The Gloom Of The Crow

It was just like any other day. Grey skies with no hint of sunlight. The cold wind passed by creating a rustling among the leaves. Emery walked not knowing where to head.

He ducked on seeing a crow flying towards him. Emery could see the crow eyeing him like a target. He remembered his grandfather telling him a story about crows when he was seven. His grandfather told him the term 'murder' was used to describe a flock of crows back in the fifteenth century, and also that the crows feed on the carcases of dead crows.

Emery was used to watching his grandfather feed the crows. He never feared them, but for the first time, he was afraid. He felt like the crow could see through his soul.

Emery saw the crow going behind him and settling at the roof of a grey house with other crows. The black steeply pitched roof look like the melted arms of a monster. The two storey house had four transparent arched windows. The narrow path in front of the house was covered with dirt and dark leaves that looked more like the broken wings of a bat. Judging by the outer appearance of the house, Emery was sure the house was abandoned.

He looked up. The crows were restless. They followed the crow that scared Emery to the other side of the roof.

He flinched on his spot as the
sound of thunder reached his ears. Emery raised the collar of his long maroon coat to cover half his face.

First, he stared at the house and then to the path opposite to it, trying to decide whether to move further or to go back where he came from.

The temperature suddenly dropped.
Emery rubbed his hands together, trying to stand still. A numbing sound was ringingd in his ears as the cold wind passed by again. The branches of the dead white ash tree danced in the wind.

Emery stared at the house one last time. He thought he saw a movement, someone passing by one of the windows. He quickly turned and started to walk away, keeping his head low. He was away from the house now, but his heart wasn't ready to believe that, yet.

Emery raised his head and saw a couple coming in his direction. All he could see was the man's black suit and the white derby hat with a long black feather attached to it. The woman wore a white frilled dress. Black buttons at the bottom of her dress formed a V shape.

The man was holding the woman's right hand, the man whispered something in the woman's ears and they both laughed. The woman flopped around the man, smiling.

The two of them stopped as they caught Emery looking their way. The smile vanished from the woman's face. They stood twenty steps away from him.

The couple stood beside each other, holding their backs straight. They moved their fingers in synchronization.

'What are they doing?' Emery thought.

They moved their heads to their left and then to their right, they paused to face Emery again.

They repeated the action again and again. The wind was getting colder by the second. The entire route was empty with no sign of any other being.

Keeping their hands in mid air, the couple smiled for a second then a frown appeared on their faces.

They started doing the movements with their arms again, but this time they did it slowly, taking a long pause after each movement.

Emery studied their actions carefully. They were trying to spell a word.

Emery's voice got caught in his throat. The small hair on his arms and the back of his neck stood up, an irresistible urge to scratch his body overpowered him.

The word they were spelling was 'EMERY.'

He could feel his heart beating in his mouth. Emery didn't know what to do. He crossed the road in an effort to get away from them.

'Oh, my God! What was that? You have to run, Emery.' he said to himself.

Emery ran to the opposite way, not daring to look back even for a moment. He ran until he was out of breath. After a while he stopped to catch some air and found himself in front of that house again.

The crows had left the roof. His eyes searched for someone inside the house.

Emery went near the house, a crisp popping sound came as he stepped on the leaves. He pressed his face against the window in the hope to find the person he saw back in the house.

The insides of the house were much cleaner than the outside. He saw a small fireplace in the corner. Three prosthetic silver skulls were attached to three different parts of the wall above it. Each skull had big red eyes like beads.

Emery could swear that he saw one of the skulls in the middle blink.

He backed away from the window. He stumbled upon something and fell on the ground.

'Emery, we looked for you everywhere.'

A soft -low female voice came followed by a rough high pitched male voice. 'You sure do like to peek, don't you, little boy.'

Emery looked up and found the couple he thought he had left behind, leaning on him.

'Sorry, I scared you before, Emery,'  the woman spoke. 'I'm still learning how to fly.' she smiled, revealing her black teeth.

'Oh, Dura, you always make excuses.' the man said.

'What can I say, Robert is no good. Maybe Emery can teach me. You will teach me, won't you, little Emery? Let's get you inside the house, little boy. You are going to love it.' the woman licked the corner of her lips and whispered in Emery's ears. Her yellow eyes were brighter than before. 'I promise.'