A writing teacher offered this prompt; to write fiction (or otherwise) of a presence who came to sit at your dinner table, at the seat reserved for expectant, difficult-to-see guests. This is a popular prompt offered by many writing teachers. During Samhain, when summer harvests are over and the earth goes into transition for autumn, it is rumored that the veil is thin between the physical world and the spirit world. This period is optimal for cross-overs, and the reason why plates are set out for guests.
Halloween, on October 31, is in the season of Samhain. In fact, there are assumptions that Halloween has vague origins and connections with Samhain.
Even for non-believers, there are mourners who maintain their custom of reserving a seat and plate for a beloved, deceased person. They believe the departed might join them. There are also bereaved relatives who maintain their beloved departed’s bedroom, exactly the way it was, during the user’s lifetime. Apart from the belief that the dead may visit, this practice also pays tribute to the dead one.
Broken Foot and her associates, meaning the rest of the Body, had read this prompt on several websites. She didn’t write on it, until she had a jarring experience.
Broken Foot heard the creeping and crackling sounds of a presence walking across the parquet floor in the early morning hour of September 12 2026. In her part of the world, the hot summer could be ending as cooler weather has started rains.
She thought the mysterious visitor was a rare and one off visit.
In the early dawn of September 18, she heard something creak or made a sucking sound, at a corner, where a near empty chair stood. It was a chair used as a place holder for clothes and odds and ends. It seemed the Thing sat on the chair. Broken Foot had never really seen or heard first hand of supernatural beings sitting on her chair. Many years ago, an aunt had related her experiences of seeing souls sitting on the sofa in her home. Of course, at that time, Broken Foot had not come into being and she was still uninjured, Healthy Foot.
Although the original intention of the chair was for placing clothes and odd things, the invisible people are known to use physical furniture.
Broken Foot made a mental note to tell the Body to remove their personal belongings from the chair and leave it empty. It is creepy to have somebody sit on your chair with your things still on it.
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