Comforting things

[Denise Marsden]

The story ,'Things they left behind' spooked me at first. The powerful imagery brought tears to my eyes.I was impressed by the reference to survivor guilt but what I came away from this story with was a feeling of being comforted.Did anyone else get this?

[Charms7]

I loved this story! I suppose I too was comforted because it kind of presented another explanation as to why things sometimes disappear and then reappear later on. Almost a year after 9/11, strange things start happening to narrator Scott Staley, who – at the time of the attacks – is employed at 'Light and Bell Insurance' on the 110th floor of the World Trade Center. Not only is Scott unable to get rid of his survivor's guilt (on 9/11 he followed an inner voice that told him to take a day off to enjoy the sun), but things belonging to his late colleagues start to appear in his apartment. A pair of sunglasses, a baseball bat, a farting cushion – Scott can easily identify them all. After convincing himself that they are no delusion and that others can see them, he tries throwing them away, yet they reappear after his return home.

He confides in Paula, a neighbor, who offers to stow away one of the things. It triggers the most horrible nightmare of Paula's life, recreating in her mind the last minutes of its proprietor. Paula immediately returns the object, but makes Scott understand his mission: he must give the things to the victims' immediate family – and on seeing the joy on their faces, he feels his guilt slowly fade away.

[michal]

I thought the story was very sad. It reminded me of The Last Rang of the Ladder, perhaps because of the falling motif and perhaps just because the people the story were about were... lost. Both those who remained and those who died.