2024 February Flash Fiction Challenge: Day 8

For today’s prompt, write a story about a ghost finding a new purpose in the afterlife.

Remember: These prompts are just starting points; you have the freedom to go wherever your flash of inspiration takes you.

(Note: If you run into any issues with posting your story, please just send me an e-mail at mrichard@aimmedia.com with the subject line: Flash Fiction Challenge Commenting Issue.)

Here’s my attempt at a story where a ghost finds a new purpose:

The Ghost of Apartment 5B

She died in May. She blinked—there was snow on the ground. Her apartment had been cleared out, her knick-knacks and pairs of underwear and years of hoarded teaching materials vanished. She was drifting. She wasn’t sure what came next.

A family moved into the space that was once hers. They had a young boy around 8; her favorite age, still so silly and open. But this boy was quiet, anxious. It took her a while to understand why.

When the boy’s father put a hole in the wall with his fist, the ghost knew what her new purpose was.