~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The first time she appeared to me it was snowing. In fact, it was the largest snow that had befallen my lonely home that winter. The glistening flakes fell with intensity before piling up about three feet above the ground. The land around my house was white and gray; any color remaining from fall was buried completely. This time of year has always felt magical to me- the cloudy sky, the crisp, biting air, the snow descending upon my shoulders like a kiss from the sky. I stepped out of my wooden house and basked in it. My nose had just begun to pink from the frigid air when I saw it: a single dot of black against the starkly white landscape. It sat nestled in the snowbank beneath a tree. I clambered over in my thick cocoon of coats to investigate. It was a stunning creature, its beauty only accentuated by the contrast of the backdrop it lay in. It was a crow, an animal of which I had seen hundreds in my lifetime. This crow, however, had caught my eye in a way no other simple crow had. Perhaps it was the mystical effect of the snow on my senses making me see it that way. In any case, it was marvelous. Its dusky wings shimmered with a blue-green luster when the winter sun hit them just right. Its beady eyes held a deep melancholy that nearly brought me to tears. Its imposing beak opened to cry out a single, dismally lonely ‘caw!’ It sat alone in the snow on its back. I didn’t know an awful lot about crows, but my gut told me something was wrong. I scooped it up in my coat lined arms and started toward my house. I opened the door of my simple cabin and set the crow upon the table. I got to work building a fire to stave off the cold so I could focus on fixing this crow up however I was able. I had just started the fire in my fireplace when I turned around to check back on the bird. I can’t possibly explain it, so I’m not going to try. I can only say that when I was done building that fire, I looked back at the table where I had set down an ailing crow, but there was no crow there. Lying in the bird’s place was a woman, the most beautiful I had ever seen. Her skin was pale and soft-looking with a delicate rosiness to her cheeks and shoulders from the icy air. Her hair was short and inky black with the same blue-green aspect as her previously present wings when the glow of the fire illuminated it. Her eyes blinked open, revealing dark brown, nearly black irises. She shivered- she was wearing nothing. I immediately offered her as many layers as I could spare. As she warmed up near the fire, I bombarded her with questions. My first, most pressing being “What is your name?” to which she simply answered “Crow.” We talked well through the day, pausing periodically for me to prepare us some tea. As nighttime approached, Crow told me that she was to leave before the day was through. She left me with a kiss on the cheek and a ‘thank you’ for the comfort and the tea. As she departed from my home, I realized that in all of my questions, I never asked her where she came from or if she would come back. I fell to the floor and wept. I wept for a long time that night. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning, I awoke from a fitful sleep. The snow hadn't yet melted, but I was feeling much too dreary to enjoy it. Instead, I gazed out of my window gloomily, watching the snow develop a shining layer of ice. Suddenly, a black spot appeared against the gray sky. My heart leapt with joy, thinking Crow was back, fully healed and fully ready to spend a day with me again. The black dot gained size as it flew closer and closer. It landed at my window, and I let it in eagerly. My heart sank. This one was different, I could tell. I was so distraught that at first, I didn’t realize that this crow was carrying something in its beak. It nudged my hand to gain my attention and dropped its trinket into my palm- a small silver chain. I wore it around my neck and smiled halfheartedly. Every day since then, different crows would arrive at my window bearing small treasures. I valued each and every one of them, keeping them in chests, boxes, pots and things all around my house. Stones, beads, chains, sticks: every day a new item for my growing collection. Every day, that is, until a fateful day the summer of that same year. The second time she appeared to me it was sunny. The trees had bloomed and were now bearing fruit. The rabbits and deer and beetles and flowers were all out to play. The sun was shining brilliantly, casting light upon sparkling dewdrops adorning the grass. I had, at this point, taken to leaving my windows open whenever I could to let the crows in. That day, I had busied myself with mending a worn-out shirt of mine, so I almost didn’t see her come in. She flew in through the window and landed upon my shoulder. Though it had been months since I saw her last, I recognized her instantly. “Crow?” I gasped, dropping my needle and thread immediately. I turned my head in order to meet her eyes. Those sad, dark eyes are what I saw first. What I saw second was the ring she carried in her beak. It was simple: a silver band with a small black stone set into it. Black, like the little spot in the snow I saw that day. She tipped her head to the side as if to ask me a question. ‘Caw?’ she crooned. “Yes,” I answered without a second thought. She slipped the ring onto my finger. “Yes.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Song is the theme from Howl's Moving Castle Hope you enjoyed my very first short story!! Comment <3<3 if you read the whole thing :)
