Writing Prompt: It was placed on the top shelf.

Good morning all. Watering took a little longer than expected because the promised rain didn’t fall. Need to set the alarm clock a little earlier for the rest of the week I expect. Still, the day is starting so lets jump in with a morning prompt. Timers at the ready. And off we go…

Not sure what is in the box but i think it is really going to be what kicks this story off. I only got through the basic set up before the timer dinged. Thought about continuing, but resisted. I think I will swing back at lunch and add a bit more to this.

Wednesday, May 31st: It was placed on the top shelf.

It was placed on the top shelf.  In addition, it was pushed back from the edge as though whoever put it there wanted it to be hidden in the shadows and not be noticed.

Sarah shook her head.  “Stop being dramatic,” she told herself.  “The probably pushed it to the back to keep the weight from being on the front of the shelf.”  She shook her head at her own fancies.  She had never been the wort to indulge in those sorts of fanciful notions. 

Even as a child she knew nothing lurked under the bed other than the extra blankets stored for winter in plastic bins.  Things didn’t live in the basement and the vile smell was really just rising damp, not monsters.  Nothing lurked in closets.

‘And most secrets hidden away tend to involve collections of porn.’ She added as she looked around for the step ladder.  While that had not been a part of her childhood, it was something her job taught her.  Her company was technically a cleaning company.  There was even a section of the company that dealt with routine house and apartment cleanings just like a regular maid service.  The rest of the company tended to deal with things, like clearing out hoarders houses or simple house clearing. 

The best ones involved a thorough clean as someone moved out.  The bulk of them involved a death.  This one was a post death clearing.  This house involved an owners death.  In this case, the owner died in the hospital. 

The elderly owner was clipped in a crosswalk by an SUV running a red light.  He made it to the hospital but never made it out of surgery.  His estranged son lived in a different country.  He had no desire to return. The house was being cleared out, anything worth anything sent to acution while the everyday things like kitchen wear and extra bedding were going to the local donations office.  The house was to be stripped down, cleaned thoroughly and then it too was to be sold.  It was sad to see a life dismantled in such a way, but she had seen it many times.  Sometimes there was someone grieving, sometimes there was someone greedy.  This time, there was barely anyone at all. 

Somehow Sarah found that sadder than anything else.  ‘At least with the greed there is someone who wants something.’ She spoke to the sun on the phone personally, wanting to know the parameters before starting. He sounded like he could really care less what happened.  If there was money at the end of it than he would take it.  If there was none, he would be content.  Rarely had she met anyone so ambivalent to the process.    

‘And this house isn’t helping,’ she decided.  The house was large, old and seemed to have items collected from multiple generations.  Few of the items were typical.  It seemed to be a collection from several generations of strange individuals.  Sarah pulled the step ladder into place and began to climb.  This box was the last item to be removed, and then the basement would be considered cleared. Already above she could hear the deep clean of the house itself begin. She reached for the box.