Helena thought how clinical the whole process was. Crematorium staff, in soft voices, present the grieving with a receptacle of ashes to be sprinkled at the site of the loved one’s choosing. So neat, so easy, so modern.
But Howard was none of those. So, towards sunset, she donned a white shroud, draped his casket in white fabric and garlands of flowers and hired the ferry man for the Isle of the Dead.
Once on the shore, Howard’s casket was lifted by invisible pallbearers and placed on the stone pyre in the Amphitheatre of the Spirits. From clear sky, a single bolt of lightening ignited his mortal body as the sparks of his soul spiraled with the smoke skyward. She keened, wailed, and rent her clothes in the passion play of death.
As the fire died, the zephyrs swirled the ashes up into the starblanket sky. The Spirits faded back into the Isles’ labyrinths and caverns. Helena stepped out of her shroud, worn over an old t-shirt of Howard’s and a pair of jeans, to wait for the dawn, and the ferryman whom she had yet to pay.
Written for Jane Dougherty’s Microfiction Challenge # 30: Isle of the Dead. As always, critique and criticism welcome. The text in italics is a change, suggested by Jane, as to how a heavy casket gets to the pyre and on fire without a superhero or lots of CGI. Thanks Jane.
© my frilly freudian slip
November 3, 2016 at 6:46 am
I like the invisible pallbearers, too–and how the zephyrs efficiently dispose of the ashes.
I hope the ferryman returns to collect his fee! :)
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November 3, 2016 at 8:23 am
When she gets to the other side! (of course):]:
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October 29, 2016 at 11:14 am
This is awesome!! I love the contrast between modernity and something more primal and intense, and I love the transition you used here. I think it’s a great response to the image, great work Jane! :)
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October 29, 2016 at 1:28 pm
Thank you for your kind comment! :]:
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October 29, 2016 at 5:54 am
That’s the way to go! If only…
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October 29, 2016 at 11:13 am
I agree.
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October 29, 2016 at 12:07 am
Very beautifully etched. The visual imagery is evocative.
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October 29, 2016 at 1:09 am
Thank you.
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October 28, 2016 at 6:57 pm
I thought this was a lovely response to the image I like the image of the ‘invisible pallbearers’……
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October 29, 2016 at 1:09 am
Thank you kind sir. It was Jane’s suggestion that the coffin needed to be lighter than air for Helena to get to the pyre.
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October 28, 2016 at 10:48 am
I like the silent pallbearers touch very much. It reminds me of the women in the boat that took King Arthur to Avalon.
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October 28, 2016 at 10:50 am
Thanks Jane. At first, the coffin was going to float, but then I thought funerary, and pall bearers came to mind.
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October 28, 2016 at 11:06 am
It was an inspired thought :)
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