Signe Maene

Greatest Fear ‘House’, Best Defence ‘Brooms’ - From Episode 06

The broom closet is my only hope, but it’s there. In the house. The house across the canal near the old stone bridge which even the swans avoid. The house with a leafless tree hanging over it like a dark cloud. The house with stained glass that only depicts screaming faces. I only need one broom. The broom that I knew, the broom that knows me. But I can’t do it. I can’t touch that knocker. The knocker with the head of a lion. I can’t touch the cold, cold iron, only to push open the creaking door and shiver. For a broom. A broom that allows me to travel. Not fly through the stormy air, that would be silly, but to the days of my youth, when my worst fear was losing a doll or that big, black dog who lived across the street. I need to hold the ash handle. Feel the wood in my hand, feel the splinters entering my skin, feel the dents, the cracks, the birch twigs. The broom had a life once, stories to tell. Once I have the broom, I will conquer the house. The house that my dad had left me with the furniture, plants, and the ghosts.

Signe is a Belgian Writer who is passionate about folklore. She is currently Workington a collection of short stories based on Flemish folktales and folklore. Visit her signemaene.com