The seed for this story grew in a somber place: my grandfather getting diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer's. He was still as jovial as usual, but as the days went on, it became more and more difficult to communicate with him and understand his concerns.
This affected me quite a bit, as I imagined if he had a disturbing dream or was mistreated, we'd be none the wiser, attempting to interpret his words, which were often mispronounced.
The idea remained in my head until I came across the Finnish word for "ghost": hamu. For some reason, my mind flipped it to "huma", which sounded awfully similar to "human", and that added a new dimension to my fledgling seed. Include a friend who'd say "human" instead of "humid", and a paranormal story flourished.
I had Clara mispronounce Mary's name as "Meerin" to hint at her particular way of flipping words, thereby flipping "hamu" to "human", but I don't know if it was clear enough for the reader.
I also tried to give Mary dimension by having her be a professional who wasn't all that sympathetic or likable, yet was someone who took her work and clients seriously.
If you've read the story, let me know what you think. I’m always open to feedback, suggestions, and critique!
And if you liked this story, you can find it in "The Fall of Souls: and six other twisted stories about unlikable people", available on Amazon! If you do purchase it, I'd greatly appreciate an honest review. :)