Why the crow cries
it's a pretty intense story, so just warning you before you read.****So this is my first short story that I thought was really good or at least somewhat good, and it's not done yet I'm adding on as I go along. So give me your opinion, thanks.
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The year was 1752, in a small village called Chavân, France. It was early fall, and just outside the village is a forest which is where I live. Oh, you see I'm a crow, and I'm too young to be one of the 'life givers' who are crows who help the sick villagers. My father was one of the life givers, he was proud to save the lives of everyone. The legend goes, if the person hears our caw before day break they'll live to see another day, and once winter starts they won't need us no more
"Mâçeûra? Mâçeûra? Where are you?" My mother called. She's a little overprotective. She saw me out of the corner of her eye, flying with fierceness to my location. "Right here mother." I said. Acting like I did nothing wrong "You know better than to fly by the humans." She lectured me... "I know but there's a little girl I've been seeing----" I tried to say before she cut me off. "I don't care, now come along, the Elders are having a meeting." "You think it's about me?" I blurted out the words without even thinking. "I don't know but we shouldn't be late." We took off in a hurry to get there on time. I've been trying to get the Elders to approve my decision to be a life giver since my father had died. A few years when I had just hatched, my father went on a mission and one of the farmers killed him, and in that very instant a scythe fell from the rafters and stabbed him right through his back and killed him
The top elder, a rusty, faded black crow that is so senile he will lash out at any one for no particular reason and later on in the day he would forget everything. "Now settle down!" He yelled out to the crowd of birds. "We are here to disguises the new life givers, and we are going to be leaving a little earlier this year." It should be me, I mean my father, grandfather and so on has been life givers, and it's just natural for me to be one. "Okay, I'll be calling the names in order." The Elder's assistant said. "Alson, Mônkeyto, and Zophy." He said. I felt the disappointment fester in my stomach and out my mouth. "Wait! What about me? I've been waiting for a year and a half for this, and they get it in less than a year?" I said with brute force, and now I wish I hadn't. "Quiet, you shouldn't talk out of turn" My mother said. "You, Mâçeûra! I should banish you for what you said." He yelled at me. "But---" I tried to say. "No, stand down." Elder said. I sat down back on my branch. "Humph, now Eric has something to say, go ahead" he said. "Oh okay" Eric said. "Well I learned that the humans are making some sort of tower in the mere future, some city called Pairs." He said. I sat in anger, why does he think they deserve to be life givers and not me.
When dad died, mother grafted for months, and sometimes i see her leave the nest to visit his grave. "Now" the elder said. "Where should we leave for winter?" Amye raised her wing. "I think we should go to that one place with the kangaroo's again." She's one of my best friends. Then Androw made a remark. "What! I almost got eaten by a dog last time you stupid bitch!" He said with his usual smart assed comments. "Don't call me a bitch you insufferable, incompetent, lazy bastard?" She replied. "Stop it now! You're both insufferable!" Elder shouted.
While they were fighting, I tried to sneak out. My tow best friends fighting? Not very smart to leave them, but if anything happens elder will take care of it. Once I got away I took off and flew to that little girl's cabin. Once I got in the air I felt the embrace of Mother Nature. The clean fresh air went through me, and got me to thinking about... well everything actually. I flew all over the village just thinking, then I saw the little girls cabin. I flew down and landed on her window sill, and pecked at her window till she came over to let me in. I saw the covers of her bed fly over. She swung her feet over the bed and started to walk over to the window. "Hello? Is someone there?" She asked. The little girl looked around for a bit at a loss as she was. Then she took a quick glance at the window. "Oh, hi little bird. Here" She reached for the latch on the window to open it. "There, is that better.
She reach out to pick me up, cold was her hands pale and almost dead was her face, I felt no fear from her. She was strong, that's for sure. "Here, let me get you something." She stretched out her little arm and picked up a loaf of bread, tore off a piece and handed it to me. Out of impulse I just snatched it into my beak, I felt bad about taking the bread from her, and she needed it more than me. She started to pet my back. She strolled towards the window and started to unlatch it from the top. "For my soul to be free is my dream." She said. Her eyes started to get clouded with tears.
She walked me to the window, tears covered her face. "If I can't be free you should at least be free" She tucked in her arms and then through me out the window. I flew off, looking back at her. I flew off, and landed on a nearby fence post. Not even giving me time to think Amye flew by. "You okay?" she asked me with a sympathetic look on her beak. "Yeah it's just... just that little girl is dying and the life givers won't help her, and I don't know why." "Maybe they think it's better if she dies?" she implied.
"No, what kind of low life thinks that a little girl like her deserves to die?"
"Okay, first don't get an attitude with me I'm just trying to help. And you really can't blame them if they can't help her."
"Watch me."
"Okay, maybe they don't have time for her or something."
She looked at me with discussed. "Your being a spoiled brat." Amye said. "How am I being a 'spoiled brat' if I'm caring about someone's life." I said. She looked back at me, like she was about to hit me or something. "You need to know it's part of the life cycle; you can't have new life if the old ones are still here, that's what our philosophy is based off of." She said with a convincing tone. I didn't say anything after her little speech; she jumped of the fence post and flew away.
I spent a while looking at her cabin, just thinking 'if I were a life giver I would save here.' I thought to myself. I jumped of the fence post and flew off. I flew around the village and some past that. I flew to a little city, there were so many candles burring that it lit up everything. I turned myself back around so I could get home before dark. I got back to the village before day fall. "Mâçeûra! Time for diner." My mother called. I flew right to my nesting spot. When I got close enough to the tree I prepped my feet for my landing. I walked to the door and swung it open.
The door made a small thud against the wall, I walked through the narrow passageway witch lead to the kitchen and there were five other hallways witch lead to my room, my mothers, and my three younger siblings. I walked into the kitchen the three little ones were running around and making such a racket mother was about to pull her feathers out. "Mâçeûra where have you been, and why did you sneak out during the meeting?" Mother said. She gave her 'If you say something stupid I'm going to hit you.' Look on her face, but I should know better because she'd never hit one of her kids.
"Oh, just thinking." I said. Which is the truth; I do a lot of thinking from time to time. "Will if you ever run off without telling me I'll beat the feather off you, you got me." She said, with a convincing look on her face. My brother and sisters were sitting at the table when mother started to yell at me. "Hi Mâçy." Jessie said. "So where do you go all day, Mâçy?" Jeûswa asked. "Ah, nowhere, so you don't need to worry about it." I said.
"Don't be mean." Jessie said. She gave me a dirty look and punched me in the wing, like she was about to attack me head on. "She's right you know. It you keep acting like a damn smart ass it'll be your biggest down fall." Mother said. "Yeah, I don't know about that." I replied. "So where did you go?" Jeûswa asked yet again. "I just flew around a bit, and I flew over Paris, the place the Elder's assistant was talking about. "Wow, so what was it like, did you see a lot of people?" Jessie asked. "Umm, kind of, there were a lot of light too. A lot more them what we have here." I said. "Maybe they should call it the city of lights." She said. We all gave a little chuckle and I stopped short of everyone else. "That's funny mama." Javû said.
Mother likes to tell bad joke now and then. While mother was cooking diner, I couldn't help but think of the little girl, how if she dies, her life will be on their wings. "Alright, diners done." Mother said with a happy grin on her beak. She placed the dishes on the table and spread the food out. She made Black Périgord Truffle with a light white sauce and tartiflette ham with shredded Tomme Cheese on top and for dessert she madeCrème brûlée. "Thanks mama_." Javû said. Mother made us all say grace "Bless O Lord, this food to our use, and us to thy loving service; and make us ever mindful of the needs of others, For Jesus_' sake. Amen." We finished meal time prayer. But really I had beliefs of a god but I just didn't see any proof.
I started to eat my truffles first; they tasted a little earthy, but still really good. Then I got this funny tasted in my beak, and started to down my tartiflette until I got the tasted out of my mouth. I scraped all the cheese off the top of the tartiflette, just playing with it because I wasn't hungry at all. "Stop playing with your food and eat it." Mother yelled at me. "Hmm, oh I'm just not that hungry tonight." I replied. "Well eat it any way. It's your favorite." She said.
"I'm done. "Javû said. "Me too." "Okay then go play in your room, Mâçeûra, can you take them to their rooms?" Mother asked me. "Yes mother." I replied. I walked into the hallway while the little ones were running around. Which reminds me, it's my turn to teach Javû how to fly tomorrow. We all sat on the floor while the kids play. "Mâçeûra, come and help me in the kitchen would you?" Mother asked. "Yeah, be right there." I said. I got up from the floor, and started to walk to the kitchen. When I got their mother was already washing the dishes, I walked over to her and grabbed a plate and started to scrub it. "So, why were you so late coming home?" She asked. "Will I-"She raised her wing and swung, it hit me across my beak.
I staggered back, and while my guard was down she hit me two more times. My face was throbbing; I even felt blood come out of my nose. I was so shocked I didn't hear what she was yelling at me, it was just a bunch of words mixed together. She hit me, she actually hit me what the hell. I thought to myself. "What the hell! Why'd you hit me?" I shouted. "You know damn well why I hit you, I told you not to go by the humans!" She yelled. "Will, she's dying and she needs someone and I'm that someone. And the life givers can help but they don't, and you're just being stubborn!" I replied. "'Stubborn' no, you're just being a child. ME, I took care of you since your father's death!" She shouted. We glared at each other for a while, broken plates and glass littered the floor.
She took a deep breath in and out; she placed her wings on my shoulders and pulled me in for a hug. I put my beak on her shoulder, my face still tingling from her hit damn that shit hurts. I could feel a trickle of blood all from my nose to the tip of my beak. She started to hyperventilate then I heard her crying. "I'm so sorry I hit you, I just don't want to get hurt that's all." She said. "It's okay, I shouldn't have disobeyed you."
"I understand." I really didn't understand why she hit me, though. And I know it's because of what happened to my father, when he died mother went through a deep depression and I was the only one by her side. Sadly I don't have any memories of him since I was about one week old and my brother and sisters hadn't hatched yet, so I took care of mother and them. I didn't leave her side for weeks.
"Okay, I'll clean this up. You have to get some sleep for your try outs tomorrow. Okay?" She said with a deep inhale. She cried so hard that her eyes were blood shot; she whipped the remaining tears off her feathers and grabbed something to clean up the mess. "Okay, get to bed." She said. I walked through the hallways; the little ones were asleep.
I picked up Javû and Jessie and walked them to their rooms, I came back to get Jeûswa, I picked him up, my face still tingling from mothers hit. I could hear picking up the glass. I walked Jeûswa to his room. I placed him in bed and pulled the covers over him.
I walked back to the kitchen; mom was sitting at the table, the glass still lying on the floor. I then walked to my room, griped the door knob as hard as I can, mad as I was I know I can't blame anyone but myself. I opened the door, and started to walk to my bed when I heard someone outside my window; it was Elder's assistant talking to a slinky red fox. The fox had one foggy eye and a scar going right over it, when the fox would walk he limped. They were talking for a while then left just as fast as they got there.
I walked over to my bed pulled the cover out and got underneath them and laid my head on my pillow. Thinking of the try outs tomorrow for last minute life givers, hopefully this will go better then everything else that's gone bad in my life.
'The sky was a rusty red color as I flew through it, I could taste blood in the air, and all the other crows were just watching me. Then mother's feathers fell out almost instantaneously, and then she fell. And it wasn't long till all the others followed with her. A gigantic crater opened up and I started to lose my flying ability and spiraled in the middle of the enormous hole engulfed me, body and soul-'
"No!" I screamed in a cold sweat shaking my head. "It's just a dream." I said out loud. It was still dark outside. My heart racing, I could feel it pounding in my chest all the way up to my head, pounding behind my eyes. I sat up in bead then through my talons over and placed them on the floor, whipping the sweat off my feathers on my forehead, I laid in bed staring at the ceiling till I fell asleep.
The next morning I could smell mother cocking breakfast, when I woke up it was almost daybreak. I rushed out of bed ran out of the door without a word and flew towards the obstacle course for today's tryouts. 'Oh god, please tell me I'm not late' I thought to myself. When I was just in eye distance I could see that I was right on time. Today is going to especially difficult since I didn't get enough sleep and doing all this flying around is really starting to tire me out. Elder always hosts an obstacle cores for anyone who may seemed good enough to be one of the life givers, and today is my day. I did all my obstacles like I was supposed to, and everyone I did right I would look up at Elder it look like he actually smiling, or he fell asleep.
"Stop!" Elder cried out with impatiens. His assistant slithered his way over to Elder's chair, and whispered something in his ear. Elder stood up, shook his head and walked over to the edge of his balcony. He started to speak, then stopped to cough then said. "Mâçeûra, Adrona, Samantha. Congratulations, you can now officially call yourselves life givers."
He had a sense of disbelief in his voice, turning back around towards Eric and then back to us. "You report to duty tomorrow. Got it?" Elder said. "Yes sur." We replied. He placed a necklace around our necks, it had squiggles on it. "This will forever make you one of the life givers; keep it on at all times." He said. He turned around and walked to the doors, opened them, and then slammed them shut. I flinched at the sound that the doors made. Without even thinking I jumped up, and proceed to fly home to tell mother. Thinking back on it, she might hit me again just for trying out for the life givers, this time I'll tell her behind the door.
I saw the house, and started to fly even harder till I got to the door. I grabbed the handle twisted it, and walked in. "Mother, mother." I shouted.
"What, what is it?" she replied. She was making lunch for the little ones. The kids were sitting at the table drinking some water.
"I made it, I'm a life giver!" I shouted again. She gave me a wondering face then forced a smile
"Oh my baby's a life giver, come here giver your mother a hug." She said, and then pulled me in for a hug. She pulled me in tight I could her give out a small cry.
'I opened my eyes and all I can see was black, I was trapped in a black box. I looked around I couldn't see anything. A drop of water hit my beak, then another, and another, till it was raining. I pulled my knees into my chest to stay warm. I looked around at the floor as it filled up, till it reached my knees then I heard someone laughing, I saw two red eyes and an evil smile. The wall fell outwards, all the water ran out----'
'Crack' I woke up, I heard a crack of lightning, I got out of bed and walked to the window and opened it, the wind was so strong it pushed the window open and pushed me back. Rain was hitting it so hard it sounded like rocks pounding the house. A neighboring tree was struck by lightning. The tree was on fire, limped over and lifeless. I stopped for a second; there was a slamming sound coming from the other room. I walked over to my door and opened it, and walked into the hallway. I noticed mothers door was open, the little ones doors was open as well. I started to panic, hurried and checked their rooms, they were empty.
I stopped for a second to catch my breath, and then I put all of my fears into my talons and rushed out of the door and then slammed it shut. I then jumped off the tree, and started to flap my wings. 'Maybe there at the embassy.' I thought to myself. The rain started to get in my eyes and made it hard to see, every drop of rain that hit me hurt like a needle in my skin. Blurry but still very much visible, I could see the embassy. A life filled tree in the center of the forest, other animals were fleeing the forest as I made my way to the tree.
"Mâçeûra, over here." Yelled the prime life giver.
I looked to my left and saw him standing under a bush as the rain pelted it. I dived downward and came back up and turned around a tree, and then landed on the ground next to him; I looked at him, he seemed to out of breath, "What's going on here?" I asked as I splashed my talons in the already loosened soil, sinking deeper and deeper in the mud.
"I don't know," he started then stopped to whip the water out of his face. "Elder said to get all the life givers, and bring them to the embassy. All I know is there's going to be something big happening tonight."
He looked off to the distance and just watched the water hit the leaves on the tree. I looked back down at my already engulfed talons; I pulled them out of the ground again. "Come on we got to go, now." He urged to me.
"Why, can't you tell me anything else?" I asked.
"I'm sorry but right now you know all that I know."
"Are they going to explain what's going on when we get to the embassy?" I asked. It felt like there was a knot in my throat.
He let out a short sigh, and then looked off to the right and said. "Okay, I can't tell you anything else, you should know why." He said, and then looked straight into my eyes, as if he was trying to see something that wasn't there.
"Come on, let's go." I said in a hurry, just to end the uncomfortable conversation.
We took off to the embassy, which wasn't too far away.
We flew with quickness as if there was something that was about to happen. We got to the knot hole, which is where the embassy lies. "Come on, come on, hurry up we don't have time to be slow." Emmanuelle said with urgency in her voice as well
"Can you tell me what's going on?" I asked her.
"No, but I'm pretty sure that Elder will explain everything, but we have to get there now." She said
She waved her wing toward the entrance to the channel of donner la vie. We started to walk through the hallway; the walls had deep ridges in them. Other crows were acting security, big masculine guys standing next to each room. We continued to walk to the channel, Emmanuelle opened the gate. She started to turn the wheel the sound of grinding flooded the hallway. She proceeded to open the gate, the squeaking of the hinges of the gate started to irritate my ears. The door swung open, and everything was engulfed by light.
Sitting before all the other life giver was the council of mort et la vie, I could feel a tight knot grow in my stomach and rise up to my throat and stopped me from saying anything. My eyes began to widen, my mouth started to dry out, the nervousness I felt was overwhelming, my heart was pounding out of my chest. "I called you all here so we can disgust today's workings, now if you'll please; take a seat and we'll get to business." Elder announced.
I turned my head to the left to see if I can find mother or the little ones, they left the house without waking me up so it had to be pretty urgent if she didn't bother to wake me. In the crowd of crows, I couldn't see any one I recognized, I really started to worry. 'Maybe something happened to them, stop thinking that way. They're probably here somewhere, right?' I kept looking, but I couldn't find anyone not even Amye where the hell is everyone. I couldn't find any of the life givers families, what's going on? "Okay, life givers of the council of mort et la vie, today is going to be your last day in the village." Elder started with.
I turned my head to the right scanning the crowed for my family, or any of the other life givers families, no such luck came my way. "So as you all can tell it's raining pretty hard outside and the winds are very strong so flying will make it very difficult. Every villager today is at risk of dying, we cannot, and I urge that; you cannot save every life. If you try to, you will ultimately fail and lose your own life in the process." He urged to everyone.
I kept scanning the crowed for any one I can recognized, the only ones I can recognize is the members of the council of mort et la vie. "Okay, so if you all can get to your starting positions and we'll leave in a few moments, thank you and be safe."
I got up from my seat and started to walk over to the wall where the members of the community were sitting, when I heard someone call my name; I turned my head and out of the corner of my eye I saw Darrell running towards me. I started to open my beak when he grabbed my wing and yanked me to my hanger: at first I thought he dislocated my wing. "Come on there's no time to be standing around." He said.
It seems that's the saying of the day today, I swung my wing back towards me and berried my talons in the floor. "I'm not going any were till you tell me what's going on. Why are there not any of the life givers families here; where is my family, what the hell is going on here?"
He snatched me by the feathers and continued to pull me to my hanger. "You have too much questions, I can't tell you much, but first, second, and there'd squad left a while ago; and now it's your turn, so good luck and don't die."
He pushed me next to the door and flew off, I walked to the edge; and looked down at the ground. The plants looked further then they were but I still got that nervous feeling like anyone else would get. "Hey wait get back here, right now!" I yelled, trying to get his attention.
I looked back down at the ground, when I heard the guards coming to check on us. "Hanger one; check, hanger two; check, hanger three; check..."
I looked out into the sky, staring at the stars wondering where my family is. "Hanger seven are you ready?"
I looked behind me; the guards were already at my hanger. "Yeah, I'm ready." I said.
"Hanger seven; check..." He continued to do his check list.
"Starting positions; ready, three, two, one, go."
I got a good running start and kicked off the edge of the hanger and started to flap my wings. The smell of decaying leaves was forced into my nostrils, for some reason calming me down; I could feel my heart rate lower. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in and blew it out, I opened my eyes right before I hit a tree, dogging within five feet of hitting it.
"Watch where you're going Mâçeûra, if you don't you'll die before you get the mission done." Arc said to me.
I looked deep into his blind eye, the scar going from the top of his head and over his beak; reminded me of the fox I saw the other night.
"Mâçeûra, watch out!"
I turned my head and saw a strike of lightning hit a tree branch causing it to fall right over me. The little branches on it caught my feathers and pulled me down to the ground. Falling at a great speed; causing the feather on my neck to blind me. When I made contact with the ground, a splash of mud covered my getting in my eyes; unable to see I start to flair around trying to get undone: in the proses I ripped my feather out of my back.
I fell to the ground and hit my beak on a rock; I could taste the iron-enrich blood fill my mouth. I slid off to the right till I reached a puddle of water; I quickly washed the mud out of my eyes. I got up from my kneeling passion and sunk into the ground I tried to get them out but I just kept sinking. I rapidly looked for something to grab onto, when I saw I tree branch and struggled to get it; I forced all my weight up to reach the branch. I missed and sunk in deeper.
"Hold on Mâçeûra I'm coming." It was Arc. He grabbed the branch and pushed it down towards me; I grabbed it and forced myself up.
"You okay, you think you can make it?"
"Yeah, I'm just a little jumpy."
"Okay, will you should hurry up."
I looked into his blind eye again, and for a second I could feel his soul right before he took off. I got back to me feet and flew away; back up in the sky I could think better and more efficiently. Making my way to the village the other crows were rushing there way backwards to the embassy. I ducked down and landed on a tree branch, most of the other life giver were pushing their way towards the village; and I wasn't about to quit when the going gets tuff.
So I jumped of the tree branch continued my way to the village. Pushing through the rain and wind to do what my family did for generations; my dad died doing what he loved and I'm willing to do the same. I could see the families rushing inside their homes. Out of the corner of my eye I could see another crow that got caught by the wind flying my way; the wind was strong enough to where I couldn't switch my direction. The crow and me collided bodies; forcing me into a thorn bush. My legs were wrapped by the vines, the thorns making their way into my legs; blood started to seep through the wounds in my legs.
I started to struggle and vines wrapped around my wing, I through myself forward witch made the spikes pierce my wing, letting the crimson red blood escape my body: my vision started to go for the lack of blood in my body made me feel light headed. Even with my bad vision I could see out of the corner of my I saw mother and the little ones leaving with little Javû on mothers back. 'There leaving without me?' I thought to myself. I started to force my body out of the bush; the spikes piercing every inch of my body as if it was paper. Drenched in blood, mud, and water gave me the smell of death. I slowly started to give up and let what lies lie.
The ground started to tremor, and it wasn't long till the ground started to violently shack and before I knew it a crack in the ground opened, throwing the village into the all-encompassing dark abysses. 'It was just like my dream, and I failed for the last time; I'm sorry father please forgive me.' And before long the dark swallowed me as well...
THE END