Purgatorius Ignis
“Hello, your Ladyship.”
She scrabbles like a cat startled blackbird,
but I’m holding tight to her hand.
“Let go you… beastly urchin!” Her eyes is sad
and weepy like my puppy that had the distemper. She don’t know yet. I can tell.
“Urchin Milady? What brings you to the
rookeries?”
“A man… snatched me… chloroformed me, brought
me here…”
“Bloody nonces. Don’t fret Sweetheart, We’ll
sort the bastard.”
“How? He’s big… he’s been drinking.”
“Where’s he at Missy?”
“Don’t take me back...!”
Panic sets her struggling again but I hang
on.
“He can’t hurt you. No one can. Shhh.” She
calmed some. “Big drunks is easiest, see?”
“Why?”
“Look at your hand.”
“I can hardly... Oh My God...! Am I...?”
“Yeah... Anyway, drunks don’t see nothing, especially
us. He could fall down stairs, out a window, smother in bed. Well?”
“Can we find matches?” She smiles for the
first time.
150 words
@nickjohns999
This story was written for Angela Goff's Visual Dare
Wonderful dialogue!
ReplyDeleteThanks Pirate! I'm conscious that one or two words used may not be familiar to our colonial cousins, but I saw the boy as an East Ender from the Victorian slums of London.
DeleteI understood it all a lovely sinister ending and as Pirate has commented the dialogue was brilliant Nick. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased that the vocabulary was no impediment! Thanks for popping in and taking time to comment Rambly!
DeleteI like this, the introduction to ghost societal norms (woman not noticing she's dead yet, how to take revenge upon the living who wronged you) and her plan to burn him alive at the end :)
ReplyDeleteThanks. Vengeful ghosts seem to have gone out of fashion a bit recently, but, the desire for revenge is right up there with fear and anger as the most powerful human motivations.
DeleteI love your urchin's voice - confident, caring, and so Victorian London (or our perception of it anyway). Love this.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sarah Ann. That was exactly the period that I was aiming for, so I'm pleased that it translated to a real voice for you!
ReplyDelete