Kait Gets Lit

This week we’re visiting churches, but it also seems to be the week of the dead. Yesterday we traveled outside the city walls to visit the Catacombs of Priscilla, a series of grave-filled tunnels that the early Christians used to bury their dead. Romans were not allowed to bury their dead within the city walls because it was thought to be unholy and unclean. It was a strange sensation to stand in the sunshine, in the bright orange complex, knowing what lay below us. We were not allowed to take any pictures or video within the catacombs. All I can say is that they were very creepy and dark and if nobody has made a horror film about catacombs, they really should.

Yesterday was not a creative writing day, but I still found myself very inspired while walking around underground. Many of the visuals that stayed with me from the tour had to do with the death of children, something I imagined would be profoundly impacting to a woman if she had recently lost her child. With that concept in mind, I wrote this short piece. All the facts and details that the tour guide gives in the story are true, but the characters and the story were added into the already complex setting.

Dead Things

P.S. For all you Buffy fans (mom, Alisha, Kendra), I realize this title is stolen from season six. I found it fit very well to this story and I can’t seem to find another title that sticks.