No word from the Italian yet. I just hopped he was watching his back. He wouldn't like to end up dead like the poor man I was looking at now. He was a boxer, or so I was told. I didn't really keep up with such human matters. He had caused quite a stir in the building this morning. I was nearly run over by Kent Something-Or-Other. I don't think he saw me through his tears.
"Poor man..." I sighed as I watched the clean up crew take thier time with cleaning up the boxers remains from the bench where I was sitting.
He will be alright, Koraki shrugged, He is not really gone you know.
"Oh?" I asked.
No. When you die you become a crow. Only after you die as a bird do you go on to any afterlife. I used to be a great man. He said proudly.
"I don't doubt it, for you are a great bird as well." I smiled. Suddenly overhead there was a whirlling of wings and I looked up. Pigeons by the hundreds were flying by.
Stupid creatures, Koraki huffed. I made no comment and continued to watch.
There! Koraki suddenly cried. I was confused for a moment, but then I saw it too. In the middle of the flock of pigeons was one black crow.
"And so a newly departed soul takes flight."
(I know we are not supposed to write notes but too many of responces to my post have been wrong. Corbie is an old lady. Not a boy or an old man. And her crow only talks to her. Nobody else.)
Then walks in Corbie MacIntyre. He looks down at my body motionless on the floor of the elevator. He steps over it.
ReplyDeleteSwish. The doors close. He presses 5.
Ding. The doors open. He steps over me and says "There goes another crow."
An ambulance could be heard in the distance. As she got closer, Corbie and his master Koraki, as she liked to think (since the bird was very much in control) were already at the scene.
ReplyDeleteFrom above, the Babushka heard the shrill caw. This was not a pigeon noise. Svetlana glanced upward, masking her eyes with her hand to block the sun. The Babushka squinted at the horizon. From a distant rooftop, she believed she could make out the shape of a boy, sitting. She blinked. Another caw, and the flock of ground-pigeons burst into the air with a storm a white poop and warbling, flapping violently past Svetlana. Svetlana brushed a feather off of her blouse, focused her gaze once again at the horizon. The boy was gone. Babuskha really needed to lay off the meds.
ReplyDelete"Whoops! Well, I'm alright!" The runner grinned, and just as he was getting up, bus #52's breaks did not work in time and ran him over right in front of Emilio's eyes.
ReplyDeleteEmilio stood up in shock and quickly called 911 as a crowd began to form on Calloway.
"What happened?"
"Is he alright?"
"Somebody see if he's still alive!"
Emilio gave the address, described what had happened and hung up the phone. He leaned down to pick up his box, restarted his motorcycle, and began slowly driving home, still in shock from what he had just witnessed. Above his head, he heard the caw of a crow and a folded sheet of paper landed in front of him. He stopped his bike, leaned down, retrieved the note and slowly unfolded it.
YOU ARE IN DANGER. TRUST NO ONE. It read.
Emilio looked up and saw the crow flying towards a frail woman who was peering down at him from the roof top garden.
"What's her problem?" Emilio thought angrily. He revved his engine and sped quickly out of her sight into the parking garage beside the apartment complex.
"Well today has been quite an interesting day," Emilio muttered, and with that, he parked and made his way upstairs to cook dinner and watch some TV.
His neighbor has a pesky guest which until recently did Neuman realize that the nasal and screechy voice came from that of a crow. Parrots talk, even falcons are smart, but a talking crow? Maybe the change of climate is affecting him.
ReplyDeleteI approached an old woman with a weird bird on her shoulder. "What happened?" I asked.
ReplyDelete"Poor soul got run over," she said. The bird just stared at me, unblinking.
"Oh shit." We stood there for a moment, just watching the scene in sombre silence.
I couldn't help but notice Corbie MacIntyre sitting alone, watching the cleanup and talking to a bird. Tragedy can drive us all crazy sometimes. I thought about going up to her to offer my prayers, but she seemed like the bird was the only one who could help.
ReplyDelete