The Dust of What Was

Memories linger. Memories give life to those without. Some memories bear pain and others joy. The life given to objects by memories hold together far longer than those who created the memories.

The silhouette of the crumbling city lay in the distance. A lone building sits with a view of the apocalypse. The red siding has faded to the wood beneath; the roof collapsed and shredded by the onslaught of storms. The memory of its former life and tenants keeps it rooted but, the coming storm bodes its end. The entrance has worn to nothing. Inside, the rooms are no more than empty shells and all that remains is a lone locket in the shape of a heart. The chain latched to the broken floor boards becoming one with the house; the gold covered in dust. The pictures within faded to nothing, only the remnant thought of two lovers linger in the broken heart shaped locket.

The wind, heralding the storm, greets the house one final time. The old house slowly shifts in place, moaning and creaking at the wind's assault. With the passing of the wind in the calm before the storm, remnants of the past drift up and life is brought into the house once more. Two wisps of dust emerge, rising from the locket and separate. The wisps wander around the house like two lost souls. They trace the house in familiar patterns. Joy is brought to the house as the two wisps relive memories. The house gladly shows the wisps the past, encouraging their travel through the halls of this once happy place. Their wandering ends when finally they meet where the heart shaped locket rests.

The wisps hang still in the air waiting for their cue. Lightning streaks across the sky and still they hang. The flash disappears and still they hang. A silent eternity lingers though none are around to feel it and still they hang. The clap rumbles the bones of the house but it stands strong for the dancer's cue has been heard. The wind and rain come together in a dark cacophony and the wisps billow and fly through the house. One room after another, the rhythm carries the two wisps on, visiting each room one final time, gracing each one with their presence. Room after room is collapsed and given to the storm to buy more fleeting time so the wisps can finish their dance. Once again the house breathes with life as it relives its past and the memories of those who lived within. One final time the house stands against the storm in memory of the heart shaped locket.

The gold locket writhes with the floor adding itself to the dancer’s set. Clattering, it won't be outdone by the wind and rain and refuses to forget. Encouraging the dancers to continue and calling them back to the room where they started. The house relieved, as more and more of itself is sacrificed to the storm, giving its remaining time to the room where it all started; where the heart shaped locket lay.

The house, on its last breath, gives itself to the storm. Through a trick of the light the siding gains its red colour once more for a brief second; The empty shell blinks full of life. The house that had stood for so long in memory finally gives itself to the storm.. The wisps are united in the room where the locket lay, and they too give themselves to the storm. The last memory to linger before the storm takes it away, is the heart shaped locket.