Actions

Work Header

Rating:
Archive Warning:
Category:
Fandom:
Relationship:
Characters:
Additional Tags:
Language:
English
Series:
Part 4 of Near-Death Experiences AU (May 2026 Drabble Challenge)
Stats:
Published:
2026-05-04
Words:
100
Chapters:
1/1
Comments:
1
Kudos:
3
Hits:
96

Call for Help

Summary:

May 2026 Drabble Challenge
Day 4: Cup

Despite Sam's worries, there are no ghosts in Woodstone Manor.

Notes:

Hello all! Welcome back to my May 2026 Drabble Challenge attempt! The theme this year is "Alternate Universes" and although the only rule is that you have to use the word prompts in the fics, I decided to lean into the theme and create an AU of my own to set these in! It's a Modern Day/Living AU, although all of the ghosts have had near-death experiences similar to how they died in canon.

I'm not that happy with this one, to be honest. I won't go into detail about my own experiences here but suffice to say they make me extra sensitive to Hetty's manner of death and determined to represent it right, and I just can't squeeze all the nuance I want to into 100 words, at least in a scene with dialogue. If anything, I hope this conveys the eggshells that the loved ones of suicidal people can feel they have to walk on after an attempt.

Work Text:

“Your cup just moved on its own!”

“I shook the table, babe.” Jay squeezes Sam’s hand.

Henrietta’s skittish niece makes goo-goo eyes at her indulgent husband, and Henrietta scoffs. “Samantha, there are no ghosts in this house!”

“Right, Aunt Hetty.” Sam petrifies, and all whimsy leaves the parlor as the three of them reflect.

Henrietta recently attempted to become the mansion’s only ghost. Her sweet niece and her kind-hearted husband would have still come around to tidy the old empty place, but they’d only know her as rattling dishware. A lonely, invisible existence; she supposes she’s glad she avoided it.