Ghost Writer

You’ve likely heard of a ghostwriter; a writer hired to take another person’s ideas and write them into a book, for which the other person will receive credit. But, you haven’t likely heard of any ghost writer like this one.

Since childhood, Clark Wood had aspired to be a successful author. He’d always had an eloquent turn of phrase, which allowed him to spin nearly any simple narrative into an intriguing story with ease. The only thing Clark lacked was a source of inspiration for the stories he would write.

Though his family had always managed to make ends meet, it had taken long hours of hard work from every member of the family to be able to get by, and in spite of their best efforts to be frugal, there wasn’t often much income left over for anything else.

With little else to do in his spare time, Clark had become an avid reader and discovered his love of literature and storytelling. But he was a loner, he lived in a crowded industrial city, and the austerity of his personal lifestyle had left him without many original ideas to write about in the realm of fantasy and adventure that he so admired.

So, without any source of literary inspiration in this world, Clark decided to look to another. His forays into Gothic literature had taught him a bit about the occult, and he wondered if someone from the other side might be willing to grant him an interview.

One evening, he went to an old abandoned building, bringing paper, freshly sharpened pencils, a candle and a few matches. Having read about the divination method of automatic writing, he hoped to return home with some interesting stories written by spirits themselves.

Clark lit his candle, prepared his writing implements, and began to meditate. It wasn’t long after he’d reached a state of trance that he realized there was a woman sitting in front of him. Clark was forthcoming about his dream of becoming a successful writer and his hopes that she would be willing to share her life story with him, and to his excitement, she readily agreed.

Her name was Briar Berry, and she was his same age. She’d lived most of her life in the rugged wilderness of the West Coast, before relocating to the East with her parents shortly before her death. She had numerous incredible stories to share of her personal adventures, from escaping wildfires to surviving attacks from wild predators, as well as mystical legends passed down to her by Indigenous American friends. But what amazed Clark most of all, because of the sheer coincidence, was that Briar had wanted to become an author, only she’d never learned to read or write.

She explained how, once she had relocated to the East coast, she had planned to start learning how to read and write so that she could someday get her stories published. However, shortly after she and her family had arrived in the city and found an apartment to rent, she’d fallen to her death down a faulty staircase. The building was condemned soon thereafter; the same building where she and Clark sat speaking at that very moment.

With the revelation that they desired the same thing and collectively possessed the means necessary to achieve it, the two made a pact to realize their shared dream together under the pen name Briar Clark, in honor of their collaboration.

Clark came out of trance to find that his candle had burnt out, but once he’d struck a new match he found that everything Briar had told him was summarized on the pages in front of him.

Clark soon began frequently visiting the abandoned building, whenever he had free time, to work on stories with Briar. As time went on and the writings of Briar Clark gained more and more fame, Clark’s increasing wealth afforded him even more free time. Together they wove numerous enchanting tales of witchcraft, spirits, and adventures in wild and dangerous places. Over the years, the pair became the best of friends, spending many of their visits just sharing their lives with one another.

Then one day, at the height of their fame, Briar told Clark that she was ready to move on. Having achieved everything she’d ever wanted, she felt her life was complete, and she was ready to cross over from the corporeal realm. Clark, too, was ready to move on, but assured his friend that he would never forget her. The two embraced, and to Clark’s astonishment, he found that Briar felt as whole and alive as any corporeal person. As he came out of trance, he found that she’d written him a final message.

Having parted ways with his writing partner, Clark was ready to retire. He was an old man now and there was no longer any reason to stay in this crowded city. He moved out to the West Coast to live out the remainder of his days in the beautiful country. For the rest of his life up until the day he passed, soundly asleep in his bed, he wore a locket containing Briar’s final letter to him.

The letter only said, “Thank you.”