I had last seen my great-grandfather’s house when I was five. It hadn’t changed in those 50 years.
The invite from the distant cousin took me by surprise, but I gladly accepted.
As soon as I arrived the memories of not being believed about the boy swimming in the icy stream came flooding back.
After lunch I walked to the place where I’d seen him. The feel of slimy fingers on my throat returned.
“This is where my mother found your body,” my cousin said. “Rest in Peace.”
The full force of my lie hit me as I faded away.
***
word count = 100
Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. This week’s prompt is here and uses a photo by @ Dale Rogerson. If you want to join or see other stories, go to the inlinkz linkup.
Trent's World (the Blog) 
Reading this fiction piece brought back memories of my own childhood and the feelings of fear and disbelief that came with it. It was a powerful reminder of the impact our lies can have on ourselves and others, and the emotional toll it can take.
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Our natural instinct is to block unpleasant memories, but I think we often need to acknowledge our pasts to move on.
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Love this! Eerie and Nice little twist
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Thanks, Rae, glad you liked the story.
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I love this take, Trent. Must be wild going about not really there but not really here, either.
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Thanks, Dale. There have been a few “reverse” ghost story movies and it is an interesting idea.
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Indeed!
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An interesting take on the prompt, Trent. I like that trimming the words adds to the mystery. Well done.
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Sometimes it is frustrating to not have enough words, but sometimes the vagueness caused by that lack of words actually ends up making the story better. Not sure which way here, but…
Thanks.
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True, either way. :-)
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Like you, I enjoy what you call the “reverse ghost story.” Well done.
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Great twist to this :)
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Thanks!
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I had to read the comments to make some sense of this, though the spookiness needed to outside help!
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As I was writing I discovered that scrunching the story into 100 words was not going to be easy… Glad the spookiness came through, though.
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Wow, now that’s a twist. Wonder what happened to grandpa?
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Well, grandpa has been gone ages, as the MC should have been… ;)
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Now that’s damn spooky.
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Thanks.
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This gave me chills. What a great ghost story.
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Thanks.
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Trent, what a poignant holiday ghost story. I’m sure the departed, especially those who die through unexpected tragedy, do just these things. Have you read, “Lincoln in the Bardo” by George Saunders? I read it recently and your story made me think of it.
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Thanks! I do like “reverse” ghost stories. I haven’t heard of “Lincoln in the Bardo”- I’ll have to look that book up.
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You’re welcome. Well worth a read.
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I had to read it twice to make sure I understood. That cousin was profoundly understanding and kind, to release the ghost from his lie.
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Yeah, I had the idea and then realized I needed a couple hundred more words to make it work… Oh well..
Yes, the cousin was a very kind person to help him after all of those years.
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A ghost being invited for Christmas?
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Better than having them arrive uninvited, like what happened to Ebeneezer… Anyway, he did invite him over for Christmas so he could help him transition out to the afterlife..
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This is a great ghost story. It reminds me of the film ‘Sixth Sense’, where, at first, the main character does not know he is dead.
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I like those “reverse” ghost stories like the Sixth Sense. Always a nice twist when you discover the truth. Thanks.
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Creepily good!
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Thanks, Paula!
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Dear Trent,
A spooky story for sure. I take it both the MC and the cousin are ghosts?
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Hmm, I guess the distant cousin might be a ghost as well, and that’s why it was 50 years – he just passed away and so could call him. But doesn’t have to be that way.
Thanks.
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Reblogged this on NEW BLOG HERE >> https:/BOOKS.ESLARN-NET.DE.
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