The Apple-Tree Throne, Premee Mohamed
This is a strange little ghost story: Braddock returns from war after his commanding officer got most of his unit killed, and was himself killed. Braddock isn’t sure why he survived, what purpose he has now, or where to go: being drafted saved him, gave him purpose, and without that he’s drifting. He speaks at his commanding officer’s funeral and is almost adopted by his parents, slowly being sucked into his place — attending church with them, courting his fiancée…
And all this while, his commanding officer is haunting him. Sometimes angry, sometimes kind, sometimes incoherent, but always there. The ghost of his commanding officer, and the awful pain in his leg (which seems to have already healed).
All of this is set in an alternate history which we only get little glimpses of, and which I’d be curious to explore more of.
It was difficult to see where this is going, and I almost expected it to become way creepier, and to think way less of Braddock than I eventually did. The last page or so sounds a very wistful, bittersweet note. I found it a really interesting setup, beautifully written, and I’m definitely curious to read more of Premee Mohamed’s work.
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