Scuttle
A writing prompt for 13 Days of Dark & Weird
Pssst …
Listen …
Scuttle, whisper, gasp, rattle, crunch, scream, gulp, thud, beep, crackle, spit, whine, squeal, grate, scatter, creep, pssst…
Hiss …
The sound of a slither, laughter, a thud from the empty room next door, the sudden end of a clatter, a burble, a hubbub. A click and an extended creak, a siren in an otherwise silent night. A light switched — on or off? Is that the wind howling, whispering, sighing? Hear the words of water dripping, tinkling, babbling, gurgling, thundering, roaring…
Eavesdrop on the sound of the dark as it drapes itself behind the moon.
<<SCUTTLE>>
A trick of the ear can be trickier even than a slant of the eye.
Like the sound of someone speaking when there is no one there. A phone call from the dead. A caw … Relentless barking always in the shadows… Why does the owl stop hooting? Silence can be sudden.
And what sounds do the shadows keep?