“Dammit!” She slammed through another stack, and slid the entire mess of books aside. Some toppled from the pile, featureless cloth covers catching up dust and disappearing under the wooden bench.
Their gold cursive lettering glittered, silently laughing as she muttered, “They all look alike!” She spun and sat, hard. She’d been so careful, hiding the book of tickets inside a specific volume. “Can’t remember which one.”
The grandfather clock ticked relentlessly toward midnight. Outside the leaded-glass windows, the night’s torrential rain pressed down.
He always arrived, needle-toothed, at midnight.
With no ticket, the ferry would leave without her.
© Liz Husebye Hartmann (2023)
Carrot Ranch Prompt(06/06/2023): In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about a lost book (or many). What is the book’s significance? Who lost it, or who found it? How does this element fit into a poem, memory, or a specific genre? Go where the prompt leads!
Valley of the Trolls 
Tick-tock! Nice and spooky, Liz. I really liked this story!
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I’m glad Colleen! That’s why I do it!
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Same here. I always like a bit of mystery or spookiness.
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You do such a great job of creating suspense!
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Thank you!
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You had to put in that needle-toothed part, didn’t you?
Just cant resist!
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Hey! It’s a classic Gothic Horror bit.
Read Angela Carter’s Bloody Chamber for the real deal! 🖤🖤
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Ooh, just the thought! And you pull it off so chillingly well! 👀
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Oh I hope she finds the ticket. Very interesting story Liz
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Time is ticking away…
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😅😅😅
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