Ih, so late today! Got distracted with other things and brain took forever to get creative with this one.

Loneliness

Aethar knelt before three shards of marble protruding from the ashen earth. He placed his right hand over his heart and then touched a shard gently with his fingertips. He repeated the gesture on the other two, each time with a silent prayer on his lips. There were no markings on these monuments but Aethar knew they were graves. He looked out over the field below where old burnt houses stood eerily abandoned barely holding together. There were many other graves down there. Unmarked.

This day was a day of celebration. From his old and worn travel pack Aethar pulled a tall, delicately crafted wine bottle. It was as dusty as the earth below his feet and on its label an almost faded crest in the shape of a rearing horse. He smiled sadly looking down on it.

“Who would have thought I’d outlive my own culture.” His gaze wandered back to the marble shards. With a determined twist of his wrist the cork came out with a sharp “pop”. The dry air mixed with a scent sweeter than anything Aethar had smelt for many moons. He poured some of the wine on the graves and settled down next to them.

“Did anyone else come by today?” He asked as if someone was sitting next to him and drank deep from the bottle. Thoughtful he patted the ground searching for any moistness from other offerings. He closed his eyes and focused on the sounds… or rather lack of them around him. He shook his head and took another sip of wine. At least no one had come to die this time.

“Maybe there are none of us left…”

Other participants: Anastasia V. Pergakis, S Frankie Blooding, and Veronica R. Calisto.

Comments:

“Great job!”