A Whisper at Midnight – A Christmas Ghost Story

 This a re-post of a short story I wrote years ago. I intended to have a sequel written for this year, but I’ve been busy getting things closed up with my old job and getting ready for my new one, so here is my personal classic.  Enjoy.

 

“Psst! Wayne! Are you there?” That is what I heard every night at midnight since I had taken the job at Heceta Head Lighthouse.

“Like I would be anywhere else,” I grumbled back. It had been a rough day and I really wasn’t in the mood to chat with Victoria, the ghost who lived in my new home.

“Oh good, I was afraid you wouldn’t be here tonight. I had the most wonderful day and just had to tell you about it.” Victoria had the uncanny ability to disregard my mood all together. I wasn’t sure if it was a ghost thing or just a Victoria thing, but she ignored my mood entirely and talked to me like I was in the same mood she was in, no matter what her mood was.

“Alright, just let me make some coffee before you start telling me so I can pay attention.” I had fallen back asleep once when she was talking to me and she did not take too kindly to that. When I had woken up the next morning my refrigerator had been unplugged and the door left wide open. Everything had spoiled overnight and my kitchen smelled like a landfill. The next night she acted like she didn’t know what I was talking about, but I know it was her. I threw on a thick robe and stumbled into the kitchen and fixed some coffee and a bagel, all the while Victoria just floated behind me, waiting patiently for me to listen.

Missy’s Adventure by Guamella Pellegrin

Here is another entry to my writing prompt challenge by Guamella Pellegrin. This little vignette is a lot of fun!

 

 

My journey began when I pushed on the screen door and realized, “Hey, there’s a wide world out there!”  Scrambling through the open screen doorway, I was off to a good start.  Mom was on the telephone, and Dad was at work.

Mopsie, our black and white cat, came over to give me a quick tongue-bathing.  Now my face shines like that giant yellow ball in the sky.

Johnny is over in his yard next door, swinging in his tire swing.  I had better hurry and get going before he sees me and tattles.  I head toward the rose garden next door.  Their sweet scents draw me to them.  “Ouch!”  This one just stuck me with its thorns!  I better keep going before Mrs. Johnson’s puppy, Sparkles, starts barking at me.

 

Uh-oh, what is this?  Let me touch it.  It looks exactly like the round green balls that Mom brings home from the grocery store, and when she cuts it open, the red part inside tastes sweet and juicy.  Mom takes out all of the black seeds in it.  Dad loves these, and so do I.

 

Wow! Look at this over here!   There’s a house at the top of this pole, where black birds are flying around it, and some sitting on its roof!

 

I guess I had better head back toward home before Mom finds me gone and spanks me.  Here it is!  I recognize these steps!  Let’s see if I can get back up.  This wasn’t as easy as I thought.  Whew!  I am finally up.  Now let’s see if I can get back inside.  Yes, the door is barely open, and I am now back inside.  I am SO-O-O-o-o-o tired, though.  I think I will take a short nap now, just a few minutes here on this rug.

 

As I lay my head down, all of a sudden a gigantic brown, fire-breathing dragon swoops down from above, and clamps tightly to my diaper, pulling me  high into the air.  High over the trees it carries me, its talons gripping my backside.Though scary, I can see all the homes and cars and shops so far down.  I feel the mighty whoosh of the dragon’s wings, and the heat from its body right above me.

 

We pass over the ant-sized city, then an unseen archer’s arrow plunges into the dragon’s swollen belly, where a scale is missing, and immediately it turns me loose and down I go.  An eagle catches my diaper in its beak and brings me safely to the ground.  The city still appears toy-size and I feel like a monster, as the eagle shows me which way to go.  Nearby, a whirlwind is moving in the same direction so I follow it all the way back home.  Strange that it knew where I lived!

 

The next thing I realize is, I wake up in my bed, and Mom is preparing a tasty breakfast, and as I  look down on my sheet, there lies a lone dragon scale!

 
 

By Guamella Pellegrin

June 15, 2013

 

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A Whisper at Midnight – A Christmas Ghost Story

 

“Psst! Wayne! Are you there?” That is what I heard every night at midnight since I had taken the job at Heceta Head Lighthouse.

“Like I would be anywhere else,” I grumbled back. It had been a rough day and I really wasn’t in the mood to chat with Victoria, the ghost who lived in my new home.

“Oh good, I was afraid you wouldn’t be here tonight. I had the most wonderful day and just had to tell you about it.” Victoria had the uncanny ability to disregard my mood all together. I wasn’t sure if it was a ghost thing or just a Victoria thing, but she ignored my mood entirely and talked to me like I was in the same mood she was in, no matter what her mood was.

“Alright, just let me make some coffee before you start telling me so I can pay attention.” I had fallen back asleep once when she was talking to me and she did not take too kindly to that. When I had woken up the next morning my refrigerator had been unplugged and the door left wide open. Everything had spoiled overnight and my kitchen smelled like a landfill. The next night she acted like she didn’t know what I was talking about, but I know it was her. I threw on a thick robe and stumbled into the kitchen and fixed some coffee and a bagel, all the while Victoria just floated behind me, waiting patiently for me to listen.

Apocalypse Runner 04-09-12 Inspiration Monday

Luke Andrew Scowen 2009 / Foter

The young couple sat beneath the ancient oak at the edge of their land. They watched their son playing the family dog, a mutt of such mixed heritage that its ancestry would never be known, and they smiled. Their work was finished, and the mid-afternoon meal in the shade was a well-deserved treat. Leftover pheasant, fresh picked vegetables and homemade brandy made for a perfect lunch that day.

Times had been hard since the end of the war, but they had survived the war, disease and famine, and their fortunes had finally turned around. The crops were growing and there was almost no sign of the blight, only one of the piglets died before it was weaned and spring had come in March instead of May. They were all signs that the world was beginning to shake off the nuclear holocaust, at least in the places that were not radioactive wastelands.

Apocalypse Runner 04-02-12 Inspiration Monday

There was a lot of space between the buildings, but Bernard could make the leap with a running head start. From building to building he leapt, each time it brought him closer and closer to the gymnasium, and his prey. Occasionally he had to stop and wait as men with lanterns and torches walked between buildings, but he was patient, and not getting caught was more important than getting to the target quickly.

Felix had not joined him on the roof, but that hardly surprised Bernard. Felix was never one for too much physical exertion. It always amazed Bernard that Felix remained as thin as he was, and never managed to get caught, or hurt, despite choosing the easy way out of every situation. Of course, Felix never chose the easy path for Bernard. He encouraged Bernard to kill when running or stealth was the wiser choice. His friend had a decidedly psychotic streak that often caused Bernard to shake his head in wonder.

Apocalypse Runner 03-26-12

Bernard slipped into the darkness outside of his room, and ran past the buildings of the old high school. He dodged through the open spaces, turning down the alleys that a generation earlier would have been filled with students, if it weren’t in the middle of the night. He thanked the heavens for the thick layer of clouds overhead. He was unsure whether he hoped for rain or not. A dry night would make it easier to run away, and the rain would make it easier to move in for the kill.

Apocalypse Runner 03-12-12

This is my entry for BeKindRewrite’s InMon Challenge.

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 The cheers of the assembled thugs did nothing for Bernard. He did his job because it was what he was paid to do. His contempt for the other member of the syndicate was well known by the very men who applauded him. He supposed it was some attempt to get in good with him, but he knew the truth. They feared him.

“Congratulations, Bernard,” said Evan Jones, the leader of the syndicate’s southern operations. “Another enemy of the syndicate brought low by your hand, and before the deadline at that.” A round of cheers erupted as a pair of midgets dressed as clowns leapt into the light of the hall. They kicked the head of Caesar Jimenez back and forth between them.