© Sandra Crook
Antoine stepped back outside the Hotel Charlotte. He’d hoped on this 20th anniversary, staying at the place where they’d spent their honeymoon would finally quiet the ghost.
It hadn’t. If only she would rest and let him rest.
He tossed his overnight bag into the backseat, got in and started the car.
“Can we go home now, Simone?”
“Not quite yet. Remember that charming little cafe where we had our first breakfast?”
His wife had died in a car accident on their honeymoon. He’d been driving. It had been his fault. For twenty years now she didn’t let him forget.
Written for the Friday Fictioneers Photo Writing Challenge hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. The idea is to use the photo prompt above to write a piece of flash fiction no more than 100 words long. My word count is exactly 100.
To read other stories based on the prompt, go to InLinkz.com.
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What a great ghost story… remorse for another 20 years to come.
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You make one mistake, and the missus remembers it forever. Okay, I admit, it was a really big mistake.
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I don’t think he’s ever going to get rid of the ghost, or the remorse.
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I seriously doubt it, Iain.
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Dear James,
That marriage didn’t stand a ghost of a chance, did it? That’s taking toxic guilt to a new level.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Some ghosts just don’t know how to let go.
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It sounds like she would have been as much a nagger in life as she was in death. Good writing, James. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Thanks, Suzanne.
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She’s relentless, but at least her haunting is quite benign – she could be giving him nightmares and terrifying the hell out of him rather than dragging him round cafes in France! Nice twist on the prompt
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Twenty years of nagging by a ghost can take its toll.
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Ha! I’m betting it can 🙂
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A ghost that added nagging to the run of the mill haunting… that would be more than I could bear.
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I’m pretty sure he’s having a very tough time of it, Sandra.
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Perhaps if he had got himself another woman, the ghost might let him be. On the other hand, she might turn from a harmless nag into a ferocious poltergeist!
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I think the woman he has now is more than enough for him.
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The mind is a powerful thing, he needs to visit a therapist . Great story
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Unless this really is a ghost story, Michael.
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Vengeful ghost. Good story!
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Thanks, Sascha.
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Nicely done. I can picture her sitting in the car ordering him about. Revenge is sweet even if you’re a ghost.
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Especially if you’re a ghost.
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Good Gawd! She is a relentless one indeed… Of course, he is totally allowing her to haunt him all this time. He should once and for all forgive himself!
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Part of me wonders whether she’s a real ghost, or one of Antoine’s subconscious devising. Either way, a thought-provoking and sad tale.
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It could go either way, Spaceman. What a mystery.
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Awww … sad story of regret and guilt. A good idea to go back though it didn’t work. I enjoyed the build-up
and the ending. Well done …
Isadora 😎
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Thank you, Isadora.
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Poor Antoine living with that all these years.
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You’d think he’d get used to it by now, Clare.
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Sheesh, that’s a long time to hold a grudge.but I guess she has only just begun. Eternity is even longer!
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If you are a ghost, it’s only the beginning.
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Time for Simone to forgive. Time for Antoine to forgive himself. Very touching. :o)
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Thank you, Mrs. Completely.
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Well crafted!
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Thank you, Reena.
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Wonderful story. The sadness and remorse came over perfectly
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Thanks, Mick.
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