Curse of the Rising Sun (1st Place)

The cool wind rushed into the chamber and Jacob awoke in the pitch blackness. His bones ached as he attempted to shake off the stiffness. He sat up and felt the familiar granite sides of his sarcophagus. Steadying himself he arose and stepped out.

“Hello?” he yelled, but only an empty echo answered.

His mouth parched, he tried to summon some saliva but coughed instead.

He sighed and began to recall the night he met the witch doctor...


The party raged well into the night with Dixieland music streaming from the local bars. Women in full array, ranging from the well-dressed with ribbon in their hair to those that barely had anything on at all drifted by. Jacob spied a rather voluptuous pearl-adorned young lady stumble past. He decided to follow her and her band of drunken companions.

A seedy bar with the strong odor of vomit and sweat strangely were their choice. He ambled inside right behind them and closely examined the lovely string of pearls adorning her neck. He, being a former jeweler’s assistant, knew immediately the value of these rare valuables which would top ten bills on the black market.

He rambled around her back and deftly unlatched and pocketed the fine specimen. He milled around the bar, swaying to the intoxicating beat when one of her companions shot from his seat.

Shouting in some strange mystical language he pointed to her neck. Strange thoughts seeped inside his head -- May the one who stole the royal jewels be awakened in deep sleep but once a year as penance for his deed.
……

Jacob scratched at the side of the mausoleum. His mind churned with the words of the curse. One day a year, he paid his penance as he screamed amid the silence of the graveyard.


300 Words

Flash Story limited to 300 Words
Must contain: Ribbon, Mouth, Pearls