The road to secrets

《Prologue》

The shadows of the darkness elegantly danced through the lonely cold street of the night, and a cold gust of wind filled the silence that made its master of the town. 

No light was visible, and all the houses were dark as if there was a looming presence but no living soul. 

The soft cries from a crow filled the empty night sky.  

Where a crow cries, a man dies. 

Fast but quiet footsteps broke the silent spell of the night as the young male stepped out of the darkness towards a black car. 

It took the young male a matter of seconds to step into his car, starting the engine as he glanced through the rearview mirror, his own black eyes staring back. 

One particular street lantern outside flickered every few seconds as the young male squinted his eyes, swearing he had seen a shadow that was already gone as he blinked his eyes. 

Shrugging the feelings off his shoulders, the man started driving slowly with only one destination in mind. 

Gamblers den. 

The village might have been new to the young male, yet he drove as if he knew every nook and crook of the town, humming a quiet tune under his breath. 

A yawn escaped the mouth of the young male; his eyes started to droop a little close as he shook his head, trying to concentrate on driving. 

You have to stay awake; he muttered to himself as he tried to keep his eyes on the road. 

About a few metres further was a park, a bench in the middle, next to it was a lantern, lightening the place as the young male counted the crows. 

As he counted the crows that sat unmoving next to each other, he remembered an old rhyme he always recited with his brother. 

One for sorrow, 

Two for mirth, 

Three for a wedding, 

Four for a birth, 

Five for silver, 

Six for gold. 

And, seven for a secret, never to be told. 

The young male averted his eyes, an unsettling feeling making it master inside his chest. 

Something was prickling under his skin as if thousands of needles got pierced through his arms. 

He decided to ignore the feeling, just as his vision blurred. 

The young male blinked once, twice, thrice, his vision clearing again. 

Something was amiss, the young male knew, but he couldn't place his finger on it as he tried to regulate his breathing. 

His heartbeat was thudding in his ears as he tried to hold his composure, throwing a glance at the empty streets. 

All the lights of the houses got turned off except for one, and as the young male kept his attention on that particular house, the light there turned off, the streets getting convulsed in darkness for a mere second as the street lights flickered. 

A shadow danced in the corner of the young male's eye as he turned a corner, shivers running down his spine. 

The young male blinked once again, trying to get his troubled vision gone, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. 

A second passed, two seconds passed, a third second passed, and the young male's head trashed backwards and back forwards, too quick for the airbag as his head hit the steering wheel.  

Only a mere beat later, the airbag opened, the white stained with a fast blooming colour of red that spread itself all over the airbag. 

A thudding headache intruded the young male's head as the world flashed black in front of his eyes, his body crushed by a sudden pain he couldn't get a hold on.  

He extended his hands, touching his head as he felt something wet and sticky beneath his fingers. 

The young male flexed his hands, the substances getting smeared all over the car seat, but his eyes were too unfocused to see it and his movements uncoordinated. 

"So this is what it feels like to die," the young male muttered under his breath, not sounding scared at all. 

The young male realized two things before the world in front of his eyes turned black, one was that the sticky substance beneath his hands turned out to be his own blood, and two was that life does not flash away in front of your eyes when you breathe out your last breath in this world; it only happened in movies. 

Word count: 732 words