I remember life before death. I used to be a world-renowned paranormal investigator in the late 1970’s. Yes, the one and only Claude René Duplantier Guidry. People worshiped me – they took my photos, asked for autographs and even made a painting of me. Years later, that same painting would become my permanent residence.
I had a girlfriend. Her name was Temperance. She couldn’t stand seeing me with anyone else, even when it was just a friend or acquaintance. She was really jealous and over-possessive, yelling at me every night I came home late and sometimes she got violent as well.
So I left her. Finally I was free. I could go out whenever I wanted, wherever I wanted, with whoever I wanted and I did. Every night, I had a different lover and half the time, I didn’t even know their names. I realized one thing – the monogamous life was not for me.
Temperance, however, was still obsessed with me and proceeded to follow me around wherever I went. I even got a restraining order against her, but she still managed to show up every now and then. Even in my last moments, after I was crushed in one of my lovers’ murphy bed, I saw her in the corner of my eye. Seeing me in someone else’s bed drove her over the wall. She had a cardiac explosion, which killed her moments after me.
The house I lived in was haunted. Nobody wanted to deal with the specters floating around the place, but I didn’t mind. Sure, the evil, vengeful spirits would keep coming back and they really got on my nerves, but the friendly, peaceful ones were delightful and always put a smile on my face. After my death, the house was abandoned for several decades – until the Rivers family finally bought the house and moved in.
They were happy-go-lucky Bohemian folks who seemingly didn’t mind living in a haunted house, except the daughter, Rain. There was something different about her. Unlike her parents, Rain was pale skinned, wore dark clothing and was sad all the time. I could sense that she was a medium, like me, and the spirits really brought her down. She wasn’t afraid of them – she just felt horrible about how they died and that they couldn’t go to rest in their afterlife and that she wasn’t able to give them that peace they desperately sought.
So I showed and introduced myself to her. I thought that maybe all she needed was a helping hand; a guide if you will. I helped her perform séances and showed her how to deal with the dead. Eventually she lightened up and we got to know each other better. When Rain was a toddler, she would tell her parents about “invisible” people who talked to her about their lives. No one believed her then and thought that she just had a wild imagination.
A few years later, she created a séance circle at school and people knew something was up. They called her a Satanist and she was expelled from the school. Her parents had to home-school her and she felt very alone. She was never truly alone and sometimes she had dead relatives who kept her company, but she missed having real human contact. She felt like an outcast and became completely miserable.
When she was nearly finished with high school, she and her parents moved to Willow Creek and she tried to fit into society again. But she was home-schooled most of her life, always stuck at home. It was hard to adapt, especially in a new town with strange faces. But she trusted me.
We started to form a romantic relationship after she graduated high school and later she became a freelance paranormal investigator. I didn’t join her on the job, but I was always anxiously waiting for her at home. We were very happy together, enjoying every moment in each other’s presence. Even her parents were happy that their daughter had someone special in her life.
But that happiness didn’t last long. One evening, Temperance showed up out of nowhere. She made the Rivers’ lives a living hell and it had a huge toll on our relationship. Eventually Rain couldn’t take it anymore and ended things with me. The family decided that it was best to move out and find a new place.
So now I’m all alone again, with my past haunting me every second in this gloomy mansion. At least until it gets a new owner.
Author’s Notes: Thanks for reading! This is my entry for the Monthly SimLit Short Story Challenge this month, organized by LisaBee, EA Game Changer for The Sims 4 and fellow SimLit writer. The theme of this month is “new beginnings”.
I kindly invite you to please read all the stories entered for this challenge at the end of the month and vote for your top three choices in the Veteran category. Your support would be greatly appreciated.
Credits:
Households and builds:
(Male) Bases w Paranormal CAS by lisabeesims
(Female) Bases w Paranormal CAS by lisabeesims
Tiny Living Micro Reno by lisabeesims
Duplantier Dwelling by Doctor Ashley (can be found in the game library if you purchased Paranormal Stuff)
Divan the Simmer's SimLit Blog 