A quote: “The human heart has hidden treasures, In secret kept, in silence sealed; The thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures, Whose charms were broken if revealed.” ~~ Charlotte Bronte

I’ll start with a story …

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Katie’s producer Ted had insisted on meeting even as her filming schedule was fully booked.

Ted sighed, “You haven’t returned my calls about the delays. We cannot afford to breach our contract, Kate.”

“There’s some things I can’t control, Ted. With all the years I’ve flipped houses, I build in contingencies but this house …” she shook her head, “one weird thing after another. It’s spooked some of the subs and I’m scrambling for back-ups.”

Ted rolled his eyes, “Oh, save it for your audience. I have a hard time believing plumbers are spooked by a ‘haunted house’.”

Katie’s angle to separate herself from all the other flippers was to make-over purported “haunted houses”. To redeem them from their past. Even if she had to make up a past to keep the audience watching.

“This one is different. The crews are edgy. Tools are moved, we find supplies hidden throughout the site …”

“Like you haven’t done this schtick before? Ramp it up or the network will cancel us.”

She was still fuming when she got back to the house to find no one there. She walked from room to room in disbelief. Tools were scattered, even the cameras and light equipment still present … what the ever-loving f…?? She stomped to the second floor, grabbing a sledgehammer ready to take out her frustrations in the primary. Screw the crown molding, the vintage wallpaper, the tacky boudoir painting that stared down at her. Katie raised her hammer determined to have it down to studs by morning.

A city crew put up chain link around the house as Ted handed final paychecks to the subs who showed. He couldn’t reach Katie and, frankly, he hoped she’d never show her face again. Leaving him to clean this up?

He glanced up at the second-floor window, a bit freaked by a face like Kate’s but shook his head and it was gone. That’s what anger gets you … seeing things.

Katie was never going to work in this town again.

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Now, it’s your turn.
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. featured image, cropped, Adobe Stock standard license