Deathless [ON HOLD]

Chapter 7

I engrave the voice into my memory – the soft, soothing voice. The longing in my heart grows stronger and I force myself to suppress it. If I let the longing overwhelm me, I just might fall apart like all those years ago.

The image reflected in the surface of the waters blurs and time seems to fast forward. The girl is now kneeled down in the grass, her white dress stained with splotches of green. She gently places the black colored bird onto the grass.

"Do you feel at home now?" She raises her arms and makes a flapping motion. "Go on, fly." The little crow stares back at her, or at least it seems that way.

The sun has set, casting heavy shadows on their figures. Children reluctantly tear themselves from the playground and mothers load their children into crowded minivans.

"Look who it is!" A rough looking boy jumps out at the girl and she flinches at him. He has a strong build for a boy his age and easily towers over her. "It's pig face!" he yells to three other boys behind him who are still messing around on the monkey bars. When they look up and see the girl, their faces light up with bad intentions.

"It really is pig face!" says one of the boys sporting a baseball cap. He notices the bird by her side. "The ugly girl hangs out with an ugly bird. This is too funny!"

All the boys hold their bellies in laughter but the young girl simply picks up the bird and holds it protectively, glaring back at her bullies.

The boy with the baseball cap sneers, seemingly the leader of the group. "Don't be mean. Let us play with the ugly bird, too." The other boys shout their approval.

The young girl stands up defiantly. "No."

"No?" The leader of the boys approaches her. "Didn't your mama ever tell you sharing is caring?"

The girl's painted on confidence falters at his words, but she quickly recovers. "My mama told me to always protect the ones I care about."

The boy seems annoyed that he wasn't able to scare her, but he continues to approach her. His friends begin to close in on her too. The leader lunges for her wrist and the young girl screams as her other wrist is seized by another boy, the bird yanked from her grasp.

"Somebody help her!" I yell, but there's no one in sight. Somewhere along the line I must have forgotten that this image isn't real. It's a slice of my memory and there's no one to help the girl – no one to help me.

The boys fight over the little crow as it's yanked from one pair of rough hands to the other. "I want to play with the ugly bird," they whine. The crow struggles, but it seems to be aware of its tragic fate and doesn't put up too much of a fight.

The girl raises her tiny fists and beats them against one of the boy's back – the one holding the bird by the neck. Blood trickles down her arm from digging her nails so deeply into her palm. The boy shoves her away with one arm and the grass welcomes her, further staining her dress.

Another boy cries out with narrowed eyes, "No fair! You killed it before I got a chance to play!"

Without remorse, the bird is thrown from the boy's grasp, it having no more use to them.

My younger self crawls towards the little crow. She feels the bird's small, helpless body in her hands. Its wings are bent at odd angles and its eyes are lifeless.

Tears fall from the girl's wide eyes and soak the bird's feathers. "Fly, birdy." The words come out strangled.

The leader draws closer with a smug grin. "What's that, pig face? Are you crying?"

The young girl mumbles something incoherent, lying limply in the grass. He's inches from her face now, basking in his successful torment.

"..mama said," She whispers. Thin streams of black smoke project from her body, swirling around her torso, then slithering its way up around her entire body.