Welcome to my offering for The A to Z Blogging Challenge 2018.
My theme this year is Ghostly Inspirations:
a collection of spirits that have been prompted by my encounters with places and times. Some are spooky, some more about atmosphere. I'll be describing each inspiration and the phantom that came to my mind, and then I will share a drabble, which I hope will entertain. :)
Disclaimer: The places and experienced I have used for my inspiration are real, but my ghosts and drabbles are complete fiction, linked to nothing and no-one, alive or dead. When writing about my inspirations, I may have changed names and obfuscated specific details to 'protect the innocent' :).
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Q is for Quiet
Inspiration:
When I was studying for my PhD, our entire department drove from the South of England up to Glasgow for a robotics conference. On the way home, we stopped off at Loch Lomond. It was sunset, and everything was incredibly still. I stood on a jetty which took me out a little way over the loch, and I stood there, disconnected from the land behind me, looking onto the glassy water that was reflecting the deep orange sky. After a hectic conference where we spent two days encouraging school children to get interested in robotics, that moment was one of the most peaceful of my life.
Ghost:
When I was studying for my PhD, our entire department drove from the South of England up to Glasgow for a robotics conference. On the way home, we stopped off at Loch Lomond. It was sunset, and everything was incredibly still. I stood on a jetty which took me out a little way over the loch, and I stood there, disconnected from the land behind me, looking onto the glassy water that was reflecting the deep orange sky. After a hectic conference where we spent two days encouraging school children to get interested in robotics, that moment was one of the most peaceful of my life.
Ghost:
Jock was the barman at Loch Lomond Marina for 28 years. He enjoyed his job, and was always an ear for any patron who needed to talk. When he had pains in his arm during a shift, he ignored it and dropped dead in the car park as he was on his way home. This didn’t bother Jock much, and when his ashes were scattered off the jetty close to the Marina, he decided to stick around in case anyone else needed a good listener.
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Hug
Hands in her pockets, she was standing at the end of the jetty, staring into the water. Jock moved up behind her. Her head came up a little, but she did not turn.
“Jock?”
“Hello Katy.”
Katy smiled but her eyes remained on the water.
“I miss you mate.”
“I’m still here.”
“But I need a hug.”
“Close your eyes, hen.”
She obeyed.
“Think back...July.”
Katy nodded.
“Nicko being a bastard again.”
Katy sighed, wrapping her arms around herself.
“You hugged me so tight.”
Sigh became sob. Jock stood close until Katy was cried out.
“Thanks, Jock,” she whispered.
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“Jock?”
“Hello Katy.”
Katy smiled but her eyes remained on the water.
“I miss you mate.”
“I’m still here.”
“But I need a hug.”
“Close your eyes, hen.”
She obeyed.
“Think back...July.”
Katy nodded.
“Nicko being a bastard again.”
Katy sighed, wrapping her arms around herself.
“You hugged me so tight.”
Sigh became sob. Jock stood close until Katy was cried out.
“Thanks, Jock,” she whispered.
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Other paranormal and spooky stories by Sophie Duncan.
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You made me cry! What a lovely drabble.
ReplyDeleteTasha
Tasha's Thinkings - Movie Monsters
A sweet drabble :-) Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi Sophie = so clever and to set it up at Loch Lomond ...where you'd just been - no wonder after all those kids ... the Quiet was the good life - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteAwww. Jock is such a sweetie.
ReplyDelete~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
My A to Z’s of Dining with IC
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author