Author Topic: PseudoPod 568: The Room in the Other House  (Read 2229 times)

Bdoomed

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on: November 17, 2017, 02:32:34 AM
PseudoPod 568: The Room in the Other House

by Kristi Demeester
Narrated by Alasdair Stuart

PseudoPod 568: The Room in the Other House is a PseudoPod original.



I’ve counted the moments we once had over and over. Tried to hold them in my hands as if they were solid, but in the end, there is nothing except for the dark scar tracing against my palm. If I squint, it looks like a worm. If I squint, it’s almost like you’re still here.

We found the house when we weren’t looking. Driving along back roads because there was nothing else to do. We’d had too much to drink the night before and needed coffee and open air that tasted of rainwater and the cloying scent of rotting wood. You took the turns too fast, and I squealed and pretended to be angry, but you grinned through all of it, and it was the kind of dangerous smile I loved.

“What if we just never went back?” you said, but it was a conversation we were always having. There was the house we’d just moved into. The one with the extra two-stall garage and bonus room. Space for your workshop. Space for all of that scrapped metal you called a “project.” There was the dog we adopted together when we decided this thing we were doing was more forever than not. There were Monday mornings and paychecks and doctor’s appointments and phone calls. We were not the kind of people to disappear.

And then you did.





Listen to this week's PseudoPod.

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


Scuba Man

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Reply #1 on: December 01, 2017, 05:24:30 PM
I had images of me driving the Crowsnest Highway and weaving through the Kootney mountains (SE British Columbia, Canada).  Some of those hairpin turns had a big ass tree at the turn-off, with a dilapidated house tucked in the back. And there were indeed plenty of hand-painted signs about roadside attractions.  Would I have pulled over?... ... ... ... Nope... Would my lady love?... ... ... NoNoNoNo. :-X

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Katzentatzen

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Reply #2 on: December 13, 2017, 07:53:19 PM
From the Shining and House of Leaves I’m terrified of evil houses and mysteriously appearing doors. I’m haunted by the image of the door appearing in this woman’s house, maybe fruitlessly promising the return of her lost love. The flashback format was really effective.

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Ichneumon

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Reply #3 on: December 31, 2017, 04:14:58 AM
I really liked the narrator's voice. That not-a-dog was super creepy. The fact that she couldn't find any mention of the lord of lies was kind of unexpected to me but really cemented her hopelessness. I thought the imagery in the story was very clear.