Image by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields at http://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2014/03/19/21-march-2014
Front door battered and scratched. Lift the lock while you turn the key. Great location.
Up a flight of stairs. Along a dark narrow corridor. Up a steep wooden ladder.
This was the room for rent.
Small. With one tiny window overlooking the Plaza de la Merced. A bed, a desk and a chest of drawers.
Perfect.
Stairs. Corridor. Ladder. One way in.
Later that night they finally found her. Looked like she’d been trying to push her blackened body through that one tiny window.
Great location. Views of the Plaza. One way in.
One way out.
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Friday Fictioneers is a challenge set by Rochelle Fields where writers around the world create 100 word stories inspired by the one image. For more information see: http://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2014/03/19/21-march-2014/
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Want to read more from Jessie Ansons? Check out my recent blog post called: Why living with a brainiac is annoying.
Jessie Ansons 
Apologies for the dark depressing stories I keep producing! I’ll aim for something more upbeat next week… I promise.
Dear Jessie,
Oooooooh. I can tell this is a week for dark and creepy. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks! I got chills when I read yours too so it must have been the week for it.
Lovely tale Jessie and yes a dark one but well told. I enjoyed this one.
Thanks for the read!!
fabulous view! Great story. 🙂
Glad you liked it 🙂
I was completely drawn in. Well told
Good to hear. Thanks for reading.
That was scary but well written. I would never have rented there. My dad was a fireman. Good description.
Many scary places like this exist and people don’t think twice about moving in, hey? Thanks for reading!
Jessie, good job. Your short, sometimes terse, sentences really set the atmosphere.
janet
Glad you liked it. I’m a big fan of short sentences!
That got a shudder out of me. Truly terrible a fate to befall anyone!
I’m glad it had the desired effect!
Jessie,
and you were selling that place so well. 🙂 Actually, that would be the kind of place I’d be attracted to, but no kidding that only one way in and out is dangerous in an emergency. Great story. I like your narration style.
-David
The quirky unique places certainly have their appeal… shame about how dangerous and impractical they are!
You’ve painted a powerful picture here!
Thanks Riya!
Apparently, NO way out! 😉 Nice job!! I like the writing method at the beginning – snippets of imagery painting a picture. (Apparently “snippets” is my comment word for the week…)
I’ve just started using ‘snippets’ too! I used it in a bio about my blog just the other day. Thanks for the read!
Yeah, snippets is just one of those fun words to use! 🙂
I complain about living on the ground floor, but it has its advantages…
It certainly does. Thanks for reading!
I love your short descriptions reminiscent of an ad for a creepy rental or something. Well-written!
Thanks! I’m glad you got the feeling that this came from an ad. Real estate agents will try to sell anything!
I have nightmares about steep stairs and inaccessible rooms – this story doesn’t help/.
Oh dear! Sorry if I brought it all back! This story did stem from a dream I had myself actually.
A dark mysterious tale. Leaving us wondering. Wanting more. Love it!
Thanks for reading! I find there’s always more in these 100 word stories… almost all of them could end up a full novel if we let them!
Dark and tragic, a cautionary tale. Nicely written.
All my best,
MG
Thanks for the read!
Jessie, you’re an expert at letting the details tell the story. A dark one but well narrated.
Thanks Karen. I noticed a lot of us went dark last week!
Jessie, good story and well told. Love the location of the room to rent. Although it is lacking in emergency exits. Good Tale, well done! Nan
Thanks Nan!
Very well crafted.
AnElephant loves it.
Very glad AnElephant loved it! Thanks for the read.
Oh, so dark, and so well told. I like the symmetry of this, ending the way it begins.
Thanks for reading! I tend to bring all my stories full circle. I like to have them wrapped up neatly.
Great story! The seeds of darkness, isolation and damage were achieved in very few words early in the story which built mystery and suspense. Well done, the ending did not disappoint.
Thanks for reading Maree and for the lovely summary! I should sign you up now for if I ever need a back cover written for my novel…!
Oy! Terrible.
Thanks for reading!
Poor girl, she finds her perfect room with a great view and it turns into a death trap.
Great story!
Thanks for the read!
Dark and depressing – yes, my genre also. I enjoyed this (if that’s the right word to use!).
Glad you enjoyed it!! Haha, doesn’t quite sound right, hey?
Sounds like a hostel I stayed in at the foot of Jaffa Street in Jerusalem. It was very nice, actually, but hard to get to the room … on the roof!
Scary story. Nice!
At least on the roof you might have been able to do some sort of James Bond-leap to another rooftop in a fire! Thanks for reading. I’ve never been to Jerusalem but Jaffa St sounds very interesting.
Oh.. I didn’t see that coming. Great way to end the story.
Thanks for the read. Glad the ending was a surprise!
Tough one. I thought she had found the perfect pad. Clever writing.
Yep, this is a story about first impressions. Thanks for reading!
How sad and you have tapped into the fear of so many of us, that of burning to death. Horrid!
Thanks for reading… hope it didn’t scare you too much!
oooh. I feel uneasy after reading that! well done.
Thank you. Glad my words were able to create an effect.
Chilling and very well told Jessie
Thanks for reading!