Hello! It’s Friday and time for another short snippet of fiction. This week is a super-short one at only 155 words. I’ve skipped one of the group’s prompts, but I wanted to get this one out for Halloween. I’m prepping for NaNo (yes, again) so I’m not sure how many more of these I can squeeze out between working on that project.
The photo included the prompt of “Who lives here? What’s the story with this house?” I wanted something a bit spooky but not too much. Horror isn’t my jam though I’ve dipped a toe in with these shorts before. If anyone else wants to play along, feel free to paste yours in the comments below, link to your own site, or on my Facebook page.
Questions
She wanders the halls staring at portraits and touching the furniture in hopes of reminding herself where she is, who she is. Is she the solemn child staring into the tiny room barren of everything but a hard pallet? Or is she the striking young woman whose lips smile up at her partner while her eyes hold silent screams? Perhaps she’s the grim elder with grey hair and a pinched expression who glowers from over the mantle. Maybe she’s all of them. Maybe she’s none of them.
Why can’t she remember?
She taps the rocking chair and sets it in motion. Its presence, like her name, is a mystery. She prefers soft cushions and delicate fabrics not this hard, dark wooden thing. The curtains are dreary, and that lamp is atrocious. As she circles the room seeking the familiar, a young couple stares at the rocking chair.
The realtor didn’t say the house was haunted!