A Set of Keys

This is a story from 'The Pharmacist's Cabinet', which is basically a collection of random short stories I wrote at several CampNaNo's. 

A Set of Keys

 

Memories washed over Gregory as he dangled the keys in front of him. He had gotten them the day before, after the reading of his grandfather’s will. He’d not seen the man in over ten years.

After a restless night, his guilt had mixed in with the nostalgia. He knew it to be unnecessary. His grandfather wasn’t someone to hold grudges. Old Jake Kendrick had a strong notion that everyone needed to live their own lives.

Gregory vividly remembered the keys hanging on a hook next to the backdoor in the kitchen of the small house by the lake. “Why would I lock my doors? What if anyone passes by and needs something?” On a few occasions, they had gotten home from adventures to find cups on the kitchen counter or food missing from the fridge. Even young Greg was already indoctrinated with the idea of possession. “They stole your food!”

“They didn’t steal it, son. They ate it. They must have been hungry.” And that was it.

He had spent long summers at the lake house. Greg’s mother had a job in a local hospital and usually had to work through vacations. Greg loved to go exploring with his odd grandfather. Or questing. His grandfather always knew how to convince him there was treasure to be found somewhere. On most occasions, they did indeed find it. Although in retrospect, Gregory was sure his grandfather had planted it. Endless summers, swimming, hiking through the woods or sailing on the lake. Greg often brought friends along. There was very little that threw his grandfather off.

The keys fell off Gregory’s finger and clashed to the wood of the desk in his hotel room. The best hotel in town. There was no room service, he’d had to go out there and get some food. Being back here felt weird. It was easier to breathe in the open air of the small town than it was in busy New York. The people were friendly. He’d already seen a few familiar faces since arriving the day before. Today he’d have to go take care of a few things. When his mother passed away ten years ago, all there was left was a stack of hospital bills. His grandfather had not owed anything of real value either. Apart from maybe the house. On his way over he’d already done the research. He could make good money on it. Money. That was all he made these days. In the beginning, it had felt like the quests with his grandfather. The hunt for treasure. These days it was a nearly automated process.

His eyes caught the keys again. Most of them were old keys. Hanging useless on a hook for years had taken away their shine. Apart from one. It had taken him until now to notice. Gregory was certain it had not been on the keyring before. It was smaller than most of them. And shiny. New shiny. He took it between his fingers and looked at it from all sides. For all the other keys, he knew what they were for. Not this one. A safety deposit? A money box? A drawer? Could be anything really.

It got him curious. Over breakfast, in a small diner, he stared at the key. His father never locked anything. Why would he need a new key? 

He should dismiss it, get to his appointment with the realtor and be on his way out again by nightfall. That was the plan. There was nothing out there but memories and guilt. And no one could pay their mortgage with that.

He closed his eyes.

“Are you alright, love?” The elderly waitress asked him. She stood beside him with a coffee pot. What year was this? Despite missing his fancy espressos, he nodded. “Please. Yes. I’m fine.”

“We’re going to miss that grandfather of yours. So sorry to hear about his passing.”

“What?”

“You’re Helen’s boy, right? I remember you rambling about in your shorts on bare feet.” She waved outside to the street. “Such a happy kid. Where are you hiding out these days? We’ve not seen you in ages.”

“I run a business in New York.” The last thing he wanted to was to do small talk with a waitress. His mother and grandfather had raised him well, though. It wouldn’t do to be impolite. Not here.

“Business in New York, he says.” She said in disbelief. “Oh, are you visiting the house?” The keys had caught her attention.

Gregory shrugged. He had not planned to. The keys had made him curious, however. Moving to New York had not been able to get that out of his system.

The waitress left him alone with his thoughts again. Visions of the lake, the house and the woods came to mind. He really owed it to his grandfather to go back there one last time.

Once he had decided on that, he checked the time. He had a good two hours before meeting the realtor. He could check on the house and be back well in time for that. Suddenly in a hurry, he threw some money on the table and walked out to his rental car.

On the drive up to the lake, Gregory saw the changes the last ten years had caused on the landscape. More houses were built, there were better roads.

The lake house looked pretty much as it always had though. That in itself was a shock to see. It looked like it had gotten a fresh coat of paint recently and there wasn’t any sign of its deterioration. How had his grandfather managed to do that? The man had been well in his eighties. Gregory knew him to be stubborn enough to climb up on the roof to fix things. Still, some signs of wear would have been expected.

After staring at the house and the back porch for a full minute, Gregory got the keys from his pocket and proceeded to the door. Nearly there he changed course and went for the kitchen. Using the front door made him feel like a visitor. They’d never used it.

He didn’t know if he should be surprised to find it locked. As far as he knew, the undertakers had been the last ones in the house, a little over a week ago.

Walking into the kitchen felt like being zapped back in time. Nothing had changed. The same cups hanging above the counter. That same sturdy wooden table where they’d spent so much time crafting, reading, or just talking. It nearly choked Gregory.

A draft caught his attention. Cautiously he walked through the kitchen into the living room to find the door to the back porch wide open. On one of the rocking chairs, his grandfather had been a traditional man, sat a woman. Cup in hand, book on her lap.

“Hello?” Gregory greeted her in surprise.

She jumped up. Throwing the book on the ground and the rest of her coffee zooming out of the cup.

“Crap, you scared me.”

Gregory looked at her. Woman, his grandfather would call her. Fat, his friends in New York would say. She was clearly above average in both length and width. Her curly hair was mousy brown. Her blue eyes stared at him. He could see the freckles in her face. She wore a long blue summer dress with a peacock pattern. Why did he notice all of this?

“You’re Greg, right?” She asked. She’d put down the cup and looked at him equally curious. It was hard to see the boy in shorts, in the man wearing the crisp black tailor-made suit. His dark hair was arranged on his head with surgical precision. He was tall. About an inch taller than she was. And she wasn’t short by any means. His dark eyes had gone over her body. She could guess what he’d think. Well, she didn’t need his approval.

“I am. Gregory Kendrick.” He held out his hand. She shook it. “Abby.”

“Abby. It seems you have the advantage. I… Do you live here?” She seemed to feel right at home.

“God, no. I wish. Your grandfather offered me refuge. I live with my mother, a bit further back.” She vaguely pointed to the back of the house. “She’s quite… demanding at times. Your grandfather sometimes did things around the house for us and offered a place to get away from her on occasion. I thought since no one was here…”

“Of course.” That sounded exactly like his grandfather.

“Don’t worry, I brought my own coffee.” Abby was ill at ease. Gregory was everything she was not. He looked successful, rich, big-city-posh. And then there was her, in her cheap summer dress. Nearly penniless, friendless, living with her sick mother.

Greg saw the smile on her face. She really had an enchanting smile. Her voice was warm. “I better leave you to it. I suppose you’ll sell the place, right? It’ll go quickly. Houses around here are very popular.” She made to walk down the steps onto the beach.

“Wait.” Gregory stopped her. “It seems you knew my grandfather well. How about another cup of coffee?” It was stupid. He should lock up and go back into town for his meeting.

A bit surprised Abby looked at him. “Sure.”

“I’ve not been here for ages.” He confessed. Abby had made coffee, and together they sat at the kitchen table. She noticed how his hand stroked the wood. You could remove a boy from his home, but never the other way around. They chatted for a while.

“Your grandfather was very proud of you.”

“He was?”

“He talked about you all the time. What a kind person you were. How you used to take care of stray animals around here, and were always the one your friends could count on.”

Didn’t sound like him at all. At least not like New York Gregory. Little Greg maybe. When had he become such a bastard?

“Ah.” She said when he didn’t answer.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked. There was that smile again. The one that told him she knew so much more than she said.

“Don’t worry. We all make our own decisions in life. You really don’t owe anyone an explanation.” Who was this mythical creature, he started to wonder. After processing his first impression of her, he started to notice other things. How open she was towards him.

“You sound like my grandfather.”

“Maybe that’s why we could get along so well. I’m going to miss that old man.” It’s what everyone in town had told Gregory. They were going to miss him. That man he’d seen for the last time at his mother’s funeral. They’d both been in tears and both too stubborn to admit it. Gregory had not planned to stay away this long. Somehow he never came around to visiting. Too much business. Or going to wherever with friends he’d considered his newfound family. Sitting at this table, far away from all of that, he wondered if they really were friends. They’d been all too happy to pat his back and go out on a brawl with him when his wife had left him. None of them had seen him home, had talked to him. None of them had really cared about his hurt.

Again he looked up at Abby, who gazed at him with that same warm smile.

“It’s hard to be here, I can see. Why did you come back? You could have just sold the place off and be done with it.”

Gregory sighed. “I’d not planned to come here.” He admitted.

“Wow, I bet that’s quite rash of you.”

“It is. Why?”

“You don’t strike me as the rash kind of person.”

“I’m not. How about you?”

“Oh, I fly from trouble to mayhem. That’s why I’m poor and live with my mother. Whom I should get back to. She’ll be done with her soap-operas by now and in need of lunch.”

Gregory got up with her. She walked towards the kitchen door when he stopped her again.

“Maybe you can help me.” He wasn’t sure if it was curiosity or reluctance to let her go. She was so unlike any other woman he’d ever met. His ex-wife wouldn’t be caught dead looking the way Abby did. And yet Abby had such peculiar energy over her. Perhaps it was the combination with this house, but for the first time in decades, Gregory had the sense of being at home.

“Anything.” She was equally unwilling to leave. After all Jake’s stories, she had gotten to know Gregory. Abby could see how New York had changed him. Bit by bit she saw the Greg Jake had told her about shine through. He wasn’t happy, she could sense as much. Probably he didn’t even know it himself. Men like him were so busy making a life that they forgot how to live.

Gregory dug up the keys from his pocket. “I know all of these keys. Except for this one.” He held up the small, shiny one. “Do you happen to know…?”

Abby closed in on him. Her hand over his holding the key. Her energy spilt over, and he felt the tingle all through his body. “It’s from a small box in the top drawer of your grandfather’s desk.”

They were so close. Her hand stroked his arm as she stepped back. The urge to reach out and pull her close was nearly too overwhelming.

“I once walked in on him, and he quickly shoved it in there.” She explained. 

Gregory stepped away from her, in the direction of the small room his grandfather had used as study. Abby turned the other way.

“I’m curious, aren’t you curious?” His words made her turn back towards him.

“I am. But this is between you and your grandfather.” She answered.

“I’m certain he wouldn’t mind.” Greg held out his hand, and Abby wasn’t able to resist it. She put her hand in his and followed him.

Side by side, less than an inch of room in between them, they stood at the desk as Greg lifted the beautiful, wooden crafted box from the drawer and put it on the desk. The key slid in, the box opened.

In it was a note, in his grandfather’s elegantly, messy handwriting.

“Dear Greg. I hope you found the treasure you were looking for.” And underneath the note, Greg saw his mother’s wedding ring. He picked it up and looked at Abby.

Then he started to laugh uncontrollably. At first, Abby frowned, right until Greg pulled her close and kissed her.

“One last quest, old man. One last treasure hunt. The greatest treasure of them all.” Greg said happily after his lips had left Abby’s. 

Thank you so much for reading this. I hope you liked it. If you enjoyed this little snippet of a story, please consider donating towards the editing of my novel 'Monday'.

Ghost Talk - Secrets

In her bright pink skirt suit, Tia sat on the edge of her desk and overlooked the room. All the desks in their neat formation, with their photo frames, personal items, office plants and monitors looked a bit like lifeless monsters in their own shadows. She loved it when, on Monday mornings, it all came back to life again.

Loudly she clapped her hands, and the lights sprung on, only moments before the first employees would walk in.

Tia smiled. She loved this moment. The offices filling up with people and the smell off coffee, after the quiet weekend.

Although this weekend had been everything but dull and dark.

Something evil glided over Tia’s face. Hey, she wasn’t a saint. She’d never claimed to be, no matter what other people sometimes said about her.

That Saturday the office had suddenly been the home of two camera teams, and a bunch of guys who called themselves ‘paranormal investigators’. Tia had known they were coming of course. She loved listening in on the manager’s phone calls and meetings. And she had her devious plan ready.

One of the guys, Frank the main host, did a dramatic intro in the main hall.

“This building is supposed to be one of the most haunted modern buildings of the US. So no abandoned hospital or prison tonight, but a fully functional office building. I can already feel an eerie energy surrounding me.”

Tia stared around the hall and saw was nothing but her, the two teams of cameramen, the presenters, and a bunch of people they’d interview.

She followed them around. The first interview was in the cafeteria, where several men had felt a hand pinch their bottoms. It made Tia laugh.

“Do you feel this ghost is malignant to men?”

“Definitely.” The man said. Tia had seen him grope women often enough. And suddenly being pinched in the bottom had to do with a malignant woman? This was priceless entertainment to her.

In the basement, it got more serious. The janitor claimed he had no problem going there though.

“This is where I found her. She’d been here for two days.”

“Leatitia, one of the ghosts that’s supposed to haunt this building?”

The janitor nodded. “They say she killed herself after one of the gentlemen had slighted her. Personally, I highly doubt that. Office romance just wasn’t her thing, you know?”

Frank sighed theatrically. “I guess you knew her pretty well, then?”

From a safe distance, Tia watched them. She didn’t like coming down here.

“Do you think her spirit is still here?”

The janitor shrugged. “I’ve never noticed anything like it, but it’s undeniable that weird things are going on. Missing items suddenly turning up on Monday morning, big mistakes just averted because of some unexplainable intervention. Haunted? Maybe. But I doubt if the ghost is of ill will.”

Tia couldn’t help herself, she’d liked the janitor. He had always been so kind to her. To see him here made her feel as sad as he was. In a reflex she moved up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. Unconsciously he put his over hers.

“What’s that?” Frank suddenly asked, in a tone that made to imply the heavens had opened up.

“What?”

“Your hand? What are you doing?”

“Oh, nothing. Just a tingle.”

“Damn,” Tia thought. She’d not wanted to intervene so soon.

To distract them, she got up the stairs and slammed the door at the top shut. That should get their attention. Malignant ghost her ass.

She’d been watching the proceedings all day, had kept from interacting any more. That night in the pitch black it would be much more fun, she had decided. It gave her time to plot and plan her little funny and vengeful adventure. She’d never get a better opportunity than this. They wanted drama and to be shocked, and Tia had some excellent tricks up her sleeve.

Despite demands being made on ghostly inhabitants, none appeared for the remainder of the day.

It grew dark and quiet. The crew had had dinner in a restaurant across the street. Tia had watched them and patiently waited for them to return.

The janitor locked them in. “Have a pleasant night, gents!” He wished them cheerfully. The main power switch had been turned off for that one night. Or so they thought….

The crew made their way up to the office on the third floor first. That’s where most activity was, according to the interviews. The room was quiet now.

“We are calling out to the ghost of the girl who supposedly killed herself. Leatitia, are you here?” The voice sounded commanding.

Tia sat on the edge of her desk. It was her favourite spot, from there she could see to all the corners of the room.

The person using the desk these days had given up on trying to put stuff in that spot. It had been shoved aside every morning, by the cleaners she assumed.

Even in the dark, Tia could see her bright pink skirt. She loved this suit, although she’d never worn it. She had been scared to stand out, scared to be noticed. Sweet, serviceable, flexible, she was the person who took care of everything. She’d not changed all that much. Apart from that little thirst for vengeance and adventure.

She let the guys move around for a while, right until they were about to give up.

She clapped her hands and all the monitors in the room turned on at once.

“Goodnight, gentlemen.” The screensavers on all of them read. It had taken her quite some time to get that done. And it would take her even more time to restore later. Who cared? The shocked faces were all worth it. And what else was she going to do anyway?

“Dude, what’s happening?” Dave, the second host, said with a wince of fear in his voice.

It would be so easy to lead them to the gold right now. Tia wanted to have more fun first, though. Playing around with them for a while would make the dramatic impact so much stronger.

Tia clapped her hands again, this time manipulating the climate control into pushing cold air into the room.

“Crap, can you feel that cold air?” Frank asked his team. They confirmed by nodding and mumbling. “Leatitia, is this you doing that?” Frank asked as he shivered. “Cold air is usually an indication of spirit life being around.” He explained to the camera in that same dramatic voice he always used.

He held something in front of him that he’d pointed out to her earlier. It was meant as a device ghosts could speak into, to be understood.

Calmly Tia slid off the desk and walked over to them. She checked their equipment and made one of the things wheeze and flash.

Startled the crew stepped back. “Damn, there’s a lot of activity here!” One of them yelled. “The meter is going berserk.”

Getting close to the sound recording device, Tia clapped two times. Then bent towards it and spoke. “Evil. Basement.” She couldn’t help herself. These guys were here for some action, she’d give them action. Good thing they didn’t hear her giggle though.

“What? What’s in the basement?” Frank demanded to know. Tia knew very well how to make herself heard, without the aid of devices. She let out a hard manic laugh, before slamming the door shut on them.

The fall out was terrific. They were swung back and forth between fear and fascination. The cameras were turned off for a few minutes so they could discuss their options. They’d not had this much real activity ever. Most of it was caught on tape, Tia had made very sure of that.  

Most haunted, her ass. If there’d be any ghosts, she’d know about them. After wandering around here for so long, she knew everything about this building.

Frank wanted to go to the basement, while two of his fellow crew members politely bowed out. It was too much and too real for them to handle. They hung back in the main entrance hall.

When Frank came down the stairs, Tia gave him a little push backwards. Not hard enough to make him fall, but enough to make him believe, that something tried to stop him from going down there. For the big finale, she needed him as on edge as she could get him.

She also made something in the dark distance of the basement rattle. This is where the archives were, as well as a meeting spot for office couples who didn’t want to be caught with their pants down. When she’d said she had to go down into the archives to look something up, she’d meant it. It had not been an invitation, as her boss clearly had believed.

Frank’s responses were priceless. More and more, his fascination made room for fear. His voice gave so much away, even if he did an outstanding job in trying to cover it up.

With a rush, Tia moved passed him, so he felt her cold energy swoosh by.

“Are you here? Who’s there?”

“Secrets.” She yelled through the room in a low voice. In the echo of the room, no one could make out if it was a male or female voice. By playing with the wiring, she made a few light bulbs flash on and off. It fit in nicely with the electrocution scheme.

“Who is this?”

“Evil.” She could toy a bit longer, she decided.

“Did you kill yourself here?” That was the question she’d dreaded. For a long time, she’d not remembered what had happened. One moment she’d been arguing with her boss, the other moment she’d lain there with the janitor looking at her body. That kind janitor, he’d been as shocked as she was. She’d so much wanted to comfort him when she saw that.

To give herself time to think she whirled through the room, creating some other noises. Somewhere in the back, she threw over a stack of paper. She immediately felt guilty towards the poor intern, that would have to go sort it out later.

“How many of you are in here?”

She looked around. She, Frank, a cameraman, a sound guy.

“Four.” She answered in the same dark voice she’d used before.

“Why did you lead us here?”

“Secrets.”

“Are you haunting the poor people in this building?”

“Secrets.” And then her laugh again. They were getting more serious, and Tia wanted to have more fun. This was after all her finest hour. After this everyone would know who she was. And more than that, everyone would know what he had done to her.

She straightened out her pink skirt. One of these days she really should thank her best friend, for having her cremated in this thing. At least she got good wear out of it now.

The crew remained behind when Tia was long upstairs. When they came back to the main hall, the coffee in the machine was brewed and ready for them.

“Did you do that?” Frank asked a member of his crew. “No. Look here.”

Frank looked at the screen of his co-host and saw a bright pink blur move passed the coffee machine as it sprung into action.

“Shit, we have a coffee making ghost here?”

The coffee had somewhat settled their mind, about their ghost being genuinely evil. If she wanted to hurt any of them, she’d had ample opportunity.

More noises came from upstairs. They ran up to the third floor with their camera’s still rolling.

The lights in the office at the back were turned on. They saw some drawers open, at the desks on their way through the room. Someone had frantically rummaged through them. “They weren’t open when we were here earlier,” Frank said in a grave voice. Cautiously they made their way through the room, towards the back. The monitors still emitted their message. Tia had not had time to change them.

The door was a bit ajar. The guys squinted at the bright light on the other side.

Frank pushed through. The desk was a mess, all papers had been shoved off of it, the drawers were torn out, and the heavy desk chair had been thrown through the room. Someone was clearly pissed off.

Written in bright pink lipstick on the window, they could clearly read the message. The two lipsticks it had taken were still on the white windowsill underneath.

Calmly Tia watched them as they took in her message.

“Secrets.”

“Yesterday the case of the death of Leatitia Reading, who passed away six years ago, in what was believed a suicide has been reopened. New evidence has made it clear the death was most certainly a homicide. Her former boss has been arrested on suspicion of the act. According to an anonymous source within the company, Leatitia had accused him of sexual harassment before.

Leatitia, or as her co-workers and friends called her Tia, was a gentle woman. She had a friendly demeanour and was always the first to help out. In general, she didn’t stand out much. Her body was found electrocuted in the basement of the offices she worked at, on a Monday morning. She’d been there since Friday night when she stayed behind at the office to work finish up on some work.  

As the case is still under investigation, the police will not provide further commentary. Paranormal investigators, Frank and Davy, claim to have discovered this new evidence. A special of their show ‘Ghost Talk’ on this scary night, will be aired at Halloween.”

Tia stood at her desk and read the article on the screen. It made her smile.

Two birds, one stone, she decided. Then she saw something happen down the room. She rushed passed the desks and could just stop a co-worker from falling over.

“Thanks.” This person said in general. They had worked with Tia around for so long now, they were no longer startled when things like this happened. The most haunted modern building in the US? No way. Just one ghost. Malignant? Only to those who deserved it. To the rest of them? Friendly, gentle, helpful, and maybe a little evil. Good evil. Kind evil.

A Jet of Water

This is a story from 'The Pharmacist's Cabinet', which is basically a collection of random short stories I wrote at several CampNaNo's.  

A Jet of Water

Adam turned around the corner to cross the square. He had a few hours to kill before he had to be back. Seeing how warm the weather was, he was glad he’d not planned a full day today.

The square was a lively place that afternoon. There was a band playing on a small stage. People were moving around and chatting. In the fountain Adam saw kids play, splashing the water all over the place.

And to his surprise, a woman. She was tall, wore a light yellow dress that sat just over her knees. He’d seen her before, several times, but never this free and happy. Suddenly he wanted to be part of her happiness.

He looked down at his own attire. A black T-shirt and shorts. He rarely wore shorts, being insecure about his own skinny legs.

Then he looked back at her. Anything but skinny. So many things his friends would call her. He doubted beautiful, confident, and graceful, his thoughts, were amongst them.

At the side of the fountain, he kicked off his flip flops and stepped over the edge into the cool water. It was the most refreshing thing he’d felt that day.

The tall woman turned and nearly fell over when she found Adam walk up to her.

“It looked like so much fun when I saw you. I had to try it.” He excused himself. She was two inches taller than he was. Of course, she’d recognised him in a heartbeat. The very reason she was startled. Her smile was enchanting.

“There’s very little quite like it.” She confirmed.

The band started another song. Something very rhythmic and soulful. Adam couldn’t help it. He took Kay’s hand. “Dance with me?” It was an invitation. As Kay had suspected, she had no defences against him. His energy was too strong and too lovely. That last bit was unexpected. She laughed and took his hand. She didn’t want to think of what it looked like. A domestic elephant dancing with a shorter, skinny guy. All she wanted was to feel. He was very adept at leading her.

As they got closer to the splashing water, he warned her. “Your dress will get wet.” He loved it on her. Once before he’d seen her in a dress. It had been so long it nearly hung on the floor. This one was a lot shorter.

She shrugged. “It’s only a dress, it’ll dry.”

That made him laugh as well. He slightly threw his head back when he did. She stared at his exposed neck. She really shouldn’t. They were incompatible in so many ways. Despite not having actually met, she knew that already.

“I don’t know any other woman who would dance with me in a fountain, without worrying about her dress getting wet.” He said. They still moved. The music was compelling. Kay wasn’t a good dancer, and neither was Adam. They had fun, though. That was the entire point.

“You’ve not been around the right women, then.” She dared counter.

“I think you’re right.” He whirled her around, right under a jet of water. It hit her right on her head and trickled down.

She didn’t twitch. Merely enjoyed the sensation of it on her skin.

Adam had been scared to meet Kay. To find she was not the fun, open, and warm person he’d imagined her. Seeing her here, today, convinced him she was. That, and so much more.

“I can’t believe we’ve never met before.” He whispered.

“You can’t?” There was no way she could know what went on in his head. Usually, she was very adept at reading people. Not this time.

“Why haven’t we met before, Kay?” He wanted to know.

She averted her gaze. Should she answer that she’d avoided it? Through the years she’d met plenty of his friends. Always steered away from him. He was too intense. And she didn’t want to see the look of disdain in his eyes when he stared at her. She couldn’t bear it if he would look at her that way. She’d had enough of those stares to last her a lifetime.

“Kay?” He caught on that it wasn’t a coincidence.

The song was over. Kay stepped away from him.

“Thank you so much.” She tried to pull her hand back. His grip on it tightened. “Don’t leave. Please.” He begged. Startled, she looked at him. He let go of her hand immediately.

“Marry me.” He said. It was out of his mouth before he could help himself.

She tried to assess if he was joking or not.

“Excuse me?”

“I’ve been wanting to meet you for a while. You’re quite elusive.” He was as surprised as she was. Yet it felt right. Having finally met her, he knew she was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

He sank down on one knee. Kay felt the air was suddenly heavy. People were staring at them.

“Don’t make fun of me. I can’t…” She couldn’t find the words.

He grabbed her hand again, to ground her. To focus her attention. “Kay?”

She opened up to him. Deliberately feeling out his energy. Then she started to smile. The warmest smile he’d ever seen.

With a simple movement of her hand, she made him stand up. He wrapped his arms around her.

“Why don’t we try a date, first?” She suggested. “Get to know each other.”

“Good plan.” Pulling Kay close, Adam tenderly kissed her.

There was whistling, and applause. The entire square seemed to loudly revolve around them as they whirled around.

Did this really just happen?

Thank you so much for reading this. Hope you liked it. If you enjoyed this little snippet of a story, please consider donating towards the editing of my novel 'Monday'.

Finn Intro

Good day!
This is the first novel I'm posting here. Since it does not have a proper title yet, it goes by it's second work title: Finn. (the first being NaNo2016-01) Enjoy the read and feel free to let me know what you think.



Finn (synopsis)


After being dumped on the morning of her wedding Finn is challenged with piecing her life back together.
Hurt, but not broken she moves from London back to Glasgow. Closer to her father and the house she grew up in. The old house she was so desperate to get away from when she was young appears to not be ready to let go of her just yet.

Her father has employed the help from his good friend Jaime in an attempt to make the house more comfortable and appealing to a next generation. Clearly Finn isn't going to move back in and take ownership and the old man has no intention to be immortal. The house, creaking with tiredness and secrets is in dire need of an update.

While Jaime knows all about building and woodwork, he needs help from Finn, because she knows about modern and sustainable materials. It's not the building though, that puts up the biggest fight. But the spirits that inhabit it. He'd fought many demons of himself, but seeing Finn and the house go head to head puts a fear in Jaime he's never felt before.