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midnight_medusa t1_j80lk4f wrote

Martha's husband used to deal with the rentals, and she liked it much better that way. But since he had so unfairly died before she did, it was now her responsibility to tend to both the properties and the tenants.

Now, Martha had always known that she isn't exactly "good with people." She had been told by everyone that ever knew her that she was difficult, abrasive, and overall unfriendly. This last descriptive marker made her feel more proud than she let on. You see, Martha has always enjoyed arguments and overall unpleasant conversations. They make her feel a light inside her soul, like a warrior on a battlefield, two arrows stuck in them raising their sword for the final kill.

It thrilled her, the art of the argument. But, when having to conduct herself in a more professional setting Martha had always let her rabid-dog-like conversational skills run in full capacity and it had resulted in multiple firings and a few annoying court proceedings afterwards.

Martha pulled the curtain back a little more to get a better look at the small rancher-style home that was located across the street. Some part of her did love that home. She had initially picked it out for her and her husband to start a family inside. But Mark thought it was beneath him, and so he purchased the far larger and nicer home across the street and gave Martha a rather unhappy surprise when, on moving day, he blindfolded her and revealed that this hunk of junk was her "real" new home.

Martha was devastated and she chose to show this emotional distress by sprinkling little offences or inconveniences in her husbands life for the entirety of their marriage. A rock in the toe of his shoe here, a hem sewed slightly off center there, a missing sock that returned only to go missing again right away, and many other little things that made Mark begin believe he was the unluckiest man alive.

Despite it's small size, the rancher had a beautiful interior and three rooms. It would have been more than enough room for a small family and then they could've upgraded when the other three little ones came along. But, alas, Martha never got what she wanted. She always got something, but it was never what she wanted.

And Mark had doomed Martha to a life where she had to watch other people misuse her beloved home and feel entitled to it. She fantasized about just burning the place to the ground and everyone inside.

But she would never actually do that... she didn't think.

Over the many years Martha made life at that little blue rancher as annoying and inconvenient as possible for the unlucky souls who chose to rent from her and her husband. She always started off strong with a nice dress and a batch of freshly baked cookies that she would drop off on moving day. She would play the friendly neighbor and concerned landlord to make her unsuspecting victims feel safe and happy. And then she would take off the mask and let her true colors shine brightly.

Martha liked to remember the "good-old-days" but she was nearly 70 now and her games and inconveniences were far less interesting and complex. She had gone from the perfect performer to the bitter old lady who, due to lack of creativity, chose to be simply awful to deal with and that did cause some annoyance and distress for her tenants, but it wasn't nearly as satisfying for Martha.

Martha's small green eyes darted towards a man dressed in a long black coat who was strolling down the street, pulling a suitcase behind him. Martha smiled, snapped a blurry picture on her old phone, and recorded the incident in her notebook.

Three people had arrived at the little rancher in the last few days, all of them with luggage. Martha could feel something exciting building. It had been years since she had ammo, had some good reason to confront her unsuspecting tenants.

Usually, Martha and Mark wanted the house to be rented by a family, but since a lot of people had fallen on hard times, this last time Martha rented her house to three young women who were studying at the University. Martha grinned a terrible grin. These girls thought they could just move in their boyfriends and friends without her noticing?

Martha saw everything.

With a small burst of energy Martha grabbed her walking stick and put on her best hat. Her old bones were nearly buzzing with excitement. She couldn't wait to see the look on those girls faces when she screamed at them and reminded them that only they could live there. She couldn't wait to put those good-for-nothing girls out on the streets. She hadn't been this excited since Mark fell ill and the doctor told her he was going to die.

She closed her door behind her and squinted in the sunshine. It was a warm day, perfect for a long and unpleasant conversation on a porch. Martha made her way slowly down the stairs and across the street. She had a slight limp due to a bad hip and she had to struggle a little to get up the three stairs that led to the blue door of the blue home.

Martha raised her cane and knocked loudly on the door three times.

After a moment the door opened shyly and the youngest girl with brown eyes and copper hair stood behind it. Her eyes were tired and she smiled weakly at Martha.

"Hi," she said, "Can I help you?"

"I know what you're doing in there," Martha hissed, hardly able to control herself, "I know all about it. Moving in your boyfriends and your friends. You thought you could trick me? I am going to ruin all of your lives." The girl seemed taken aback, but not because of Martha's threat and that angered Martha so she continued, "You don't think I see all the people you've had over in the last few days?!" she held up the notebook for proof, "It's all recorded in here. I just saw a man with his luggage come over. You are in breach of your rental agreement and I will ensure none of you ever get comfortable housing again!"

The girl blinked and opened her mouth only to close it and blink again. This angered Martha. She wanted to scream and fight but this girl was giving her no kindling for her fires. After another long second the girl leaned forwards, looked around as if worried someone else would hear their conversation and said in a tiny voice, "You can see them too?"

Anger erupted inside Martha like a storm crashing against the shore. So this young lady was going to play it like that? Make Martha, the old woman, think she was losing her marbles? How dare she.

"Don't play stupid with me, girl" Martha growled, "I have pictures and evidence. If you think you're being funny you are not and-" The girls eyes went wide and she put her hands up in defense.

"No," she said, "I'm sorry, I'm not mocking you. I-" she turned around, her eyes sweeping the living room before she pushed the door open more and nodded to the side, "You might as well come in."

Martha, looking like nothing more than an elderly toddler on the cusp of a meltdown huffed but took a step inside. Her curiosity was too intense and if she was inside she'd be able to spot these girl's secrets.

The interior of the home was beautiful, original wood floor, a brick fireplace. Martha sighed as her old eyes wandered around her would-be-home. She wished so badly for things to have been different. She could've found happiness if things had been different.

The girl walked towards the kitchen and motioned towards the living room.

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midnight_medusa t1_j80lla3 wrote

"Have a seat," she said, "Do you want any tea?"

"Trying to poison me are you?" Martha snaped, "No, I will be gone soon, once I get the proof I need."

The girl emerged from the kitchen a minute later with a steaming cup of tea.

"Suit yourself," she said lightly, as if defeated. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it's just us girls living here."

"I saw with my own eyes!" Martha said, "All those people arrived but they didn't leave!"

"Do you remember what most of them were wearing when you saw them?" the girl said. "Or any other details about them?"

Martha thought back to the people she had recently seen arriving. They were all smartly dressed, the women wore dresses and then men looked like Mark when he started his first corporate job. Now that she mentioned it, they had been dressed in older fashions. Martha narrowed her eyes.

"What are you saying?" she asked with narrowed eyes. The girl's gaze peeled away from Martha's and fell towards her steaming tea cup.

"I did a bad thing," she nearly whispered, "I-I dabbled with forces I should not have. The other girls haven't been home in weeks because of it and I can't afford this place without their help. But they couldn't live with what I did and I don't blame them."

"Stop talking in riddles," Martha snapped, "You truly take me for the biggest fool around. I know what I saw, I have pictures!" Martha took out her phone and turned the pictures towards the girl whose eyes washed over them briefly. The sides of the girl's mouth lifted slightly.

"My grandma used to tell me how people close to death could see ghosts." the girl gave Martha a pointed look as she took a sip of her tea. "I never believed her of course. But last week I accidently called upon a force that will kill me in a few days. And then the ghosts started to come. They watch me, taunt me, call to me, tell me strange secrets. I promise you Martha, there are only ghosts here."

She let her last words linger and the hair on Martha's arms lifted. She turned the phone towards herself but realized with a cold terror that there were no people in those pictures, just blurry backgrounds captured quickly.

"You mean besides you and me?"

A man walked into the room, the same man with the suitcase. He was almost blurry, or out of focus, or moving too fast for the human eye to catch. He removed his hat and Martha gasped, nearly falling out of her chair which would have been awful for her hip.

"Hello darling," Mark said. "I'm here to take you to the other side."

Martha looked helplessly back at the girl but she was now different. Her eyes were red and her skin pale.

"Like I said," the girl whispered, "There are only ghosts in here."

-End

(Edited to add the "conclusion" to Martha taking pictures)

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iceariina OP t1_j85ghpi wrote

Wow. This is exceptional. Thank you for sharing your talent with me, and everyone else who read.

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andrius-b t1_j80qb3l wrote

> It was a warm day, perfect for a long and unpleasant conversation on a porch

Made me laugh, what a character.

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