We are walking on the bones of our ancestors

We are walking on the bones of our ancestors is a prompt from a Dean Writers Circle workshop, stolen as usual for my FaceBook prompts.

The tour guide led them across the cathedral stone floor towards the entrance to the crypt. ‘We are walking on the bones of our ancestors,’ he intoned solemnly. ‘Below us lie the dead of this town for 700 years.’

The tour guide halted at the top of a well trodden staircase which fell steeply into gloom, the electric bulbs lighting the way of such a low wattage to enhance the eerie atmosphere.

‘It is good to remember this is a holy place,’ the guide reminded the small group. ‘It is sacred to our dead. So please, quiet, and no flashlight cameras.’

A musty, chill draught met Julie as she cautiously followed the group down the narrow, uneven steps. Soft gasps rose around her as her fellow tourists took in the sight of the rows of shelves where caskets in various states of disintegration lay in serried ranks. She would have been right about the rats stealing from the splintered coffins.

The longest dead were closest to the entrance, and here the caskets were of stone, with wide gaps and lids askew. Julie horrified herself by wanting to peer through the gaps, see what was left of this particular ancestor.

‘Since 200 years, we have buried our dead in the churchyard, ‘ the guide said, ‘but you can visit the coffins of those before that time at the far end of the crypt.’

The group spread out, wandering in ones and twos along the aisles, stopping occasionally. Julie watched from the bottom of the stairs. No thank you. Walking through the shadowy cold into the far dark recesses of this hearty reminder of death, held no appeal. She turned, climbed back up, hurried across the cathedral and through the massive oak doors into the open air.

Spring warmth met her. She breathed in, glad of the touch of sun on her face, and gazed across the ‘new’ graves to the street beyond. Life welcomed her with open arms.

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Find Cheryl’s flash fiction and short stories, including audio versions of some, here.