Photo courtesy – Bjorn Rudberg
Model Playmate
Word Count: 102
Oh my god, she did it again! Milton breathe-slumped and rolled his eyes. He didn’t mind Penny playing in the basement, but how many times did he have to tell her not to touch the model? Too many, he thought, tweezing the house back into its rightful location. And why did it always appear in this spot? Milton shrugged; eight year olds.
Upstairs, Milton’s wife felt ready to purge their daughter’s room of her belongings. It had been a difficult year but the time for grief was over. She worried about Milton though; he seemed convinced that Penny still existed.
Spiritual Biscuits 
Nice one! I wonder which of them is right and which is wrong.
Could there be some kind of middle ground?
Only middle ground I can see is there is a ghost moving his model, but it isn’t who he thinks it is… which turns out to be way creepier!
Oh! Ok…wasn’t sure who you meant to be right and wrong. I see Penny as a ghost moving the pieces. 🙂
I meant either there is a ghost and he is right, or he’s off his rocker and she is right. Could go either way!
You’re right, of course. Me tired. 🙂
It actually does look like it belongs on a model train set or something, doesn’t it? 🙂
I tried for a minute to see it for what it was, but it just looked too much like a miniature house in a train set town. 🙂
Oh, how completely heart wrenching! I definitely wasn’t ready for that last line. Well done.
Thank you!
There has to be something unresolved Penny is telling Milton. I think Milton need to find the real house… He’s needed there… Has to be the reason.
Sad and possibly spooky. I’m interpreting this in one of two ways – either he’s moving the model himself and convincing himself it’s Penny, or Penny’s haunting the basement.
Great story!
Poignant but disturbing at the same time.
The mother’s loss is clear, the father’s inability to accept also. Grief takes us all in different ways. One thing that stood out for me was the line ‘the time for grief was over’ – this just felt a little harsh and final, as if there would be no more remembering either.
Grief taking the form of delusions…. sad to be overwhelmed to the point of losing reality.
It must have been a terrible ending to have pushed him over the brink – or he was that fragile to begin with..
Randy
Dear Brit,
How terribly touching. An imaginative use of the prompt. Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Very well written. Fitting two different POVs into one piece isn’t easy but you managed it, and gave us some background into the story too. My thought was that Milton is moving the house himself, but the mystery makes this story so much better
Chills. Up. My. Spine! For real.
Sad and touching. A ghost story with a heart.
Geez! Excellent story even if it’s a sad subject – Seems the Mother is ready to move on and the Father doesn’t want to accept the fact of his daughters death. So very sad and this is probably a ghost story with an 8 year old little girl in the starring role! Good job! Nan 🙂
Ohh … creepy and well written. I enjoyed reading.
Brit, I agree that this repeated behavior by the ghost is for a purpose. There is also the possibility the father is convinceing himself of the ghost’s presence. He still seems to be in mourning if the mother is right, so that’s definitely a possibility. This could go either way. Good story and well written. 🙂 —Susan