Title: What Presence?
By: karaokegal
Fandom: Sherlock
Pairing: gen
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: 100
Warnings: Angst and dark themes.
Notes: Written for day 7 of Drabble-a-Day 2011. Beta'd by strawberrytatoo
Prompt from sakinow:
Now droops the milkwhite peacock like a ghost
And like a ghost she glimmers on to me. Tennyson
Summary: A detective and his demons.

***

Sherlock doesn't believe in ghosts.

He is a man of reason and science. The hysterical insistence that there is anything beyond this life is an affront to his intellect. For others, the comforts of religion or the popular pseudoscience which he's been told pollutes the airwaves in the guise of entertainment.

Strange then, that he thinks incessantly of the murders he failed to prevent. The victims speak to him, chastising Sherlock for missing a vital clue that might have saved their lives. Drugs bring temporary relief, but the voices always return.

Sherlock doesn't believe in ghosts, but he's still haunted.

***