Echoes of Dusk

The alarm blared. Arin reached under the blankets, smacking objects until she hit the snooze button.

"Five more minutes won't kill anyone," she mumbled.

Her phone vibrated. Kenji's name flashed with three unread messages. Guilt pinched her stomach, but she dismissed it and set the phone face-down.

Arin dressed in her curator uniform - blazer and slacks. The graduation photo caught her eye - the only picture she displayed. Her parents beamed while Kenji flashed his peace sign. She touched the frame, then withdrew her hand.

Her phone buzzed again. She silenced it without looking at the screen.

"Later," she said, dropping the phone into her bag.

The train car packed with bodies carried her toward the museum. Arin flipped through her presentation notes. The museum loomed ahead as she approached.

"Morning, Arin!" The security guard waved as she scanned her badge.

"Big day, right?" He pointed toward her portfolio.

"That obvious?"

"You're gonna crush it. Jordan knows when someone's got the goods."

She tapped her badge against his desk in thanks and hurried toward the administration wing.

Jordan watched her as she began her presentation. Six other department heads sat around the table, their attention fixed on her slides.

"The Ming Dynasty exhibit exceeded expectations last quarter," she said. "I have proposals to enhance visitor engagement."

She presented the metrics while Jordan tapped his pen against the table.

"These interactive elements will transform passive viewing into active participation."

Maya nodded from across the table. The technology director frowned.

"The budget—" he began.

"Is accounted for," Arin cut in, flipping to the next slide. "The projections show increased revenue within three months."

Jordan leaned back, fingertips pressed together. The silence stretched.

"Go for it, Arin." His voice broke the tension.

"Thank you, sir. I won't disappoint."

"Course you won't. Why do you think you're still here?"

Arin sank into her office chair afterward, exhaling. The presentation had gone better than expected, but approval meant the real work was just beginning. Her fingers moved across the keyboard, organizing files for the project's next phase.

Her phone rang, vibrating against the desk. Kenji again. She declined the call and turned back to her screen, pushing thoughts of home aside.

"Hey, boss!" Lola appeared in the doorway.

"We've started transferring the Ming pieces to storage. Ready for layout planning?"

"Perfect timing. Let's gather everyone for a briefing." Arin pulled up the floor plans on her monitor, the exhibition space rendered in blue lines and measurements.

"The design team wants your input on the entrance sequence," Lola said, placing a folder on the desk. "They've drafted three options based on your initial concept."

"Tell them I'll meet them at two. We need to finalize the flow pattern before the contractors arrive."

After Lola left, Arin reviewed blueprints, approved material samples for display backdrops, and negotiated with vendors over delivery schedules. She checked items off her list one by one.

"Coffee?" Takeshi stood at her door with a cup.

"You're a lifesaver," she said, accepting it.

"How's the lighting installation?"

"On schedule. Technicians finish by Friday." He handed her the technical specs.

"The motion sensors triggered again last night," he added. "Security found nothing when they checked."

"Third time this month." Arin made a note to review the footage. "Have maintenance inspect the system before installation is complete."

Display cases stood in formation as the exhibition hall took shape. Arin walked the space, measuring distances between displays with practiced steps.

"Little more to the left," she directed the crew.

"The glass arrived damaged," a technician called from the entrance. "We need to reorder."

"Use the backup panels from storage section B," Arin replied without looking up. "We can't delay."

"Arin! ARIN!"

Akira's voice echoed through the hall. He rushed in with papers in hand, glasses askew.

"Watch the displays!" She stepped forward. "What's got you excited?"

He bent forward, catching his breath. "You're not going to believe these artifacts."

"Breathe, Akira. They aren't going anywhere."

He spread papers across a table. "Look at these markings. We thought they were decorative, but..." His finger traced spiral patterns unlike anything in her fifteen years of archaeology.

"These date to the stone age?"

"That's not even the crazy part." He produced a photograph showing bones that made the researchers look miniature.

"The skeletal structure defies classification. The density, the proportions, everything."

Arin studied the photo. "Where was this found?"

"Site 37. The same location as the tablets." He pulled out another image. "The writing system is unknown."

His voice lowered. "But the stone..." He swallowed. "The centerpiece stone shifts color under lights, and sometimes it hums."

"Show me."

His excitement faded. "It's disappeared from storage."

"Disappeared? When?"

"Between the evening inventory and morning check. The case was locked, the sensors detected nothing."

"I'll investigate this myself." She gathered the papers, folding them carefully into her portfolio. "Don't tell anyone else yet. We need to understand what we're dealing with first."

"I already told Dr. Yamada this morning when I couldn't find it."

"What did he say?" Arin stopped organizing the papers, her attention fully on Akira now.

"To double-check the inventory codes. He thinks I misplaced it or entered the wrong code in the system."

"Did you?" She kept her tone neutral.

Akira shook his head firmly. "I cataloged it myself. Triple-checked the entry. Item SR-7291. It should be in Section R, shelf 7."

After Akira left, Arin waited until the installation crew finished their shift. The museum quieted as staff departed for the day.

The storage corridor stretched before her as she moved between shelves. Her tablet displayed the inventory database as she navigated to the search function. She input the code SR-7291. No matches found. According to the system, the item had never existed.

"Ming vase in C-7, check. Bronze tools in D-3, check."

Her words stopped. There, wedged between a vessel and a mirror, sat an object that shouldn't exist according to their catalog. A stone with a silvery glow that pulsed.

The lights pulsed with it. The air felt charged.

Document the anomaly. Photograph the evidence. Follow protocol. The procedures repeated in her mind like a mantra.

She raised her tablet to take a photo. The screen flickered once, twice, then went completely black. She pressed the power button but received no response.

Arin hesitated, weighing her options. She should report this, call security, bring in the research team. Instead, her hand moved toward the stone, drawn by a curiosity she couldn't explain.

"Just a quick examination," she said aloud to the empty room.

Contact with the stone changed everything.

Energy surged through her body. The room distorted, colors merging. She tried to pull away, but her muscles refused.

An ancient voice cut through the chaos, speaking words she couldn't recognize but understood. Images flashed: forests, creatures, lost civilizations.

"Help..."

The word barely escaped before she collapsed. The floor pressed against her cheek as warmth spread through her body. Darkness enveloped her, accompanied by the stone's fading hum.

Behind her, the artifact crumbled to dust, its purpose fulfilled.

The security camera blinked, watching over an empty room.