Short Ghost Stories: The Man with the Axe in his Back

NB. This is not a "ghost story" per se, so you can read the entirety for free.

Once upon a time, there was a five year-old Boy Genius who lived with his aunt. He was famous for all his amazing inventions and his research papers, and often celebrated in articles written by adoring journalists. However, despite all this adulation, he was not happy.

For the Boy Genius was lonely. He felt remote from children his own age, and the mindless chatter of ordinary adults—no matter how clever—bored him. He yearned for a mind that was equal to his own, but with his unlimited intelligence, he knew that it was not possible. So he could only shut himself into his little domain, intent on spending the rest of his days working and researching.

His aunt tried to engage with him in various ways, but he did not respond. Her clumsy efforts only made him withdraw from her, and he eventually banished her from his room. As he walked amongst his stacks of books and blueprints, a lone photograph suddenly caught his eye.

It was taken years ago—a small, grainy portrait of a serious-looking young woman with intense eyes. She bore more than a passing resemblance to his own visage, and with a twist in his gut, he knew who she was.

She was his birth mother, reportedly also a Genius herself, who had birthed him five years ago and then abandoned him. He was raised by her well-meaning if intellectually inferior sister, but he found he still could not erase the resentment he felt towards this woman. She had conceived him by bedding some unknown man, and when she suffered the consequences, carried him to term and then tossed him aside once she was done with the birthing process. While he never found out her reason for leaving, it was difficult not to think of her in a single word: Whore.

If she was here, he would not feel so alone. More than once, he had wondered what it would be like to be a normal boy, rather than having to deal with the crushing solitude that only the exceptionally superior had to suffer.

One day, an unusual event happened. His aunt quietly knocked on his door, and informed him that his Mother has returned.

Could it be true?

Was it truly her, the Whore who had turned her back on the responsibilities of Motherhood?

The Boy Genius was beset by anger and anxiety, but also by a burning desire to see her in the flesh, and to question her. Finally, he would get an answer for all she had done to him.

He quickly ran into the living room, stopping when he saw the tall, thin woman standing at the front door with a suitcase. She had a narrow face and piercing, intelligent eyes, with long blond hair piled on top of her head. She turned to look at him when he entered the room, and for a moment, their eyes met.

Yes, the Genius Mother has returned.

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