When our last breath leaves us stench and decay transforms the once jovial bouncing bits into an eternal grimace of death.

Bones are calcium rich endoskeletal frames belonging to vertebrates. They protect, allow movement and give us shape.

The skull, in particular, is recognisable in its distinct arrangement of the cerebral dome and the deeply sunken caverns for the eyes. This is true for most vertebrates, especially us mammals.

We all know skulls. The image of one, even the idea of one forming inside your own now, conjures thoughts of death, of the end. And yet the skull also holds a sense of intrigue, of something forbidden.

Could it be there is a magical connotation?

If not magical then at least spiritual. Death is an unknown. We do not know what lies behind the veil which separates life from death.

Having dealt and experienced the passing of both my parents at a young age has taught me the value of life. We have all but a fleeting moment to make things count, to live life to the fullest. There should be no regrets when the time is up.

Death is hardest for those left behind. It is us that have to deal with the passing, to make sense of how things are going to continue. These moments are difficult, with so many emotions spilling over you.

It is in death that the spirit of those that have passed, live on in us, the living. And therein lies the magic , the spiritual, because through us the energy of the deceased, of the loved, continues towards the future. We are the vessels in which the dead live on.

Skulls have always intrigued me…

…more stories and background to come.