Echoes from Another Time: a poetic short story

by Kimberly Jolanda

“It all began with the footsteps”

When Ally awakes in the middle of the night to the sound of unexpected footsteps, she thinks her boyfriend has come home from his travels, but instead finds herself still eerily home alone. Quickly, things spin out of control as candles begin to burn out of their own accord, and a haunting, darkling spirit appears — leading her to discover that nothing she believed is what it seems...

Authors note; "Echoes from Another Time" is a seven-chapter short story, counting ±22 pages.

27 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 14, 2021

About the author

Kimberly Jolanda is an independent artist and writer, who draws her inspiration from exploring her creativity, a love of nature, and her unfailing belief there’s still magic to be found in this world.

She’s the author of poetry books called Amaranthine, Musings from a Wildflower and Dreamscape, and the short stories Fragments of a Fairytale and Echoes from Another Time, which are available as free eBook downloads. Her fourth poetry collection, Soul Searcher, was released worldwide on September 21st, 2023.

Grateful to the Instagram poetry community, her work has also been subsequently published in Prosetrics, Poetic Reveries magazine, the Moonlit Weaver Collective anniversary anthology, and the special tanka/haiku edition of Paper Moths.

Reviews

[BellaGBear · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story

[PrecariouslyPeculiar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally read this story, and it was absolutely incredible. That twist, though! My own legs would have surely given way had I been standing. And that ending... It just wrapped everything up with a nice little bow, and provided the perfect imagery of resolution. And all the events leading up to that twist... The angry family, the ballerina... Just powerful. I thought the prologue was a very good hook too. It sent chills down my spine imagining someone looking at me like that!

I pictured everything perfectly, and there was just a vividness to it all... Subdued when the story called for it, and frenetic when it needed to be. Very well done!

[Lynn Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Echoes from Another Time" is a short story especially written for Halloween, and if you ask me it's a perfect blend of horror, magic and romance! Kiyo's writing is rich and beautiful, the story's haunting and surprising. It was a short read, but I really enjoyed it - and I can't wait to read more of Kiyo's work :)

For fans of Guillermo del Toro and Laini Taylor!