Old man’s boat

The souls of the dead queue on the rickety old dock. Their shuffling for position can only be heard by those who were sensitive to the voices of the dead.

I sit alone on the dock with my bucket of pennies. It’s the only way to clear the crowd from the dock, because not many still follow the Old Ways. Without me to cover fares, the line would never stop growing.

Charon doesn’t like it much. He snarls and considers it cheating the rules.

But as long as I have plenty of coins, I can stay off his boat myself.

Inspired by this Friday Fictioneers prompt:

PHOTO PROMPT – Copyright – Georgia Koch

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Grandpa’s place

When I awaken, the first thing I do is feed.

You have heard tales of the vampyre, but I am older. Like him, I awaken in the night.

One of my favorite shapes is the hyena. For his strength and ability to survive in climates like mine. His cunning and sensitive nose catches the scents and tracks the prey. Through the dunes, through the desert at night I move. A shadow, silent and hungry. My body shivers with excitement as the scent grows close, and I begin to dig at the grave.

I am ghūl. And your grandfather is delicious.

Careful what you ask about.

What are the things you need to do within 30 minutes of waking up to ensure your day gets off on the right foot? What happened the last time you didn’t do one of these things?

Hey, ya gotta try to make something out of these weird prompts. Can’t introspect ALL the time.