Introduction
“I Used to Live Here Once” is a work of short fiction by Jean Rhys first collected in Sleep It Off Lady (1976) by André Deutsch and Harper & Row (New York). A ghost story, “I Used to Live Here Once” is one the last works of fiction that Rhys wrote, and at roughly 400 words, perhaps her shortest.
A woman returns to a place that was once deeply familiar. At first she remembers every detail: the river, the bridge, the road, and the house. But when she encounters two children and speaks to them, they cannot seem to see her. Their fearful reaction reveals a haunting truth: she no longer belongs to the world she is walking through.
Caribbean village details, river textures, bridge imagery, and soft tropical skies can frame this page. The visuals should feel beautiful but distant, as if memory is present while reality is already slipping away.
The story combines nostalgia with a growing sense of unease. The tone and mood move from calm to chilling.