Meraki // Poetry & Short Stories

A Tale of Two Empty Souls

Warnings: character death, dark symbolism

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She felt alone, I suppose – this golden friend of mine. She's gotten used to living life teetering the edge, but what good does that do when the slightest noise provokes her almost-demise?

She can't keep this up much longer, and she knows it. She's been saying it, screaming it, praying to the God that she doesn't believe in to let someone know she isn't okay.

In her eyes, the crows don't seem to notice. Neither do the leopards or the snakes, the elephants or the stag beetles, the owls or the salamanders.

Alone. She feels alone.

"Turn around!" One crow would say. She couldn't hear it's voice over the screaming in her heart and the scratching in her ears and the loud ticking of a clock in her brain and-

"Turn around!" It said once more, louder this time. The lonely girl just barely caught it, but the crow's raised voice angered her.

"Don't yell at me!" She screeched. "You don't need to help me, you pathetic bird!"

She sent a kick to its chest, and it flew backwards. Its back hit the rusty iron wrought fence of the girl's yard and fell, crumpled, to the ground. She scoffed, hiding soldier's tears behind a veil of hair and self-inflicted isolation.

The crow flicked a wing and got up to its clawed feet. Still, the girl refused it's calls of, "Turn around! Turn around!"

"Why don't you let it go!" She screamed, once again and twice as violently smacking the ebony-feathered creature to the side. "Leave me alone!"

It was harder for the crow to pick itself back up the second time around. Even so, he persisted, but not for his own sake. Its empty, soulless eyes raised to meet her own only to find himself staring into a pair of black holes with even less life lurking beneath.

It was terrifying.

"Let me help you," the crow tried a final time. Its voice had grown weak; its breath, labored. The lonely girl considered it in a brief moment of desperation, but it was no use. She pulled down her sleeves and turned to the fence gate leading to the woods beyond her home. Boot clad feet dragged themselves to a path of no return and only once looked back to see if the crow tried to follow.

Alas, let the heavens rain down their sorrow. The feathered beast let out one last shuddered noise and fell silent. Motionless. Frozen in death.

The girl was already gone.