VICIOUS

ravens gone.

04.

jia was biting down her tongue. she didn't realise why, but she did as she walked down the grey road, empty, with a plethora of tales to speak. afternoon was lonely. she liked it when there weren't many faces passing by. her eyes trailed up towards the sky. brilliant blue. she couldn't see her ravens.

ravens are clever creatures. something about it made her seek their attention since last week, ever since she witnessed the diaspora crying over the lake. they had seen something, and jia was curious about it too.

yeonjun was shocked. he wasn't breathing. he imitated the cold dead corpse for too long, until the veins on his neck stood out. he gasped, swallowing a sob. yeonjun was covered in blood. the smell of it hung onto his clothes, his hair. everywhere. the guy ran outside, almost slipping over the crimson yet again.

the door seemed so far away. he fought his way to reach the knob. his hands left prints of a murder that was about to be disclosed.

jia stopped in her tracks, the sun hot on her neck. she looked down at a blue button against the concrete. it blinked in the light. she picked it up, dusting off the sand. the girl held it against the background, looking through the three holes. it was pretty. and a pretty button is something that shouldn't be left on the road. she could gift it to her black feathered friends. but before she could put her arm down, a silhouette ran out of a shop's door. jia squinted her eyes at the sight.

yeonjun fell on his knees. his throat was an ever increasing constriction. he couldn't see what was around. all he saw were two eyes, of a very dead man. the image was a punch to the stomach. he doubled over, almost emptying the contents of his stomach on the road.

jia saw a raven fly over, sitting just above the lamppost that shadowed the boy. this was her clue to seek answers. she rushed over, the button in her grasp.

and when she was close enough, yeonjun looked up, pale from fright. jia was taken aback. she watched the blood on his cheek, and his hands, and the cuff of his shirt that happened to miss a button.

"are you okay?"

yeonjun gasped for air, shaking his head vehemently. "he's dead. he's dead. mister hiroshi..." he whispered it like a mantra. jia had to close in to pick up the distraught boy.

it was their second time meeting on a blistering summer day.