Writing a tiny fiction piece today for Three Word Wednesday. I am revisiting all the blogs and sites where I used to be active until recently. Three words offered for today are,
Blemish, noun: imperfection, flaw, defect, fault, deformity, discoloration, disfigurement; bruise, scar, pit, pock, pimple, blackhead, wart, scratch, cut, gash; mark, streak, spot, smear, speck, blotch, smudge, smut; birthmark, mole; defect, fault, failing, flaw, imperfection, foible, vice; shortcoming, weakness, deficiency, limitation; taint, blot, stain, dishonor, disgrace; verb: mar, spoil, impair, disfigure, blight, deface, mark, scar; ruin; sully, tarnish, besmirch, blacken, blot, taint; spoil, mar, ruin, disgrace, damage, degrade, dishonor.
Erect, adjective: upright, straight, vertical, perpendicular; standing; engorged, enlarged, swollen, tumescent; hard, stiff, rigid; bristling, standing on end, upright; verb: build, construct, put up; assemble, put together, fabricate.
Lopsided, adjective: crooked, askew, awry, off-center, uneven, out of line, asymmetrical, tilted, at an angle, aslant, slanting; off-balance, off-kilter.
So here's my story.
The Ancient
The
wind howled while the lopsided trees
blacked out the otherwise clear sky. Fallen leaves, ferns and moss covered
trunks created a thick wet coat along the unknown trail.
They
followed the little streaks of light that escaped through the dense forest
cover. The shafts of light grew thicker as the forest started thinning out
after a few miles of trek. A little ray of hope swirled in their hearts.
What
lay in front took their breath away. Ahead of them stood erect a towering structure. It was
prehistoric yet organized.
The
place looked deserted of any human civilization.
Wandering
around this archaic building Emanuel discovered a tiny stone dial on the side wall.
He placed his hand on the dial… nothing… he tried rotating it…. It stood still
as if it was frozen.
“Does
it work” asked an intrigued Leila.
“No
luck”
But just
as she pushed the dial the stone wall caved in, miraculously giving way to a hidden
tunnel.
Emanuel
and Leila walked through the dark and swampy tunnel not realizing what lay
ahead of them. At the end of the tunnel lay a large room. Surprisingly it was
brighter, streaks of light was getting in from the ceiling. But they were
astound to find the space inside spotless and without a blemish. As if someone had just
cleaned the entire room!
It just
had a large pillar at the center on top of which lay a golden casket. The only
other thing in the otherwise flawless room was a dried long stemmed rose on top
of the casket.
“What
is this place? Whose sarcophagus is this? Is this a tomb stone?” asked Leila
who was unable to keep her excitement in check.
“This
looks ancient, it has something inscribed on it, I don’t understand what it
means. We need to get an expert to read this” said Emanuel who was now trying
to open the casket.
“Emm..
I’m not getting a very good feeling about this, this is a tomb stone, for god
sake, what if there is a curse or something, I don’t think we should do this”,
said a visibly tensed Leila.
“There
is nothing like a curse or something, we are about to get famous honey, we
might go down in history, let’s see who’s laying beneath”.
***
They
had searched almost the entire island but never got to see them. No one had
seen them ever since they broke off the group and got lost in the forest trail.
It was the fourth day of the search and no success.
“Let’s
leave now, I think we lost them to wild animals, or something. We have not left
any place and have searched everywhere”, said the captain.
“I
think you are right, we are low on provisions already”
The
ship sailed off finally but without the two efficient archeologists.
***
Emanuel
and Leila never saw another light of the day. As soon as he broke open the
casket all hell broke loose in the otherwise empty tomb. They lay trapped
within the tomb.
Perhaps
Leila was right…
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Post written for Three Words Wednesday & UBC Day 12
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