“Sadie, are you okay?”
I don’t want to barge into her bedroom, but that’s the most logical place to search. I push open the door, the sight that greets me freezing me in place.
Sadie, on the floor, clad in a silk robe of deep gold. Her face is far too pale. She is far too still. My thumb is on the phone, ready to dial 911. I step into the room, but before I can cross to Sadie, a force surges into me.
The cold envelops me first. This is no sprite. Its presence fills the bedroom with resentment and dread, the air so stale and sharp it pricks the inside of my nose. A trickle of hot blood runs down my lip and the quicksilver taste fills my mouth.
The thing shoves me against the shuttered doors of the closet. The flimsy wood buckles under my weight. I grip the frame and try to regain my balance, my breath, cursing myself for walking into an ambush.
This ghost is fierce and angry. It moans, the sound like an accusation. Then the room is silent.
In the quiet, I glance around. The thing is still here; that much I know. With my coat sleeve, I wipe away blood. My phone is where? I can’t fight this ghost on my own. In fact, I haven’t encountered one this aggressive for a while. I need Malcolm. Sadie needs an ambulance. But first, I need to cross the room to where my phone has landed, next to the vanity.
I’m halfway there when the air shifts behind me. It feels like a gathering storm. I launch myself those last few steps. All I need to do is send a text. The ghost slams into me, the force propelling me against the vanity and its mirror, with all its glass.
The room explodes in shards. My head slams against something hard. I crumple to the floor, lungs searching for air, fingers groping for the cell phone. The moment I reach it, an icy blast sends it skittering away.
My vision blurs both with tears and an approaching darkness. I need my phone. I need to tell Malcolm about this ghost.
But it’s too dark and too cold and my phone is too far away. I close my eyes. I tell myself it’s only for a second so I can catch my breath. But my eyelids are heavy, and the dark washes over me. I taste regret along with the blood in my mouth. What I want is to hear Malcolm’s voice. That feels like the most important thing of all.
About the Author
Charity Tahmaseb has slung corn on the cob for Green Giant and jumped out of airplanes (but not at the same time). She spent twelve years as a Girl Scout and six in the Army; that she wore a green uniform for both may not be a coincidence. These days, she writes fiction (long and short) and works as a technical writer for a software company in St. Paul.
Her short speculative fiction has appeared in UFO Publishing’s Unidentified Funny Objects and Coffee anthologies, Flash Fiction Online, and Cicada. She blogs (occasionally) at Writing Wrongs.
If you enjoyed the stories, please consider leaving a review, no matter how short. All reviews are very much appreciated and helpful for prospective readers.
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Copyright Information
Ghost in the Coffee Machine
Copyright © 2013 by Charity Tahmaseb
First published in Coffee: 14 Caffeinated Tales of the Fantastic, December 2013, edited by Alex Shvartsman, UFO Publishing
Published by Collins Mark Books
Cover and Layout copyright © 2014 by Collins Mark Books
Cover design by Collins Mark Books
Cover art copyright © fuyu liu/shutterstock
Giving Up the Ghosts
Copyright © 2015 by Charity Tahmaseb
Published by Collins Mark Books
Cover and Layout copyright © 2015 by Collins Mark Books
Cover design by Collins Mark Books
Cover art copyright © fuyu liu/shutterstock
The Ghost Whisperer
Copyright © 2015 by Charity Tahmaseb
Published by Collins Mark Books
Cover and Layout copyright © 2015 by Collins Mark Books
Cover design by Collins Mark Books
Cover art copyright © fuyu liu/shutterstock
Gone Ghost
Copyright © 2015 by Charity Tahmaseb
Published by Collins Mark Books
Cover and Layout copyright © 2015 by Collins Mark Books
Cover design by Collins Mark Books
Cover art copyright © fuyu liu/shutterstock
Must Love Ghosts
Copyright © 2015 by Charity Tahmaseb
Published by Collins Mark Books
Cover and Layout copyright © 2015 by Collins Mark Books
Cover design by Collins Mark Books
Cover art copyright © fuyu liu/shutterstock
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Coffee and Ghosts: The Complete First Season (Coffee and Ghosts: The Complete Seasons Book 1) Page 22
