Rattle Ghost - a re-telling of Rumpelstiltskin - part2
By JustinTuijl
- 182 reads
Continued from part1: https://www.abctales.com/story/justintuijl/rattle-ghost-re-telling-rumpelstiltskin-part1
Wednesday evening: very late.
Luci spent the whole evening online trying to search for clues as to the name of the man. She tried Google searches. She looked at every app she could think of. Then she scoured forums and social media. Nothing: Rattle Ghost did not exist.
The Facebook profile gave no clues. There was a picture; she hated to look at it. There was nothing else on there, only the name and a picture.
Then she had an idea. She picked up her tablet and called up Tinder. She set her upper age search requirements to the limit and bought the lower one right up. She started swiping through the old men. After an hour she’d found nothing. Then she widened the search area. Another hour of old men went by and she was getting creeped out. Just as she was deciding to give up she did one more swipe, and then another. There he was.
It was the very same picture. She tapped it and his profile came up.
Septimus 77
30 miles away
Nice bloke looking for nice lady.
“Yea right,” she thought. “So I have a first name.”
There was another photo. She swiped over to it.
Yes!
Instantly she recognised the backdrop of where he was in the photo and it looked like the foreground was where he lived.
Wednesday evening: later still.
Luci managed to get across London before the tube and the Docklands Light Railway stopped. She turned out of the station towards the Royal Docks. At the far end was a small marina. Close by the marina was a small piece of land with a small caravan on it. By the caravan burnt a small fire. Nearby on a deck chair warming his hands was Septimus, so called Rattle Ghost.
She stood some distance away and watched him. Shortly he went to the caravan and rooted around. Through the window she could see his laptop with the screen lip up.
Presently he came out with a few sausages on a skewer and attempted to cook them. After he had them cooked, he gobbled them down and he sat with a four pack of Special Brew. By the look of it, he’d had a couple already, and was mumbling to himself as he ate and drank.
“Got her I have. I’ll be Luci Laverne I will. She’ll never get my name she won’t. No more being Rattle Ghost, that’s what she’ll be. No more Septimus Phrogg!!”
Luci walked forward and stood before him.
“Ah ha!”
“Nooo!” squealed Septimus Phrogg.
“I know your name Septimus Phrogg. Got you!”
Septimus Phrogg jumped up and ran to his caravan. As he ran he knocked over the gas bottle connected to the van. Once inside he slammed the door. The gas bottle was in the fire. Luci ran for her life. Just as she reached the edge of the marina there was on almighty explosion. A great waft of hot air hit her and was gone.
She span round to look. There was nothing left of the caravan and a great black sooty mark covered his pocket of land.
“Well, that’s that then,” she said to herself.
She laughed out loud and rubbed her hands together delightedly as she made her way to the night bus.
From my book of short stories: https://amzn.to/35FdPMO
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Comments
Really enjoyed this. Good fun
Really enjoyed this. Good fun and cleverly done. Did you post this last year? I read it then I think, if I remember correctly. Still, good to read it again. :)
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I enjoyed this! I love
I enjoyed this! I love updates of fairy tales. That's their power - they're always applicable! Glad you put this one back on here.
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