The way you move from small exploitations and social hierarchies to her total erasure makes the last section land like a gut punch it stops being a quirky neighbor story and turns into a meditation on how easy it is to disappear when someone else controls whether your story gets told at all.
The image of another woman in Big J’s gloves, and the fountain vanishing like she did, is going to sit with me for a long time.
I was actually thinking of trying to write a fiction horror from it. 'What really happened to Big J'...😂 Sadly this is really my neighbor. wish he'd move.
Your account of the "Woman Next Door" captures a chilling human reality: the way a person’s entire history can be reduced to a logistical vacancy when the person left behind prioritises "management" over mourning.
Great to have your voice here on Substack, Kate. Subscribed and look forward to reading more. I would love you to do the same, if my writing resonates.
Okay, sooo, I've read a lot of pieces about difficult people & most of them make the mistake of being too angry to be believable; this one doesn't do that. Like, you stayed observational the whole way through, even when the story earns outrage. & that restraint is what makes the ending devastating rather than just satisfying.
"things that no longer served him had a way of quietly vanishing." -- that's a sentence you don't forget. Like, the fountain, Big J, the co-pays, all of it collapses into one image & suddenly the whole piece reorders itself in your mind. Like, that's not an accident, it's architecture. Kudos, truly.
Felt familiar and kept me in stitches, the twist of her departure then rooted me with concern, and haste.
One question…(because I have been here before), do you ever think about if you had better communication with her it could have changed things? I have in my own experience. Sometimes our lack of interference ends unresolved.
I remember going on some double date with a couple like this. Saddest thing I ever saw and boring company honestly. Word has it that the couple who seemed to inspire everyone else's divorces finally imploded. Shocker.
This is so quietly chilling.
The way you move from small exploitations and social hierarchies to her total erasure makes the last section land like a gut punch it stops being a quirky neighbor story and turns into a meditation on how easy it is to disappear when someone else controls whether your story gets told at all.
The image of another woman in Big J’s gloves, and the fountain vanishing like she did, is going to sit with me for a long time.
This is serial material
This is quite a neighbor situation!!
This is such a classic case of ‘too good to be true.’ It’s unfortunate when people take advantage of neighborly gestures.
This is a creepy story!! But reappear good!! Its also relatable as heck!!
Oh my gosh, is this a real life douche bag or am I busting in on a mystery horror novel and I didn’t even realize it?
Eeeeeerrrriiiieee
I was actually thinking of trying to write a fiction horror from it. 'What really happened to Big J'...😂 Sadly this is really my neighbor. wish he'd move.
That is soooooooo scary! Yes that is a horror movie in the making…..watch out!!
Your account of the "Woman Next Door" captures a chilling human reality: the way a person’s entire history can be reduced to a logistical vacancy when the person left behind prioritises "management" over mourning.
Great to have your voice here on Substack, Kate. Subscribed and look forward to reading more. I would love you to do the same, if my writing resonates.
Okay, sooo, I've read a lot of pieces about difficult people & most of them make the mistake of being too angry to be believable; this one doesn't do that. Like, you stayed observational the whole way through, even when the story earns outrage. & that restraint is what makes the ending devastating rather than just satisfying.
"things that no longer served him had a way of quietly vanishing." -- that's a sentence you don't forget. Like, the fountain, Big J, the co-pays, all of it collapses into one image & suddenly the whole piece reorders itself in your mind. Like, that's not an accident, it's architecture. Kudos, truly.
Felt familiar and kept me in stitches, the twist of her departure then rooted me with concern, and haste.
One question…(because I have been here before), do you ever think about if you had better communication with her it could have changed things? I have in my own experience. Sometimes our lack of interference ends unresolved.
At least... hey, free book inspiration? :D
Maybe some neighbours are best left unknown...
oooh this looks like a good start to a mystery! :)
I remember going on some double date with a couple like this. Saddest thing I ever saw and boring company honestly. Word has it that the couple who seemed to inspire everyone else's divorces finally imploded. Shocker.
that's hysterical. thanks for reading. they were actually boring !!!
🤔 Maybe I don't need to spend so much time coming up with pseudonyms?
Good character portrait. The Expert In Everything is a type of male that always annoys the crap out of me.
lol I actually call him ahole so maybe I should have come up with a pseudonym 🤣for anonymity!
I don’t think you have to worry, it’s such a common name!
Whoa.....I don't know if this is fiction or non-fiction but I loved it a kind of take on Rear Window and yet soooo different....
thank you so much!!! not fiction just my crazy imagination 😆. so glad you liked it
I love when I can get a good story out of my imagination running wild….