Short Story Wednesday

The Rewrite, Part 2 & IWSG

Dear Readers,

It’s Short Story Wednesday again. If you’re new to me, each week, I publish either a really short story in full or a longer one in parts. I’ll do this until I run out of ideas for these kinds of stories. In The Rewrite. Part 1: A ghost is playing havoc in Hazel’s library, and she’s determined to stop him.

Since this is the First Wednesday of the month, as one of the Admins, I also post for The Insecure Writers’ Support Group. You can find that HERE! Come by and join us if you’re a writer and ever feel even a bit insecure.

And now….

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Part 2

The problem was Hazel had no idea how to banish ghosts. She knew mops and cleansers, titles and authors, how library numbers worked, and not much more. But she wasn’t a woman who gave up once she set her mind to doing something, so on the next Monday night when the library closed early, she planned to deal with her ghostly problem.

She arrived just at dusk and waited until the white, cloudy form plucked the first book, fluttered its pages, read a bit, and then stuffed it back almost where it belonged. This intruder had now invaded the non-fiction area of the library.

As the ghost moved down one row, Hazel followed, curious to find out what he was reading. Short Story Crafting. She put it in its correct spot and followed the ghost’s route, reading each title he selected. The Modern Short Story. How to Write a Good Short Story. Grammar and Style.

When she reached the end of that row, she peered into the next, but it was empty. Usually, when the ghost was near, she felt him. The chill. The wisp of vapor across her skin. But now nothing. Maybe trailing after him had frightened him away. She returned the last book to its proper shelf and brushed her hands together, satisfied and very pleased that it had taken such a short time to free herself from that pesky intruder.

She finished the floors in the non-fiction section and made her way to fiction. For a change, her maintenance job was nearly done on time tonight. As she ran the mop along row PQR, she imagined a hot bath and a TV show waiting for her at home. Then that familiar chill sprang down her arms. When she walked into row STU, the ghost stood not a few feet away. The worst part of his return was that he was tearing pages out. That would cost her her job for sure. Before she thought better of it, she lunged for the book and yanked it away.

To be continued…

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C. Lee McKenzie, Amazon