The Raven's Venom

001

Her fingertips glided over the gilded corners of the menu she had in her tiny hands. Her brows furrowed, she flipped through the pages with increasing intensity until she almost ripped a page right out from its spine. Shaking, she whispered,

"It's all the same,"

The waiter pressed his lips together before rolling his eyes. "Of course it is,"

"One order of loneliness for the young miss,"

Without another word the waiter plucked the menu out of her hands and disappeared out of her vision. She sat there staring at the cup of ice water out in front of her. She wanted to reach over, crush it in her hands and see the magnificent explosion of glass and water shooting into the air, reflecting the warm candlelight like diamonds. How long more was she going to be eating the same thing? How long more was she going to fill herself up on something that became more and more detrimental to her health the longer she lived?

At length, the waiter returned with her order. Ignoring the pungent smell, she began to eat. She began to eat as if her life depended on it. There was no time to savor the flavor that left a bitter taste on the back of her tongue. She had to get back quickly. She had cleaned her plate and hurried off, ignoring the waiter's sly look. Despite her reactions, he knew that she would be back for the exact same thing tomorrow. She would be back and she would devour the entire plate like how she had that night and the night before.

She returned the next night, hands clammy and eyes buzzing. Without hesitation she ordered her usual meal and waited with anticipation. When the waiter had set the plate down on the table, she stared at the dish. It was disgusting and reeked of bile. This had been her sustenance for as long as she could remember. This had been the thing keeping her alive all this time and she was sick of it. She wanted to eat something else for a change.

Slowly, her hand reached out to dig into the gelatinous substance. It was cold and engulfed her hand entirely. Grabbing onto a decent chunk, she brought her fist up to her face before throwing it at the waiter. He recoiled back in utter shock, even more when she threw a second fistful before sprinting out the room. Sighing, he wiped the food off himself as he chuckled.

"Smart move," He muttered to himself.

She ran. She ran even when her lungs were filled with fire and her legs screamed at her to stop. She ran and ran with a smile on her face, tears following behind her like pearls, floating off into the sky. She rejoiced with the moon, who basked her in her light for guidance. She rejoiced with the stars, who cried shards of light in joy. She ran and ran until she could no longer cry and the stars became nothing but ash.