As Night Falls: The Haunt

Prompt: Ghost

Word Count: 351

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It was a human shipwreck. The metal that made the ship had all but rotted away, leaving sickly looking rots. Beyond that, crabs had scavenged the surface and sturdy coral made its home on the ship. Generations of these creatures' corpses made the bed of which pickier coral could rest. This brought in more creatures, more plants. From a long forgotten tragedy- a thriving ecosystem.

As Dirge explored the wreckage, he sang. His lament for the dead and souls lost. The dead usually have moved on by now, but he knew better than to think the grave was quiet. He had encountered the spirits of those who had lingered for centuries, forgetting who they once were. They lost their form, appearing as only the faintest of lights on moonlit nights. An echo of a memory. These were the souls that needed comfort the most.

Such a soul drifted from the wreckage to his song. He swam to its side. It was so small. A pygmy singer’s soul? As Dirge approached the soul, continuing to sing his lullaby, he saw it take form. It was a human. He didn’t know much about humans as he tried to avoid them. But it was little and could fit in his flipper. It wore a gown that fell to its ankles. It had hair tied back into a huge bow. 

It reached a small hand out to him, and he moved in, pressing his nose against it. The touch was cold, sending a shiver down his spine. He could handle the coldest of waters, but there was just something about a ghost’s touch he could never get used to. The spirit wrapped its arms around his muzzle in a hug and held him for a very long time. 

And slowly, the cold lifted. Daylight breached the water. The soul was gone. Dirge could sense the haunt of the ship was over. The dead remained only as corpses. The material things can go to whatever treasure hunter comes across the ship next. He cared not for such things. So Dirge left, off to find another haunt.