Gail watched helplessly as the dust motes swirled through the single ray of sunlight through the broken window. They told her that when the dust disappeared, so would she. Sunset couldn’t be far off now, and in a sense, the dust would vanish from view.
She wasn’t sure how she would “disappear,” but she was certain that nothing would ever be the same again. They had removed her gag and blindfold, but one look out the window confirmed the desolate location. With her hands still handcuffed behind her, the window, with its jagged glass, would be impossible to climb through.
As the sun sunk lower on the horizon, the dust shimmered, like something beautiful and free. The spirals formed and changed shape, sparkling with the waning light. It entranced her, this dance of dust, and she found herself on her feet, moving with the invisible music of the earth.
At last the sun disappeared and moonlight turned the dust into blue glitter, still moving. Gail realized that the dust was still there, in the moonlight, inviting her to join the dance in all its beauty.
Ten years later the county sheriff burst through the door. The kidnapper had been caught and revealed the locations of several girls. The sheriff wasn’t surprised to see skeletal remains mixed with the dust of years, but he was stymied by the foot prints that marked the floor where Gail once danced with the eternal dust.
Beautiful and eerie at the same time. The dance with dust=dance with death. Well done.