The easy way out and the ghost of chance

The easy way

The easy way out and the ghost of chance

Always the hard way. In fact, he was so hard headed his Pa always called him block head. Chance Richards turns away from the window and paces the room. It wasn’t that he was going to be alone again. That ship sailed a long time ago. It was more about learning a new way of doing things. Furthermore, what happens if someone new shows up? Chance, really didn’t like change.

With this in mind, it was his aversion to change, that caused his most recent relationship to fail so miserably. In fact, he was so set in his ways, that even after being asked to leave, he stayed. This isn’t quite the act of defiance it sounds like. While it is true he was asked to leave, he really didn’t have much choice but to stay. Even if he wanted to leave, he couldn’t.

Furthermore, he was now an unwilling prisoner of time. It had been 110 years since the last time Chance Richards strayed away from his home. This home. The one he grew up in. The one he came home to, after the great war. And likewise, the one he returned to, after his funeral.

The Easy Way Out

Chance Richards is a ghost. He doesn’t know how he became a ghost. He has no memory of how he passed. All he knows is that one morning, he was invisible. Unheard, or seen, by anyone. He woke up at home. However, he was in another time. People he didn’t know, lived here now. And for quite some time he couldn’t figure anything out. It was obvious he was different, but he didn’t understand how different.

The easy way

When he finally managed to control something, he began to make many connections. At first all he could do was knock something over. However, even that caused him a great deal of tiredness. For example, the first time he knocked over a vase, he slept for three days afterward. Additionally the well lit doorway, which was obviously the easy way out, became even more visible.

Chance knew it was a way out. He knew it the first time it shimmered into existence. It was shortly after the realization that he was no longer in the world he knew. To his right, and only a few paces away, the door came into being. The door shimmered, and remained visible, no matter where Chance went.

The Ghost of Chance

After a few more years Chance became more adept at controlling things. Time passed differently for him now. Sometimes, after he takes a small nap, it appears as though many years pass. He shares his old home with the new people that move in through the years. They have no idea he is here. He’s a ghost, so invisible, is his calling card.

He got to know the first few families that lived here. Eventually they aged and moved on. He remained and waited. And noticed the door, to the easy way out. He hadn’t felt compelled to investigate it, at first. Indeed, many years passed while he came to grips with his reality. Similarly he wanted to have some fun before things changed again. That is how he learned to control the things of that world.

He actually got so many laughs from the way he scared people, he spent almost all his time learning new tricks. All the while, the brightly lit door was just to the right, and only a few paces away. It was the easy way, and it felt like home every time he gazed at it. For 110 years he watched the door, while he played tricks, and frightened anyone who came to live at the old house. It delighted him each time he learned a new way to startle the unsuspecting inhabitants of his old home.

The Easy Way Out

Today he has just learned how to levitate a chair. He is certain this will really scare the family that lives here now. His campaign of ever increasing frights is going well. The floating chair will really frighten the wits out of them, and he can’t wait till they get home. The only problem is the brightly lit door. It’s standing wide open today. Furthermore, the opening emanates and glows with the bright light.

Chance feels a beckoning he hasn’t felt before. And when he looks toward the door, he knows it’s the way he must go. The floating chair clatters to the floor. And the light in the empty room flickers briefly. Then all is quiet.


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