here completely alone! I haven’t seen another person here in who knows how long… I turned around with haste and frantically looked to see if I could see someone. I didn’t see anyone, so I let out a deep exhale. It seems I am alone. I must be hearing things… It is probably old age. I let out a laugh. I am such a silly man. After that brief scare, I decided to get back on my way. I think I’ve had enough for the day. As I began to take my first steps back, I heard it. Those same dreaded words that I never thought I’d hear again…
 “For God’s SAKE Montresor!” the voice said. My face went pale and my body froze. I couldn’t bring myself to turn around to face it myself. “Well aren’t you gonna say something to your oh so FAVORITE person ever?!” It… it can’t be… there’s no way. I forced myself to slowly turn myself around to see for myself if it was really true. Before I knew it, I was face to face with the one and only Fortunato. Well- his ghost, at least. We faced each other and sat there for a moment of silence while we both took it all in. I was the first to break the silence. “What- how- how is this possible?! I thought you were-” I started. “DEAD?!” He finished. He laughed this maniac laugh. “HAHAHA! How foolish you must be… you thought you could get rid of me, didn’t you? NEVER!” He shouted. I started sweating profusely. “What are you doing here? What do you want from me?!” I asked him. He chuckled. “Well that’s a silly question, Montresor! Why do you THINK I am here? To visit YOU of course!” He exclaimed. I had to think for a moment. What could Fortunato possibly want from me? Oh no. You don’t think- he’s not here for revenge is he? No… right? “After that HORRENDOUS act you put me through… I think you deserve some sort of GIFT for that don’t you agree?!” I was frozen speechless. I frantically started looking around for an exit, but I was cornered.
 “No...no! I do not deserve this! I didn’t mean to kill you all those years ago… it- it was just a harmless joke that got out of hand! Yeah that’s right! It was just a joke!” I said to him. Fortunato began to laugh hysterically. “Joke?! Some joke that must be!” He began to close in on me. I began to panic. “I- I-” I didn’t know what to say. This can’t be happening. There’s no way that it’s going to end this way… I refuse. “Aw, sad little Montresor… What EVER will you do now? You can’t get yourself out of this one! HAHAHAHA!” I looked down in defeat. Could this be it? Is this the end? As Fortunato began to corner me, I looked around just in time to realize that I am no longer out in the open of the catacombs. He had cornered me all the way to the point where I could no longer go anywhere. I guess this is it then… I can’t believe it is going to end this way. “How does it feel, Montresor? To be hopeless… knowing there is nothing left to do… knowing you have met your end?” Fortunato asked. I stayed silent. “That’s what I thought. Now it is YOUR turn! HAHAHAHA!” With the snap of his fingers, my hands were chained up, and I had nowhere to go. Nowhere to run. “How-” I began. Fortunato smiled a sly smile. “I have my ways… I have waited 50 YEARS for this moment! And it’s FINALLY my time to shine!” He said excitedly. Fortunato began to build up the wall, brick by brick. I sighed in defeat. “Don’t be sad, Montresor! You had it coming!” He giggled this evil giggle and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Fortunato… please forgive me my dear friend… we can be friends! Please…” I begged. Fortunato snickered. As Fortunato came to the last brick, he held it in his hands. “For God’s sake, Fortunato!” I said. He laughed and looked me dead in the eyes and said, “For God’s sake, indeed.” and sealed off the last brick.