Three Line Tales : A thousand plucked wires

three line tales week 82: a very long skeleton

photo by Samuel Zeller via Unsplash

 

It was the spaces between the ribs Sam watched, triangles of black caught between bleached pins, growing and shrinking with each coil and flex. Crescent bones hooked together, held a moment then snapped apart, making a sound liked plucked wires.

‘How is it doing that?’ he whispered.

The serpent was stripped of flesh and muscle and skin, the elongated organs long dissolved to atoms. The diamond-shaped skull turned at the sound of his voice, blank eye sockets searching for him.

Col sighed, scrubbed his forehead with blunt fingers. ‘How are any of them doing it?’

Behind him, the sound of a thousand plucked wires.

 

Written for Sonya at Only 100 Words’ Three Line Tales. See the pic and write a tale … And unlike me, try to keep it to three lines! See here to join in.

 

 

21 thoughts on “Three Line Tales : A thousand plucked wires”

  2. Ha, I just read Joy’s on the same photo. Cools sounds and images here, especially the empty sockets turning. I had the strangest dream last night, one of those magical ones: I saw a whale in my room, and I pet it, and it came to life and swam in circles around me, had these abstract eyes and smile. Made me feel so good, made me think it could mean something different…cheers to you and yours, friend. Bill

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    1. That dream sounds wonderful, one of those precious images and feelings you wish you could bottle, slip back into when you needed. That’s beautiful Bill. Will you write about it? I’ve had a couple of dreams that inspired stories, one involving a vortex of spinning water in the centre of a stairwell, flying fish leaping sideways from it. Ah, if only I dreamt like that every night

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    1. A lot of snake skeletons have become animated and no one can work out how or why … and that’s as far as I’ve got, plot wise! The snake skeleton in the photo was so animated, as if opening its jaws, threateningly, I immediately thought of it being alive. Thanks so much for reading. What do you think Mara? Supernatural interference, some great witch enslaving the dead to do her bidding?

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      1. Oh I see now! I never saw an animated snake skeleton – I never even saw an image like the one that goes with your post, so I was intrigued. It’s a shame to give snakes such a bad name. I was thinking the protagonist was a wage labourer employed in the worst job ever, which involved cutting up snakes. That’s probably not what you had in mind!

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      2. Ah, I see what you mean. No, not what I was thinking, but an intriguing thought nonetheless! And you’re right, a real shame to give snakes such a bad name. Is it the Garden of Eden tale, do you think? Satan appearing as a serpent? Poor old snakes have never lived that down. Thanks for reading Mara

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      3. Oh that is true, how did it escape me that the poor snake has had a bad name since the Bible! I have no objects against snakes though. As long as they don’t try to have me for lunch.

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  5. Deliciously sinister! You take a snake (most people hate ’em), make it a skeleton (aagh, a symbol of death!), make it move with no visible means of doing so (a ghost!!), give it a really creepy noise – and then have it approach from behind!!! How will I get to sleep tonight?

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    1. Haha! My work here is done! Thanks Penny. Loved that idea of the ribs catching each other as the snake could coil more tightly now it doesn’t have flesh to constrict it. Don’t think I conveyed the idea brilliantly which was frustrating, but a nice thought to tuck in my memory bank for the future. Thanks so much for reading and for the kind comment 🙂

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