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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

GHOST OF A CHANCE

"To all of life there is a shadow. The shadow of sadness, doubt, despair. Still it is but an echo of a heart moving forward."
-Roland Yeomans

{Here is the first chapter of my blog-serial, GHOST OF A CHANCE, where I am a hunted fugitive, running through all my created worlds.}

Something was tickling my ear. "Schatz! Schatz!"

Someone shook my shoulder. "Oh, Liebling, wake up. Wake up! You are in danger."

Fire.

My apartment was on fire. Ever since I had awakened long years ago to see flames rolling across my ceiling, I had lived in dread of it happening again.

My eyes flew open. I sat up straight in bed. Darkness. No flames. Only a naked blonde in the bed beside me.

Naked blonde?

It was Marlene Dietrich. And she wasn't exactly naked, but heavily clothed she wasn't. She was in a black silk nightgown seemingly made of flimsy spiderwebs.

"Ah, Marlene ..."

"Hush, Liebling. Look down beside your bed."

"Really ...."

"Do it!"

Marlene had never shouted at me before. This was obviously important. I looked down.

"Shit."

Sometimes "Oh, darn" just doesn't cover it. Gypsy was nudging the unmoving body of Ernest Hemingway sprawled beside my bed. His smoldering cigar was just going out.

"Damn, Marlene. I know he's a ghost and all. But ... he looks ... dead."

"He is, Schatz. He is."

I turned to her. "Ghosts can be killed?"

Her finely etched eyebrow rose dangerously, and I said, "All right, dumb question. Obviously ghosts can be killed. But I never knew that."

"Neither did I or any other ghost I have ever met. Which means you are in terrible danger."

"Danger? Why?"

"All through the Shadowlands it is known Papa was jealous of how I felt for you."

"But ..." She placed fingertips I almost felt on my lips.

"He is here. Dead. I am here. In your bed. It will be thought he attacked you, and you killed him out of self-defense."

"Yeah, self-defense. You're right. It will look like self-defense. I mean, I didn't kill him. You know that. But if they think I just defended myself, I'll be in the clear with the other ghosts, right?"

Marlene turned her head so that her waterfall of hair hid her eyes from me. "Wrong, Liebling. All they will care about is that you know how to kill them. And so to protect themselves, they will kill you."

"Ghosts can kill the living?"

Again the eyebrow arched. "O.K. Another dumb question. So all the ghosts are going to come gunning for me?"

"And the others."

My voice rose so that the dogs in the next block must have been awakened. "What others?"

"All the others in the Shadowlands, Liebling. They will want you alive just long enough to tear from you the terrible secret of how to kill ghosts."

"But I don't know how!"

"They will not believe you with the 'proof' of poor Papa's body beside your bed. And it is even worse than you fear."

"Worse? How can it be worse?"

"They are coming now."

"They who?"

Marlene's eyes sank into her pale face. "All of them."
***************************


13 comments:

  1. Hi Roland .. I'm just so glad it's daylight here! You certainly evoke spirits .. could they please stay over the pond! I hope you live on .. despite the ghostly thoughts .. and am just glad Gypsy is around as I know she'll protect you .. Hilary

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  2. Again with the shivers! A beautifully crafted tale. Your opening quote is excellent too. And I loved Gypsy's appearance!

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  3. Even though I've read this before, I still enjoyed reading again. Still great!

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  4. Wow, gripping dialogue and a ghost story too...amazing!

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  5. Hilary :
    Yes, all my ghosties and beasties stay this side of the pond ... usually. This episode happened when Gypsy was still on this side of the Rainbow Bridge. Enjoy the daylight. Your isle has its own spirits that wander the darkness. What did Sax Roemer write?

    "There are shades in the fen,
    ghosts of women and men,
    who have sinned and have died,
    but are living again.

    O'er the waters they tread
    with their lanterns of dread,
    And they peer in the pools --
    in the pools of the dead."

    Lock up tight tonight.

    Heather :
    I was in the mood for a ghost tale today. And I had mentioned to Laila about my blog-serial, GHOST OF A CHANCE.

    WOW! The postman just walked up with the hardcover to your own novel, THE SECRET OF SPRUCE KNOLL!! The cover looks great in hardcover!

    Wendy :
    Thanks. I've been considering doing GHOST OF A CHANCE as a Kindle book. Feel free to scream since you would be the poor soul to have to format the monster. Feel free to say, "No way!" too. It is, after all, just a thought.

    The Desert Rocks :
    Thanks so much for enjoying the dialogue and ghost story. It was a hoot to write. One or two of my friends even enjoyed the whole thing, too. LOL.

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  6. Hi Roland .. please keep them there - we've our own supply here .. probably 13,000 years worth ..

    I'd never heard of Sax Rohmer .. ?! But looked him up in Wiki .. those are excellent words - no wonder you remember them ..

    Door's locked .. windows stay open .. and I watch the foxes wander around, during the day Gull looks after me!! Cheers Hilary

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  7. Sax Rohmer gave birth in a way to the League of Five with his Dr. Fu-Manchu novels. A loving heart like yours will always be the best protection from dark spirits! Cheers, Roland

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  8. Hi Roland .. not sure what the League of Five is .. I am incredibly unread!! But thanks glad to know my heart is appreciated ... and I'm sure that's right .. protection is around .. cheers Hilary

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  9. Oops, Hilary :
    Sorry. All my fault. Like a little child, I think everyone knows about my past.

    I wrote of my four childhood friends who christened our reading/movie club "The League of Five" like something from a tale of Sherlock Holmes.

    I wrote of it here :
    http://rolandyeomans.blogspot.com/2011/08/in-same-veinthe-league-of-five.html

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  10. I'll have a look .. cheers Hilary .. I must have scanned through earlier this month .. Mum wasn't too well .. cheers H

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  11. Ooh! *CHILLS* Great excerpt! Thank for sharing the thrill, Roland! ;)

    ♥.•*¨Elizabeth¨*•.♥
    Can Alex save Winter from the darkness that hunts her?
    YA Paranormal Romance, Darkspell coming fall of 2011!

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  12. I missed you yesterday. Have cut down blogging to 3 times a week and still trying to get the hang of it.

    Well, I guess if you wake up to a naked blonde, running through your stories can't be all that bad. Who killed Hemmingway? I have to tell you I love romanticism between ethereal and corporeal beings...it's hot. They're coming for you...pretty freaky...makes me think of zombies. :) Role playing is too fun. I was a constand daydreamer as a child...probably why I write fantasy.

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  13. Well, it's still not up on my side. I'll just have to hold on to my comment until I can see it again. :)

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