Deadly Drabbles: Bone, Ash & Dust

Inspired by a Midjourney image

Bone

The construction workers gathered silently around the excavated piece of soil, looking down at the skull peering up at them. They all knew the rules when finding bones, but this was a first for each of them.

With the relevant authorities on the way, the work for the day was done, but each of the men lingered for reasons they would later be unable to explain.

It was a calling of sorts, a voice from beneath the soil that was older than each of them combined. Respecting elders was one thing, but this felt different. it felt more like submission.

Ash

The manor house had long since been reduced to a hollowed-out husk. Fire had taken the life from the place, swallowing up centuries of history in flames that refused to give up the fight.

When the demolition team went into to take down what remained, they discovered a body within what remained of the exterior walls. Flesh seared to little more than jerky, its pain looked like a smile.

The body was the only thing that knew how it came to be there, but as soon as the air touched it, flesh and bone became ash and secrets remained hidden.

Dust

Marla believed in cleanliness above all, but there came a time when she was no longer able to maintain her home to her exacting standards. With no family or friends to help, dust began to gather.

At first, it was little more than a fine layer that only exposed itself when she moved. Each shift kicked up a miniature storm that Marla admitted looked pretty in the light.

Before long, though, the dust thickened, choking Marla as she tried to move about the house. The particles found a way in through open orifices, until she became part of the storm.