Slipping

By Shandy L. Kurth

I think I'm losing my mind. The alternative would be I'm seeing ghosts. If I'm going crazy, I should check myself into a nuthouse as soon as possible. But if I'm not... if she's really a ghost, listening to her could mean the difference between life and death.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shandy L. Kurth
• Release date: Nov 28, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301039197

Shandy L. Kurth

Shandy L. Kurth is a writer of Young Adult fiction. She is a teacher by day and a writer by night. She was born and raised in Kanas and lives and writes there with her husband.

Book preview

SLIPPING

A Young Adult Short Story

Published by Shandy L. Kurth at Smashwords

Copyright © 2012 Shandy L. Kurth

All rights reserved

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DEDICATION

This one is dedicated to you, every single fan that has taken a chance and supported an indie. Thank you.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to take a moment to acknowledge an awesome fan who was willing to beta reader this piece, Beccie Weaver. An author without fans is like a boat without oars: floating aimlessly and going nowhere.

1

I looked up at the night sky, the stars were shining through the blackness, and I wondered where in the hell I'd gone wrong. Over a year pissed away. That's what it felt like. I had given that girl over a year of my life. I wasn't the guy that just dated and dropped a bunch of girls. I wanted to find someone I could live with for life, and the truth was I thought it was her. We didn't fight, ever. We were good together and we balanced each other out. I thought we did anyway.

I rubbed my eyes with my palms, trying to get her face out of my mind. Her daring eyes were the last thing I wanted to see right then, but they wouldn't go away. She always had that look, that challenge to her smile. Like she was daring me, pushing me. She made the people around her better.

Yo Miles, you up there? I took a deep breath knowing exactly whose voice it was. I didn't want to talk to my best friend or anyone else. I just wanted to sit up here and sulk.

What? I called back because if I didn't he would just climb up there. I sat up from my spot on the roof and scooted to the edge so I could see him in the light of the porch.

Bro, just heard about you and Jordan.

Yeah and what? You thought you'd come over, be a shoulder to cry on and go get me ice cream so I could wallow?

Something like that. You okay?

I'm fine man. I looked off down the street where I could see the top of Jordan's house from the roof of mine before looking back down at him.

He was silent for a minute, staring at his feet before he looked back up. Come out with me. I'm meeting up with some guys at the cemetery. They're bringing beer.

I chewed on the inside of my cheek, really just wanting to crawl back in my window and watch reruns of CSI. Come on, bro. Let me get you wasted. It'll make me feel like I'm being productive.

I shook my head smiling. Getting wasted didn't sound all that bad.

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Someone had their car stereo blaring an

Reviews for Slipping

[robert.zimmermann · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed what the author did with this story. It was short, simple, yet kept me questioning the main character's sanity the entire time.

Kurth's main character, Miles, is being followed around by the ghost of his dead younger sister. But he goes through the story debating whether or not she is real or a symptom of the combination of dealing with the stress of a recent breakup and the dead of his mother and sister a year earlier.
I spent most of the time reading trying to figure out the reality of the story along with Miles, but that's not all. There is someone's life at stake. Should Miles listen to the pleading of his sister's joke, get himself some professional help, or blow it all off in hopes that it'll go away? Well I can't tell you what he should do. You need to read the story. But I also can't tell you because, I'm still going over it all in my mind.

I really enjoyed the twist in this story as well. I definitely wasn't expecting the story to go in the direction it did. I'm always a fan of surprises though.