I wake up, a mist of sweat beading my skin uncomfortably. I draw my knees up to my chest, trying to comprehend the jumbled shatters of nightmares prickling at the back of my mind. I check the time.
05:40
When I get up unnecessarily early to catch the bus to school with Layla. I just have to sit here now, until six at the earliest.
I grab a notebook from the desk. Twenty minutes to make a plan. At the least.
First thing, did mum know she was about to go missing?
I don't know.
Second thing, how did she go missing?
I don't know.
Third thing, what's related to her disappearance?
I don't know, but since the Postmaster disappeared too, I need to ask Corvus when, and if they're related, then because the Postmaster runs a bureaucracy, there will probably be a document about it somewhere.
How do I get into that tower?
Corvus.
If that doesn't work...
I could try and talk to a dead person, or try and break into the post office, or I could try the Cherry Gate, but that might not do much, since I'm not a death.
So talking to Corvus it is.
I checked the time. Still early. But I wasn't dealing with sitting alone with my thoughts, so Corvus was getting woken up early.
I pad across to the door , and wait in the hallway, pulling on socks just to be cautious. I hesitate opening the door, he could be naked in there, and I still don't know him that well.
I knock, and hear nothing. I nervously knock louder, and I hear a squawk from inside.
I decide it's safe to come in, so I take a breath, and push the door open, leaving it ajar for a quick escape if this goes wrong.
There is a light on, a blanket draped over it, setting a soft glow in the room. The duvet on the double bed is scrunched up at the end of the bed, in a ring around a Corvus lying on his side with his knees to his chest.
Ren sits on his shoulder, his beautiful ivory wings hiding Corvus' face, as the bird lazily grooms Corvus' thick midnight tangle of hair, slightly lit by the glow of the lamp.
He sits up, transferring Ren to his lap, where the raven settles happily, puffing out his feathers.
Corvus is wearing his weird cloak again, a curtain of black feathers drawn fully over his shoulders, hiding his silhouette. It reminds me of selkies from Irish legends, people who can transform into seals only with their sealskin.
"Corvus, can you get dressed?" I ask.
"Why?" He asks, stroking Ren's head. The raven's pink-red eyes watch me, glittering.
"I want to go to the tower, I mean, the Post Office." I say, hoping me being death's daughter gives me an exemption from not being allowed in.
"No. I can not take you inside." He says.
"Well, can you go in?" I pry.
"No. I have no key." He replies.
"Well, there's a window at the top, can't you turn into a raven and fly up?" I spoke, exasperated.
"No, I think there is something about the Post Office that means I cannot shift while up there, so I would fall. And Ren would have no partner any more." He said mournfully, wrapping his arms around the raven, who nuzzled his cheek.
"OH." I said.
"What?" Corvus asked.
"You and that raven are..." I say, looking between them.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I told you I used to be a raven, did you not believe me?" Corvus asks, sadder than I expected.
"Well, I had no reason at the time, but you still look kind of human." I say.
"Yes. That is the point of looking like this."
"Well, how did you and Ren get together?" I ask.
"Once every raven turns a certain age, they are paired with another raven for life. Ren was all alone, the last one left. I was supposed to pair with another raven, but I ignored that, because I did not want to spend the rest of my feathers with her."
"The rest of your feathers?" I ask.
"It is how ravens measure age."
"Oh. Anyway-" A sharp shriek interrupts me.
Ren croaks something quietly, and I raise an eyebrow. Corvus croaks back, his voice box vibrating higher than I expected. Whatever he just did used no human vocal cords.
"Ren says there is a way." Corvus admits.
"That's great! How, exactly?" I ask.
"Ren will show you." Corvus says, and he doesn't continue.
I leave the room, telling him to get dressed, and I wear the shirt and skirt I bought with Layla on Saturday. And I sneak down to the kitchen. I can't use the toaster, because it would be too loud. I grab four slices of bread and some jam.
I realize I should probably go get one of the officers to go with us, like I promised, but what if they don't let us go? I push that thought out of mind. They want to find Mum. They'll help.
I leave the sandwiches on the counter, and venture outside, all too aware of how early it is. I wait outside the tent belonging to one of them, I can't knock so I do the next best thing.
"Um, Officer Davis? Officer Clarke, Officer Wilson?" I say, getting slowly louder.
I hear a bleary groan from inside the tent. Officer Wilson emerges, in a t-shirt with some 90's band on it, his hair spiked up as he focuses on me.
"Why are you up?" He asks.
"We have a lead on finding death. I think." I spit out.
"Now?" I nod.
He sighs, and puts on some shoes, walking to the central tent. "Micheal. Micheal! ... Sir!" He shouts, scrabbling at the fabric of the tent.
"Yes?" Officer Davis asks from inside.
"We need to go somewhere, sir."
"Give me a minute. Get Officer Clarke." Officer Davis says.
"Yessir." Officer Wilson blinks sleepily and gives me a look of 'now-look-at-all-the-sleep-you-have-cut-short'.
I walk back inside and look at Corvus, who is dressed, with Ren on his shoulder, brewing more of the golden tea. He puts something back in his bag, and hands me a second flask, one I recognize as mine from the cabinet.
"Thanks." I said, handing it back to him to store in his bag. "Oh, right, I made some sandwiches and found some meal worms for Ren."
"Thank you, Hana. I always carry something for Ren though." Corvus put the flask in his bag, and hands me back the bag I put the meal worms in.
"Oh." The air is awkward, but it clears as I finish the sandwich, and the Officers appear. I sigh, wipe the fleck of jam from the corner of my mouth, looking at Corvus, who adjusts the strap on his satchel, and Ren settles on his shoulder.
I write a note to dad, and stand up, looking at the Officers in their gear, and Corvus with that dangerously overweighted bag, I feel critically under-prepared. Either way, we set off towards the Post Office, with some unknown way to get into a tower to solve the mystery the world relies on.
YOU ARE READING
A Tale of: Ravens, Scythes and Cherry blossoms
General Fiction'All it takes to consult the dead is a pen, some paper, and a secret you've never told anyone else' Hana is the daughter of death, a hereditary position that has existed for as long as mankind has. She lives through each day with the caw of ravens i...
