Houses with that many tiles always does something to my meagre brain.
My mind's eye worked very differently from yours XD
Unfortunate you couldn't read it to your writing group, I think it's kind of like a bigger prompt as it is. So many potential plot points!
Yeah, I wanted to let readers draw their own conclusions from the vagaries of the text. So much writing doesn't allow imagination to bloom.
I think it's because so many people have tantrums if everrything isn't wrapped up nicely and perfectly with no loose ends.