A Vision of Crows

Chapter 17 - A Spider's Meal

In the distance, a train's whistle could be heard, followed by the unmistakable sound of chugging and puffing along the rails and towards the Delphine Station.

Meg stood by a bench, where next to her was Mr. Avci helping Cia tie her favorite ribbons into her blonde hair as she kicked her small feet back and forth, humming a tune.

Glancing at people quickly boarding a train, Meg sighed and leaned against the luggage, the largest of which belonged to Cia. She placed her hand against her own suitcase, which they had taken a brief detour to her hotel room to retrieve before getting to the station. It wasn't much to speak about, really. All that she did aside from taking her belongings was to quickly fix up her appearance and take a shower.

Speaking of her appearance, it wasn't much either. She had simply done her hair slightly differently, apply her makeup a bit heavier than usual, and putting on sunglasses.

She felt ridiculous, but her instincts told her that it was for the best, and so she held in the urge to fling off her disguise and scream, "This is too much!"

She shook her head, driving away the silly thought when she heard a train arrive and a man yell, "Tren e Soladur! Train to Soladur!"

Mr. Avci looked to Meg, who grabbed the luggage as he grabbed onto Cia. They nodded to each other, and quickly rushed aboard. When their papers were demanded from them, Meg had obediently handed them all of them. She and Mr. Avci had decided for her to hold all their documents the day before.

The train was soon packed with people. The atmosphere was nowhere near as tense as it was the day before, but there was still a sense of unease amongst all of the passengers. People murmured to each other, their words too quiet to be distinguished, but loud enough to be heard.

As soon as Meg sat down, she felt a giant weight rise off from her shoulders. Deep down, however, she knew that her troubles were far from over. But now, at least she could save Liza. She would finally reunite with her family. But still...

Her mind kept returning to the visions she had over the previous days, and back to Cia, who had been left in her care.

Soon, many hours had gone by, and Cia had fallen asleep, holding Nocht in her arms. The lizard too seemed to be asleep, its body still save for the motion of its chest falling and rising.

Meg was still pondering when Mr. Avci quietly asked, "Worried about something?"

"Many things. You?"

"Same as you," he replied as he began to fiddle with his watch. She chuckled nervously, "A year ago, if someone asked me how I would feel about, well, this, I would have called them crazy."

He continued laughing nervously, clearly having lost his cool. Soon, Meg found herself giggling too, thinking, this is just so absurd, isn't it?

A wetness formed in her eyes, but she managed to hold them back. She would have to save her tears for a more appropriate time.

"I'm going to take Cia with me," she decided.

"What?"
"I'm sure that my family will be able to accept her. And maybe, just maybe, she'll be safe with us."

Mr. Avci said nothing, so Meg continued.

"I am going to protect my family. I will make sur that no harm comes to them. I want us to be together forever."

"Forever, hug?"