| Author | Message | ||
| Fionakelleghan (Fionakelleghan)
New member Username: Fionakelleghan Post Number: 440 Registered: 7-2011 |
Abby and Zena share a house that has a long, wide porch, the sort you see in movies about Southern plantations. This porch attracts the neighbors, who come to chat and drink iced tea or cocktails with Abby and Zena, because it is breezy and has a nice swinging bench to sit on and wind chimes to listen to. The porch is unscreened and it has shallow steps from the front door to the ground on the southern, eastern, and western sides. Their neighbors joke about the fact that Abby and Zena have a ritual. If they leave the house together, they always go down the front steps, but if one goes shopping or to visit a friend alone, Abby always leaves the porch from the left (eastern) steps and Zena always leaves by the right (western) steps. They admit that it is silly, but they won't change their habit. Why not? (I haven't visited here since 2011, so please excuse any mistakes I might make!) | ||
| Abc (Abc)
Moderator Username: Abc Post Number: 393 Registered: 7-2006 |
Would it be helpful to try to find out how the "ritual" came to be? Is it relevant for how long it has been going on? Are other persons relevant in this puzzle? Are any clues hidden in the rather long description leading up to the actual puzzle statement? | ||
| Fionakelleghan (Fionakelleghan)
New member Username: Fionakelleghan Post Number: 442 Registered: 7-2011 |
Would it be helpful to try to find out how the "ritual" came to be? Yes Is it relevant for how long it has been going on? Yes Are other persons relevant in this puzzle? You're on the right track! (I've forgotten the formatting and clues for words like "somewhat.") Are any clues hidden in the rather long description leading up to the actual puzzle statement? Yes (Thanks for jumping right in! I'm a bit excited to have gotten such a quick welcome. And Happy New Year!) | ||
| Abc (Abc)
Moderator Username: Abc Post Number: 394 Registered: 7-2006 |
So, at one time there was something to be gained by doing it this way? But that advantage is no longer there, so just the ritual is left? Has it been going on for more than a year? 2? 5? 10? 20? Are any of the items on the porch relevant? The bench? The chimes? Do the steps start immediately outside the door? Persons relevant - 1? 2? more? Persons relevant - family? Relatives? Friends? Strang(l)ers? | ||
| Redwine (Redwine)
New member Username: Redwine Post Number: 1762 Registered: 1-2011 |
Do they have a car? Relevant? If yes, relevant how many? Do both of them possess keys of all the doors? Do the ritual remind them of something good? Was the ritual previously practiced for safety? Comfort? Saving time? Saving money? Prudence? Do they practice the ritual also while coming back? Is it relevant if (and how) are Abby and Zena related? | ||
| Shez (Shez)
New member Username: Shez Post Number: 3738 Registered: 2-2011 |
was there once a third person living with them? another sister? now dead? | ||
| Beachbum (Beachbum)
New member Username: Beachbum Post Number: 466 Registered: 2-2012 |
Did one like seeing or talking to the neighbor on the East side, and the other liked the neighbor on the West side? | ||
| Galfisk (Galfisk)
New member Username: Galfisk Post Number: 5182 Registered: 9-2009 |
Is being seen relevant? Avoiding being seen? Did they want to make someone think only one person lived there? Romance relevant? | ||
| Hardcore (Hardcore)
New member Username: Hardcore Post Number: 1 Registered: 2-2013 |
I am going to guess that Abby and Zena are sisters and this is their childhood home. Their parents were married and always took the girls with them together down the southern steps. But later in life, the parents divorced and they left the house seperatly. The father went down the eastern side and the mother left down the western steps. Abby liked the dad more than the mother and went down the Eastern side with her dad, while Zena left down the western side with her mother, who she liked more. The parents died and the girls took care of the house. But to honor their parents, they went down the steps like they did when they were younger. | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
Moderator Username: Peter365 Post Number: 146 Registered: 1-2011 |
Fiona I've put this puzzle into Lateral Limbo for now. You can reactivate it by answering the outstanding questions |
