Crow

Goro huddled into the tree as he glanced around. Even though she’d never pursued him before, there was always a first time for everything, right? He sniffled and rubbed the tears away, only succeeding in smearing dirt on his face. He could already hear her screams of outrage for being such a mess. He’d never escape her or her hatred. Why did he have to be born? He was nothing but a curse, a burden, a— A black shape in the corner of his eye made him freeze and tense. He relaxed after a moment, though, when he realised it was just a crow. It stared at him with an eerie intelligence in its eyes, head tilted to one side. He let out a small sound of discomfort and the bird hopped over to him as he shivered. With the sun setting so late in the fall, it would only be a matter of time until he had to return to malice incarnate. The crow nestled into his side and he blinked. What was it doing? It was a wild animal. Why (and how) was it showing him care? He didn’t understand. He knew they were smart, but this seemed beyond their ability to comprehend. A few more fluttered down and did the same, one even nestling into his arms. It was so strange, but he wasn’t going to complain. He just closed his eyes, a tear rolling down his cheek. ♦ He really was just a curse wasn’t he? He’d finally been moved to a semi-permanent family after he’d found his mother dead from slashing her wrists. He’d been planted halfway across the country to a small, rural village whose dialect he barely understood. He wasn’t sure if being ignored was better or worse than being yelled at all the time. He trudged down the street to school when he heard a familiar noise, looking toward the source. A crow followed behind him, that same, eerie intelligence in its eyes. This was definitely a different crow (he’d learned to recognise all the ones around his hometown by this point), so why…? But if they’d be there for him whenever he moved, maybe life wouldn’t be so bad…