Grave Secret

He knows that I exist. He knows that I follow him.

That is not the secret.

I do not think he sees me, only signs of me. An odd shimmer in the shaft of morning sunlight streaming through the window. Patterns in the streaks of dust on the floorboards that may or may not be footprints. A familiar scent in the breeze, perhaps from childhood, though one long forgotten.

He is not afraid. On the contrary, he is comforted, and he is... curious. He had expected to be alone in his grief, yet now he is not. He talks to the shadows like he would a friend. He tells his stories to the empty spaces, where he believes I would be.

Words, however, have begun to elude me. I still hear his voice, but now I cannot make sense of the sounds. His mouth forms shapes that I can no longer identify. His pen leaves only indecipherable lines and curves that might as well be scorch marks left behind by untamed flames. He speaks, but his message is lost. Lost to death, to grief, to time.

Soon his voice is lost, too.

So I hold on to his image. His face, his smile, his eyes. I commit every detail to memory, for I have become incapable of grasping anything else. Yet that, too, is taken away from me. Darkness comes and smothers me. I am fortunate I do not need to breathe.

Who am I? What have I become?

That is the secret.

E N D

This is my entry to the spooky season bingo challenge, for the prompt Ghosts and Secrets. Come read and write with us!

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Hi! I'm Marie, a Filipino SFFH author and book reviewer currently based in the UK. I’m the co-author of The Prophecies of Ragnarok, a Norse myth new adult urban fantasy trilogy, and I also have several short stories published in anthologies and literary journals.

You can find more info about me and my books, and also subscribe to my newsletter for more content, here. And if you like what I do, please also consider supporting me on Ko-fi! 🩷 https://ko-fi.com/mariesinadjan

Ready for a spine-chilling roadtrip around the UK? Bloody Hell: An Anthology of UK Indie Horror is out now!

The United Kingdom is known for its breath-taking beauty, but even the most idyllic of places can harbour dark secrets. Experience twenty-seven brand new horror stories from British indie authors, each set in a unique location throughout the British Isles. Grab a cup of tea, a scone, and remember . . . they’re only stories.

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If you fancy a short read instead, I have a cozy reimagining of the Norse myths about Hel, but it's just under 70 pages and can be read in one sitting. ✨ Plus there's a swag kit coming soon! Includes a "membership card," a bookmark, a sticker, an origami dog, and an exclusive 500-word story 🫶🏼

All things end, and all must die.

But death is not always the end.

When Geiravor Lokisdottir was stripped of her name and cast out of Asgard, torn from her family and the life she had known, she thought she’d lost it all. But in the shadows of Niflheim she discovers the path to her destiny, and what it truly means to be queen.

This is a prequel short story to THE PROPHECIES OF RAGNAROK trilogy by Meri Benson and Marie Sinadjan, and a retelling of the myths involving Hel, the Norse goddess of death and the queen of the underworld.

For a spooky season novel, why not check out Hotel Fen? The Shining meets Norse mythology in this tale of star-crossed romances, ancient prophecies, and revenge.

Are you ready for the vacation of a lifetime?

Victor has always had a passion for Norse history and mythology, but after hitting a dead end with his book on valkyries, not even that passion is enough to move him forward. Just when he's ready to abandon the project, he receives an email: he's won a free trip to Hotel Fen, a remote vintage resort in the Scandinavian Mountains.

Silje has always felt that her life was fairly unremarkable. She cares deeply about people and that has led her to find her purpose at a nursing home in Oslo. When a resident dies and leaves her an all-expense paid vacation package to Hotel Fen, however, she takes the opportunity to experience something different.

It all starts innocently enough, with a little meet-cute in the hotel elevator that takes forever to arrive on their floor. But the longer Victor and Silje remain together, the more dangerous the hotel becomes, and the more they question where reality ends and the impossible begins.