This week's challenge: Using between 33 and 333 words, compose something that includes the third definition of the following word:
SINISTER
3: singularly evil or productive of evil
Jeanne was on her bed, wrapped in a towel, slathering
herself with body butter when her late husband appeared in the doorway. He was
improbably dressed in nothing but khaki shorts and his beloved Yankees cap.
Ah, that cap! She remembered the first time she saw him wear
it, when they were still dating. “You’ve never even been to New York. Why are
you a Yankees fan?”
“Cuz it’s easy,” he replied with a smile. Trav was always
all about easy. That’s what killed him more than three months ago. The late
January sky had unexpectedly dumped 3" of snow on his car while he was at work.
He called Jeanne from the train station and told her he had no intention of
messing with a scraper this evening. Instead, he said, “I’ll just take a taxi
cuz it’s easy.” The next call she received was from the hospital. The driver
had a heart attack and crashed the taxi into a tree, killing them both.
And yet here he was, in front of her, healthy and whole and
quite beautiful. He had that look in his eyes that she knew so well, the one
that preceded him whispering, “Make me late for work.”
He moved to the bed and she dropped the towel and lay back.
She felt him guide her hands all over her body. He knowingly showed her where
and exactly how to touch, stroke and probe. She squeezed her own, now rounder,
belly, the result of three months of comfort carbs. Travis didn’t seem to mind,
though. Jeanne felt proud of her body, connected to it, for the first time
since he’d gone.
When she was done, darling Travis’ image receded. She was alone
on the bed but now less lonely. Instead she was relieved and relaxed, listening
to birds outside her bedroom window. There had been nothing ghoulish or sinister in this spectral sex. It awakened her to spring and reminded her she was
still alive.
Ooooh, I think this is absolutely lovely, a rose amongst the thorny brambles that are (also yummy) horror stories this week.
ReplyDeleteI especially loved that he died from wanting it easy. I think those deaths, where you can categorize them like that, are quite interesting. I may have a loved one who died (at an old age) from something classically him so ... it is a warm idea to me.
Also, wanted to thank you here for your generous comment to my story. I responded there, but wanted to acknowledge my appreciation here.
ReplyDeletekaren
I like the ending of this quite a bit. Very nicely done.
ReplyDeleteYes, alive. So much better than daily watching out the window with drink in hand for the deceased to re-appear. At least, that's how I handled my young husband's death all those light years ago. Enjoyed this way much better. :)
ReplyDeletedk
Nice little ghost story! I like how he's improbably dressed.
ReplyDeleteThis was a surprising and interesting take on the prompt. The writing made this fantasy seem utterly real and normal. Nice job!
ReplyDelete