21
days until Halloween
"Black
Bird"
Original Story
By: Stacey L. Bolin
Copyright: 10/10/14
***
It was a cold wet rainy school day in
late fall for younger brother Matthew who was 8 and sister alley, who was 6,
but for Kim who was the oldest of the three and had just turned 15, had been
complaining of a sore throat and her cheeks looked flushed. To her mother it
appeared she was showing symptoms of a pending cold, but she didn't have a
fever. None-the-less her mother decided it was best that she stay home so that
whatever it was, would resolve sooner than later. Kim was never one to miss school as she
truly enjoyed it and hanging with friends, but she was feeling achy and knew
that rest, quiet, and chicken noodle soup was always what Doctor Mom ordered,
and she didn't mind taking the day to rest. Her favorite thing to do, when she
stayed home from school was to lie on the couch that was in front of the
picture window. She loved the feeling of the sun rays upon her face as she
watched television, but today she would have to accept the feeling of warmth
generated by the woodstove across the living room.
She got her pillow and her favorite blanket from her
bed and wished her brother and sister a good day at school as they rushed out
of the house to the waiting school bus parked in front of their driveway. Her
mother waved good-bye to them at the door. It was her everyday routine before
she too was out the door to work. Her father was a traveling business man, that
spent more time on the road than at home, but with the new-fangled technology,
he'd do his best to send his love through Skype at least twice a week. She sat
up on the couch to see her mother wave to her before getting into her car. As
she waited to see her mother pull out of the driveway, she was distracted by a
black bird perch upon the wrought iron fence that framed their yard. How strange
it was to her, to see any animal out in the pouring rain, but the old oak tree
with a few remaining leaves on it was probably just enough to shelter it. She
tried to imagine what it could be thinking about, never realizing that as she
pondered her numerous thoughts, he mother had left without her noticing.
The sky was a cold dark gray and the sounds of thunder
rolled in from a distant place as it worked on its arrival near her home. She
stared at the Black Bird, "Why don't you fly out of the rain?" she
thought. She could see the rain drops falling from its black beak. How strange
it was, that it just sat there, almost like it was watching her watching it,
from the window. The heavy rain make its feathers look glossy black that made
it hard to determine where exactly its eyes were on its head. The wind began to
pick up and tree leaves and debris tumbled across the lawn, some getting stuck
against the fence, while other small pieces found its way through and out onto
the road. The thunder grew louder with each flash of lighting that brightened
the sky. Still the Black Bird stayed firmly perched on the fence in the heavy
wind and rain.
It wasn't like Kim to allow her to be so caught up in
something, unless it was a school project or while reading a book. Something
about this soaking wet Black Bird was causing her to feel unsettled and almost
fearful. "This is crazy...It's just a bird! You've seen birds a thousand
times." she muttered to herself still peering out the window afraid to
look away. Some how she felt that she wasn't watching it...it was watching her,
but how? But why? She decided to turn and look at the clock on the wall,
wanting to know what time it was and was hoping that when she'd turn around the
creepy Black Bird will have flown away. She was in disbelief when she saw that
this "Staring Contest", had lasted more than two hours and knew that
it would be gone when she looked back out of the window.
She was relieved when her feeling was right, it was
gone - then bam, she jumped back onto the floor. A bird had flown and hit the
picture window with great force, but the glass remained intact. Her heart beat
a mile a minute as she tried to catch her breath. She sat there for a moment.
"Was it dead?" she wondered. Slowly she crept back onto the couch and
then ever so cautiously peered over the top of the couch to see out the window.
The Black Bird was now perched on the railing of the porch. It was at this
moment, that she remembered an old tale that her late grandmother had once told
her. That birds are drawn to energy and sometimes a home is filled with such an
abundance of loving energy, they fly right into the glass, never seeing it
there, causing them to fall to the ground, shake their head for a moment and
then fly off to do something new. But if
a bird breaks through a window and dies, it would mean that someone in the home
would die soon. She had asked her mother about this story that was told to her
and it was met with a simple smile and a comment that grandmas mean well.
As she looked at the Black Bird, she watched has his
eyes turned from black to hell fire red, then he flapped its wings and crashed
itself over and over into the picture window. Kim threw herself from the couch
back onto the floor, the wind screamed in unison with the thunder as the rain
beat heavy on the roof. The Black Bird squelched and hissed as he flew hard
against the window several time until the raindrops that found their way onto
the window began to turn a bloody red color.
"GO AWAY!" Kim screamed, "GO
AWAY!" The Black Bird continued to slam the window over and over as the
storm outside grew, with each hit the blood smeared the window until a small
crack began appear...it was only a matter of time.
To be continued....
