A long, featureless road, lacking even a nearby electricity pylon for company, should be as close to abandoned as it could be. It was miles to the first conclave of houses yearning to be a village but, really, little more than a huddle.
I'd taken this route for that reason. To be nowhere.
I was tired. Weakened to the point of danger. Food and fluid were no sustenance when I'd given everything away. Almost all of me. I should have been stronger, in spirit or resolve. I should said no. Walked away. But, I couldn't.
I'm not religious. I exclaim His name in times of exasperation or ecstasy, but am unsure of His existence – or any other deities. My cousin believed we were a brief light in the void, extinguished all too quickly. I couldn't say he was right, but I couldn't say he was wrong.
Even now.
I was given, or gained, this gift, so had to use it. Hadn't I?
The crow was first. It lay dead in the crook of a tree's roots. I was walking Ripley, my dog. He'd barked and ran, unusual for a quiet, placid dog. I cradled the bird in my arms, feeling the need to overpowering. It became warm, then hot. Within seconds, it took flight, revived, my hands bloodied from the wound that killed it.
I was sick then. Breathless with a pain in my chest. Ripley fared worse. The whimper as he died was a cry for help. I couldn't. He was the price. As was the colour in my hair, fast fading to grey. I realised after. To give life was to take it. The child fallen from the climbing frame, his neck snapped, the cost. The swan on the river, payment.
I couldn't stop. I could resurrect, somehow, but there was always a cost. Who could say which was worth more? Why one and not the other? Why did life mean death?
I aged dramatically, worrying my friends. I lied about tests. Who could cure me, and should I be?
I stumbled, weary beyond my years. Drained. Then I saw the fox, dead. I looked around. No other payment. Only me.
I sighed as I held it and whispered goodbye.
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This was my comment entry into the new @Paranormal Prompt contest! I hope you like it. Check out the link for more info and to enter!
https://my.w.tt/iikSvNag9Z
Hey! Guess what? I only went and WON!! COOOOLLLL!!!!
