Storybook Corner: Just Like Me

I wanted an adventure. I didn’t have the means to travel on one of my dream vacations like Greece or the Amazon River. I decided on something reasonably local. Something with color and history.100_2056

My friends declined my invitation to come along. They were too sober and didn’t believe. I went alone.

That was part of my problem. I needed friends with more humor and adventure. Someone more like me.

It was a two and half hour trip, which I timed to purposely arrive at dusk, which is the best time to see the weird.

I found the corner, trees and stop sign. I got out of the car and search the area.

Nothing.

At the end of the street, I found the house.

It was old and creakily and scary looking. Not one window was intact. Doors creaked.

There was nothing strange on the first floor. I walked carefully up wood-rotten stairs to search the upstairs. I even searched the basement.

There was nothing scary. No ghosts anywhere.

To say I was disappointed was an understatement.

I sat in the car and almost cried. I was looking for an adventure. As I stared at the house, I realized I’d found just what I was looking for.

I bought the house and turned it into a bed and breakfast. I even spruced up the corner with the trees and stop sign.

Then I met my business partners. Just like me, they had a vision for the place.

Now when one stops for the sign, they get a genuine scare. A dead man walks the road looking for a ride.

As of yet, no one has dared pick him up.

The house creaks from unseen footsteps. Doors open and close by themselves. An apparition floats through the house and disappears when the lights come on.

All who visit say it’s great entertainment, flawless. It seems so real.

Funny thing. There are no tricks or special affects. The ghosts are real. They just needed a purpose.

Business is great.

Last year, we took a boat tour on the Amazon River. My friends were a bit naughty. They haunted the boat.

Tourists loved it. They thought it was part of the show.

Natives knew better. Thinking the Amazon River was safer they jumped overboard.

We’re leaving for Greece in two days. My friends promise to behave themselves.

I know better. They’re funny and exciting. Just like me.

The End

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This in  now a longer short story published on Kindle, “My Haunted Bed & Breakfast.”

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Adam Ickes hosts a monthly Storybook Corner Prompt. He posts a photo and anyone interested writes a 300 to 500 word short story. April is my first entry to Storybook Corner.

You can follow my blog on my facebook page: Phyllis Moore’s Myths.

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Category : Short Stories