Prompt: write a short story by using all elements of the following format:
A ghost is a [living noun chosen by someone else]. [write a description of this ghost in the form of field notes]
My first ghost was [relationship word chosen by someone else]. [write a q&a that sets and subverts expectations in some way]
To touch a ghost is to reach into your own [organ chosen by someone else]. [write a paragraph exploring this statement].
No matter how much you want to hold onto them, ghosts always [verb chosen by someone else]. [write a short anacdote about a character]
My last memory of my [relationship word from above] pre-ghost mode was... [write a short description of this memory]
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i. A ghost is a Rhododendron
{Descp. Difficult to see. Often lives in the woods around other ghosts. Does not move far from its origin point. Poisonous if ingested. Abilities: Confuses travelers of their direction, rattles in the wind to disorient prey. Weaknesses: Fire}
ii. My first ghost was my Mentor.
What did they teach you?
I think the first thing he learned is how a body is buried. One less person on the planet and they will never be found again. He always said over and over that the key in life was to be precise and in control. This was the same. He taught me that men, when they think they are in control, think they will stay in control. But those weren’t words he shared with me. He taught me that by having the audacity to be surprised when he was on the pointed end of my knife.
iii. To touch a ghost is to reach into your own kidney.
Ghosts are supposed to hold all of the bad things that you did so that they can exist in the world even if you forget. It’s supposed to help the world run better but if you were to reach into your kidneys you’d only find the toxins that were supposed to kill you. They save you but at what cost to themselves?
iv. No matter how much you want to hold onto them, ghosts always tear.
Aleksandir went into the woods last night all alone the way you’re taught not to if you’re a girl or queer or a person of color or disabled. But he’s none of these things so he went so no one else would have to. He tried to find our ghosts because he didn’t know that you have to pretend they don’t exist. When he walked back his eyes were kinda still and glassy like he’d be crying and if he hadn’t been in one of his no-talking moods he’d probably have admitted to it too, but instead he just sighed because he wasn’t able to get the ghost back and he didn't know yet that it wasn’t his fault.
v. My last memory of my mentor pre-ghost mode was…
Oh-hoh it was glorious.
We walked through the woods along the trail and he thought he was going to show me the time capsule he buried, the one with the forty thousand dollars - forty thousand dollars that would have been so nice if they were mine because then I could do whatever I wanted and I could finally be no longer trapped in this town, but they weren’t for me they were for the future, and he thought he was trusting me to look after it’s location.
So when we got to the part of the woods where the trees would muffle the sound I shot him and I stabbed him and I took it, and he was left there alone because I found the box and I set myself free.
