Our Mantra
The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.
PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bulltot
Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100
TOUR GUIDE AT ROOSEVELT ISLAND
Edith studied the yellowed photograph of a young mother cradling a toddler with dark curls on her lap. She had arrived at Castle Garden from Poland only to be diagnosed with the dreaded disease.
Surveying the overgrown, supposedly haunted ruins, Edith imagined her 19-year-old great-grandmother, stricken with smallpox and imprisoned behind the granite hospital walls.
“Left to die without her child. It must’ve been terrifying,” Edith whispered to the sobbing girl beside her. “But haunted? Nonsense.”
“Iz es itst, grandoter?”
Edith whipped around in time to see Great-Grandma Edith, pockmarked cheeks wet with tears, vanish like smoke through a keyhole.
Note – The translation for the Yiddish is “Is it now, Granddaughter?”
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple 
A dark, sad, and creepy ghost story today, Rochelle. What a marvelous thing the smallpox vaccine was. Both my parents had contracted tuberculosis when they were young and shortly after a vaccine for it was discovered. Both of them pulled through but my dad lost a five-year-old aunt. My mother said the vaccine was so new and strong she broke out in big sores. —- Suzanne
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Dear Suzanne,
Sadly, doctors no longer administer smallpox vaccine in the US. I’m not sure I agree with that one. Although, I adamantly refuse the flu shot year after year. That one I don’t trust.
In any case, I’m glad you liked my story and took the time to say so. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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A haunting tale, Rochelle (sorry I couldn’t resist it)
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Dear Neil,
Nor should you resist. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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It’s much easier reading this dark tale, now that the eclipse has passed. 😉
Well done, as usual. Another interesting kernel of historical interest. 🙂
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Dear Archon,
You know me. I can’t resist an interesting kernel of history. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I could just see and hear the grandma – this was a story with a lot of humour lovely
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Dear Michael,
I’m glad you caught the humor in this piece. It’s there and deliberately so. Light and dark make for a good mix. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2017/08/30/ostracizing-the-self/
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A lovely, creepy tale.
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Thank you, Bettina. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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You do ghostly well. You do everything well, now that I come to think of it. 🙂 Good story, as always.
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Dear Sandra,
Such a compliment from you is akin to receiving a Pulitzer. Thank you. (Buttering my ears to get through the doorway. 😉 )
Shalom,
Rochelle
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🙂 🙂
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That would have been so horrible for the young mother. But it looks like she lives on among the ruins 🙂 Loved your historical fiction, as always.
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Dear Joyful,
I suppose this could be tagged Speculative Historical Fiction. 😉 Thank you for taking the time to read and comment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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In my admittedly all too brief research into the Renwick Ruins, I didn’t read that it was supposed to be haunted. A haunting tale indeed.
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Dear James,
Every once in a while it’s good to haunt. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Boo!
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What a horrifyingly haunting and sad tale you’ve woven for us this week, Rochelle. Just how to top it…that will be a challenge. It is good fodder that fits right into “Gatehouse East” story, perhaps another scene for that one. 🙂 Off to specialist today to see about shoulder!
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Dear Jelli,
Sending up prayers. ❤ Thank you for the lovely compliment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Great piece. I guess there have been plans to turn this into a museum kicking round for four or five decades now. Maybe someday they’ll do it. Dickens wrote about this place, I think.
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Dear Josh,
I think I read about the museum idea. They really should do something with it. I’ll have to check out Dickens. At any rate, I’m pleased as the Dickens that you liked my story. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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All those dreaded diseases that is no longer part of our life. I’m scared that there will be new and old one returning. My father survived TBC as a kid (otherwise no me)… We have grown so confident that diseases are from the past… what especially scares me is the antibiotic resistance that is building, and with no vaccine we are vulnerable once again.
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Dear Björn,
These are my thoughts exactly. It seems to me that since the Smallpox vaccine was so successful, it should be continued. Who’s to say there won’t be another outbreak.
Funny, (and not so funny) I still remember our family doctor back in the early 60’s refusing to prescribe antibiotics for everything. His reason being just what we see happening. A building resistance to them so when they’re truly needed they will be ineffective.
Thank you for taking your time to read and comment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Poor Great-Grandma Edith, just a child herself. Great story.
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Dear Trent,
Sad history indeed. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Very nicely turned, Rochelle. A haunting whimsy that is as light as smoke. I don’t think I want to be a ghost like great-grandma…
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Dear Penny,
Poor Great-grandma is stuck in a horrible time, isn’t she? Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Health warning – sciency bit only for those interested!
Smallpox vaccinations are no longer necessary anywhere in the world because the disease has been wiped out. The only virus left is in half a dozen very high security laboratories.
There are several other diseases that have nearly been eliminated. One of the most important is polio, which has nearly been beaten. Unfortunately, human conflict and religious extremism are impeding the heroic efforts of medical staff to finish the job. (I say heroic, because some of those administering vaccine have been murdered for doing so.
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Dear Penny,
Fascinating and frightening piece of info. Thank you for sharing it.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Such a horrific and devastating disease, smallpox. You can see why people were terrified enough just to lock away sufferers – it killed so many of those who contracted it. Just the thought of being locked up, leaving your child behind.Elizabeth I nearly died from smallpoxI believe, which means the poor woman would have been left with pock marks along with her lack of hair and rotting teeth – what a picture she must have been!
Such a well written tale and you manage to tick the ‘haunting’ box for me in a couple of ways – a ghost that will stay with me 🙂
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Dear Lynn,
I’ve seen a few photos of smallpox survivors. Horrifying indeed. As highly contagious as it is reported to have been I can understand why they would quarantine the sufferers so far from society. Thank you for your kind comments.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Understandable, but a frightening and tragic end for the person with the disease. It’s like the stories you hear about times the Plague hit here in the UK (which of course it did quite frequently for centuries). Stories of entire families – sick and well – being boarded up in their homes and left to either die or survive. The actions of a terrified populace just trying to survive.
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Dear Rochelle,
You do these stories as only you can. I don’t even want to imagine what that poor young mother felt, for the time she was alive. I would think that knowing her daughter was safe would be priority but oh so heartbreaking.
Lotsa love,
Dale
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Dear Dale,
I can’t imagine how this young woman must’ve felt during her final hours. Baby taken. Didn’t understand the language. In pain with fever. Not a pretty picture. 😦 Thank you as always for your encouraging words. It’s always nice to know that stepping out of my comfort zone worked. 😉
Hugs coming your way.
Rochelle
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It must have been most horrible indeed. I just love how you dig these bits of info up and then create fabulous stories…
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A great little spooky, factual, historical story. Loved the end. You write all the stories well, no matter the genre.
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Dear Jan,
You might be a hair biased. 😉 And I’m glad. Thanks, m’love.
Rochelle
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I liked the touch of the supernatural, it added drama to a powerful piece of history. Nicely done Rochelle.
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Dear Iain,
Thank you for such a wonderfully affirming comment. This was a step away from my comfort zone. 😉 Not too far…but away. Thanks again.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I am sure she hung around in the hope she would meet her family one day 🙂
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Dear Dahlia,
In fiction all things are possible. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Oh I wasnt talking about fiction 😉
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I love the way this ended in a somewhat light hearted manner! Delightful as ever Rochelle.
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Dear Keith,
I suppose there’s an element of humor in this ghost story. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Oh my goodness, that sounds like a good candidate for a haunted ruin if there ever was one! And what a chilling twist your story took, nicely done.
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Dear Joy,
The ruins are thought to be haunted. The story needed to go there. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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A partially ruined verdant structure/ fort has more tales to tell.
Ages ago smallpox was a dreaded disease . A haunting story, Rochelle.
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Dear Kalpana,
Smallpox was a terrible disease, I can’t imagine. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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A haunting little tale. Loved the line ‘vanish like smoke through a keyhole.’
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Dear Karen,
So glad you enjoyed my foray into ghostliness. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear “One Crayon” Katy,
You sure have a lot of spooky ancestors. I wonder how many of them ran away from the circus to settle in the midwest? Scary stuff indeed.
Care to try and win a teddy bear? We have them in purple.
Twisted Carnie
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Dear Twisted Carnie,
Apparently you’ve met members of my family. Can you guarantee I’ll win a purple bear. As my bubbe would say, “A shaynim dank.”
Shalom,
“One (purple) Crayon” Katy
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Oh what fun!
A haunting tale, as of course, has been said.
Must be true 😉
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Dear Dawn,
While founded on historical fact, this story is largely fiction. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Yipes! That’ll teach (young) Edith to speak without thinking, at least at a haunted building. I’ll bet she jumped out of her skin! Spooky story Rochelle! I love it.
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Dear Eric,
I think Edith will have a few nightmares after this experience. But I don’t think she’ll ever question the haunting. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks, as always, for the historical info, Rochelle. Always enjoy when you go spooky. Loved the vanish.
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Dear Ted,
It’s kind of fun to wax spooky from time to time. So many things we don’t really understand. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Seems we both went the ghostly route, only yours is a bit more friendly than mine. Honestly though, I’d rather not come face to face with either of them.
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Dear Adam,
I’m not sure how friendly Edith found her ghostly great-grandma. 😉 Not someone I’d want to come face to face with for sure. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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it could be a child’s wild imagination playing out here and edith fell for it. 🙂
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Dear Plaridel,
I suppose Edith could be imagining things…however, I didn’t see her as a child or her great grandmother to be imaginary. 😉 Thanks for coming by.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Once again you write a heck of a story! Great!
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Thank you, Nan. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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vanish like smoke through a keyhole – what a beautiful line! Oh! and at the end of a wonderful story.
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Dear Lish,
I so pleased you enjoyed my ghostly tale. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Wow the pic is spooky and it was fantastic weaving a tale. Your tale was superb as always, the twist in the end literally had me jumping in my seat.
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Great ghost story,Rochelle. I love the humour in-between the sadness. I think that’s one of your special gifts: describe harsh realities but never forget laughter. I’ll never understand why people stuff themselves and their kids with antibiotics and other drugs and balk at vaccinations.
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A sad tale with a creepy twist. Nice 🙂
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Thank you, Ali. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Oh my gosh, I cannot tell you how serious is the case of shivers you’ve just given me. That was absolutely phenomenal.
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Dear Kona,
Happy to send shivers your way. Thank you for such a lovely comment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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My favorite part was definitely the question written in Yiddish! Added a sense of authenticity.
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Dear Sarah,
Glad you liked the Yiddish. A shaynim dank.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Your brilliance transcends genres. What a horrifying tale and written so effectively, Rochelle.
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Dear Neel,
Thank you for your glowing comment. You make my head swell, sir. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Great flash, Rochelle, very creepy and yet sentimental. I love the way you identified that moment when someone says they’ll never do something or believe something, and then something happens that changes their mind…
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Dear Luccia,
I think this trip made a believer out of Edith. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
I promise I did not read your story before penning mine, but they are sadly, oddly, so similar. It was such an intriguing photograph. Initially, I thought that it must be a crumbling castle or monastery somewhere across the pond. To my surprise, I discovered that it is located in NYC! Of course, it’s gruesome history led me to write my story. And then I read yours. So strange.
I do imagine it is a haunting place to visit.
Peace to you,
Kat
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Dear Kat,
The information there’s the reading. While our stories were on the same subject they weren’t the same. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Ruins do create the image of spookiness, isn’t it? The story WAS spooky. Enjoyed reading it. 🙂
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Dear FP,
There is a peaceful, yet ghostly feel to the ruins. Couple that with the belief by many that the ruins are haunted….well, I just had to go there. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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How did you discover the origins of this old ruin? I love your story, made completely believable even without the explanatory note.
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Dear Linda,
I know the photographer. 😉 And Google is my friend. Thank you. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Ghosts again, Rochelle – and another tragically true story.
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Dear Liz,
Ghosts came out of the woodwork this week, didn’t they? Hope you’re enjoying that grandbaby. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Oooooo I love a ghost story. So sad this one. Family history’s make for interesting reading but are also filled with emotion. Great piece.
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Dear Laurie,
Glad to know my little ghost tale evoked emotion. It’s what we writers do. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle
Good morning.
There is a lightness in this prose, a deftness, which left me wondering if Edith’s imagination did not conjure the essence of Great Grandma Edith, who was living on in her?
Shalom
Kelvin
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Dear Kelvin,
In the author’s mind, the ghost of Great Grandma Edith was a real visitation. Your comment intrigues me as well as complimenting my writing. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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So sad for the dying mother . Her pruned-out wishes and dreams is so terribly unfortunate. It is believed in our tradition that sad spirits linger on and sometimes even do harm to passers-by / visitors. Great grandma seems to have been a good soul. I loved the great-grandma talking to her great granddaughter in Yiddish . Such a vivid other-worldly touch at the end .
Wonderfully wonderful, Rochelle and a brilliant fusion of dimensions/ emotions . Sorry about the super long comment.
Regards,
Moon.
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Dear Moon,
No need to apologize for the lengthy comment. I love it. I’m glad my story evoked that much. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Sad, creepy and Nice take on the picture.
Click Here to see what Mrs. Dash Says
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Thank you, Dee Dee. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
Smallpox was a terrible disease and I often worry that my children and grandchildren have never been vaccinated against it.
Your haunting story is a sad reminder of how those who contracted smallpox and survived it, were left badly disfigured.
As you can see, I’ve returned to Blogland, as promised, at the start of September 🙂
Speak to you soon, hopefully sometime next week.
All best wishes,
Sarah
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Dear Sarah,
I’m happy to see you back. I hope you received my reply to your email right before you left. I’ve been having some issues with my emails reaching their destinations.
I worry about the lack of vaccinations, too but I’ve been told that smallpox as been eradicated world wide. We can only hope. Meanwhile, thank you for your lovely comment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Yes, Rochelle, I did receive your email, and loved it. Thanks 🙂 I was just being torn in all sorts of directions, so had to abandon ship (the computer) and take refuge on the “little island” for a few days. Of course, now I’ve returned, I’ve had to catch up with jobs, so still haven’t got on top of computer stuff. The first thing I’ve felt obligated to do is write all the book reviews I’d promised people. Have now done that now, so hopefully I can get myself organised to start writing my next novel and keep up with my blogging, plus taking breaks to bite my nails while waiting for a response re my current submissions.
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Very good tale, Rochelle, weaving in history and haunting, both emotional and ghostly.
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Dear Sascha,
Something out of the ordinary for me and fun to write. Glad it worked. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Gone for lack of belief? Then come back! We believe now.
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Dear Alice,
You can argue until it hits you in the face. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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A really interesting history, but so sad. I guess you can comfort yourself the administration was trying to cure gr-grandma rather than imprison and afflict her for political or religious reasons.
Too bad the apparition wouldn’t have stayed long enough to answer some questions about family history. 🙂
On a different vein now, have you been handing out teddy bears to certain gayer individuals —with a noose around the poor thing’s neck. He’ll be breaking out in purple spots of anxiety.
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Dear Christine,
Perhaps if I’d had a few more words to play with Great Grandma might’ve stayed longer. 😉
Can’t say I’ve handed out too many teddy bears. But I sure have been giggling a lot since Wednesday. 😀
Thank you and Shalom,
Rochelle
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A really haunting tale Rochelle. Very well written piece. looking forward to more!
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Dear Lavanya,
So happy to have you aboard. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Spooky story. The global eradication of smallpox is perhaps one of the biggest triumph of modern medicine. I knew that smallpox devastated the Native American population but had no idea that a hospital for it existed in New York.
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Dear Subroto,
Now if we could just eradicate cancer. Thank you for taking the time to come by for the read and leaving a nice comment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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