The Girl Behind the Door #TDWC

Posted on by Teagan Riordain Geneviene

Wednesday, May 27, 2026

1920s New Orleans home iron balconies gate on vintage newspaper composite Teagan R Geneviene
1920s New Orleans home iron balconies gate on vintage newspaper, composite image by Teagan R Geneviene

Welcome, all.  Dan Antion‘s Thursday Doors Writing Challenge.   To join the fun, pick one of the doors that were submitted as inspiration for the challenge and write.  It doesn’t have to be a story — write anything that door image inspires in you.

The inspiration door I chose for today’s story is one of my own.  It’s an illustration I made for A Peril in the Vines.  So, my “story” today is actually an excerpt from that book.  Below, a historian tells our heroes about his encounter with the strange young girl who becomes central to the mysterious events of the book.   

The Girl Behind the Door

“Don’t worry,” he said.  “Yes, it was an atrocity story, but I haven’t the heart to talk about those details.  It could have been even worse, but maybe it isn’t at that.  As a matter of fact, those Ottoman soldiers got a little dose of their own medicine.  You see, they were headed for that church.  When they got there the whole thing blew up like a bomb hit it dead center!” Voisin finished with a shout.

“Oh!” Clover cried, startled by his sudden increase in decibels.

“Yes ma’am.  There’s a turnaround for you,” he added.  “Strange, don’t you think?  The Young Turks had created a special organization, which in turn organized killing squads or ‘butcher battalions’ to carry out, as one officer put it, ‘the liquidation of the Christian elements.’  They didn’t even spare the children,” Voisin said, but paused for a gulp of his whiskey.

The historian’s story, and the obvious effect the experience had on him, even years later was evident.  It made Daphne wish for a stronger drink than the glass of champagne that remained untouched in her hand.  The ambassador visibly collected himself and continued.

“Well, at first, I thought those Young Turks had been celebrating and had monkeyed round with their own explosives,” he picked up his story.  “As it turned out, they didn’t have anything of the sort with them.  So, I ask you, what should a bunch of nuns know about dynamite or bombs?”

“Bushwa!” Phineas exclaimed.  “Yes siree bob, that’s odd alright.”

“I interviewed several of the Turkish villagers in the area about the matter.  There were still some Armenians around, but they weren’t about to come out of hiding.  According to them it was a bonified, first-class modern miracle.  They laid it all to a little gypsy girl.  Not in a bad way, mind you.  To hear the villagers tell it, the child was a budding saint,” he paused to gauge the reaction of his audience.

Daphne’s hand had involuntarily gone to her stomach when a cold knot of foreboding settled there.  She forced her hand to her side.  To mask her unease, the medium asked an unnecessary question.

“Not in a bad way, you say?” she repeated as she tried to collect an array of emotions.

“Do you mean to tell us that the little gypsy girl set that big bomb herself?” Phinny broke in excitedly” and Mr. Voisin chuckled fondly at his enthusiasm.

“Ha!  No, young man.  That’s not what I mean.  Well, actually, in a way she did, but not in the way you mean,” the ambassador spoke confusingly, and Phineas looked about to burst.  “Perhaps you’ll understand it, Miss Moultrie, considering your gifts.  The locals said that the child went into trances, and that she saw visions.  They said she was responsible for the whole thing.”

 

♣ ♣ ♣

End of excerpt.

♣ ♣ ♣
Links to that book are below.  Friendly comments are welcome.  Thanks for opening this door.  Hugs!

♣ ♣ ♣

Of course, here’s the obligatory shameless self-promotion.

A Peril in the Vines

Universal Purchase Links

A Peril in the Vines

e-book:  relinks.me/B0DS4G7RSD

Paperback:  relinks.me/B0DS69GJDV

A Medium’s Peril full series link: relinks.me/B0CG2SXX24

♣ ♣ ♣

This post is part of Dan Antion 6th Annual Thursday Doors Writing Challenge (TDWC). Click the blue link for more information about the challenge and how to showcase your stories.)  Fortunately for me, Dan’s rules for the writing challenge are wonderfully flexible and include any sort of creativity. 

 

This blog is entirely human-written.  Furthermore, the author expressly prohibits any entity from using this publication for purposes of training AI technologies to generate text.  No part of this work may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.  Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

All images are either the property of the author, or used with permission, or from free sources.

Copyright © 2026 by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene

All rights reserved.

43 thoughts on “The Girl Behind the Door #TDWC”

    1. Many thanks, Edward. I was never able to learn the identity of the girl(s) in those old public domain photos. It would have been nice to know. There was another somewhat older girl, dressed in traditional Romani clothes that I used in a couple of others. I found several photos of her, but again no name.

      Have a great weekend. Hugs. 🤗

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  4. Wow! You sure can pack a lot of punch in a brief excerpt. I’m wondering why the mention of the little gypsy girl caused such a reaction. WHY MUST YOU WRITE SO WELL? I need to sell more of my own books so I can buy all of yours! lol You rock!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  6. This is a most intriguing piece of writing, Teagan. Thank you!

    Even your snippets feel complete, in a way. You’ve been an ardent supporter of Dan’s for quite awhile. I think you made the “doors badge”? It’s terrific, and I’m gad it will be the one from now on.

    OMG, Dan’s annual doors challenge is almost over. I have just finished my post, and scheduled it for Friday. Whew!

    H🚪GS!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. That’s a lovely thing to say Resa (complete feeling snippets) — thanks very much. Thanks about the badge too. I could see it in my mind clearly, but actually making it was a lot harder than I expected. The background is a photo from a hand-written draft by Agatha Christie! I was excited to find that.
      Yes, the challenge is almost over. This is probably my last post for it. I’m happy to hear that you have another one coming. I’m looking forward to it. Hugs winging back to you.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  10. Teagan, this excerpt has such an atmospheric and cinematic quality to it. I could immediately feel the tension in the room and the unease gathering beneath the conversation. And of course, you know how much I love “A Medium’s Peril.” I have all three books by my bedside bookshelf!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Hi, Rebecca. It’s funny that you should use the word “cinematic” because while I wrote the larger scene surrounding that snippet, I was looking at movie “stills” and photos of sumptuous, wealthy 1920s parties. The elaborate flapper gowns, the men in elegant tuxedos, the wet bars and serving trays, and all the Art Deco furnishings…
      Heartfelt thanks for causing me to imagine my books on your shelf. ❤ Hugs on the wing.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  12. Loved the illustrations, Teagan! I lived in New Orleans with my parents when I was in utero! My Dad sold insurance from his car around the South. And bushwa! I haven’t heard that term in years but it was part of my family’s language!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      1. My dad used to use bushwa all the time. My Mom told me I was not happy in utero in NO – she lost an incredible amount of weight and had to move back to Connecticut to live with her parents.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

    1. It’s lovely to see you, dear Magician. Thanks for your encouragement. I gave myself a fun challenge in making illustrations for this book — for each chapter’s image I used a photo of a real 1920s newspaper as background. Hugs back to you. 🤗

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  15. Very good use of the photo, Teagan. the “A Medium’s Peril” series is full of twists and turns, and unexplained – or perhaps unexplainable – things that do in fact happen. I’ve enjoyed them, and I enjoyed today’s excerpt. A good reminder of a book I liked.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  16. Thanks, Teagan. I remember the story well. It is so intriguing! I hope many people discover it thanks to this post. Have a lovely week. Big hugs and love to the Scoobies!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment