Guardians of the Quiet House

A perfect friendship between a ghost and living woman

Entry for: "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge"  12th January, 2026

“You’re not wanted here,” whispered the old house. Yet Yesmin arrived, carrying her stillborn silence and a ginger cat named Mini.

The house held Fahmida’s ghost—pushed down the stairs by a jealous sister-in-law, her unborn child lost, her loyal cat Mithu left mewing by her body. Her husband Arif still searched, love undimmed.

Yesmin became the bridge. She showed Arif the truth: Fahmida appeared on the stairs, Mithu beside her, their child a soft light in her arms. Arif wept, knowing at last. Confronted, his sister confessed.

Peace settled. Fahmida faded into guardianship, Mithu became a gentle ghost-companion to Mini. The two cats—one living, one spirit—shared sunbeams and quiet purrs.

And in the deepest nights, Yesmin felt a cool, tender presence near her heart—Fahmida’s child, a small spirit who understood her loss. It offered comfort without touch, a shared silence that softened her grief.

The house was no longer haunted. It was kept. Yesmin lived there, tended by a ghost mother, guarded by ghost cats, and quietly healed by a child who had never drawn breath but now offered peace.

In the gentle layers of seen and unseen, love persisted—a sanctuary woven from memory, guardianship, and the quiet friendship between the living and the lovingly departed.

(Word count: 300)