Craaven

Chapter 11: Mortemville, Montana 1979 October 27th

I've been too busy with my own exploring and venturing to give any updates about the asylum family. I just didn't care too much about them to check up on them and see what stupid things they were up to.

However, today I was bored enough to decide to see what entertainment I could find there. Whether it was the girl, or the parents, I didn't really care, I just wanted to see something interesting. Maybe I could even try to get acquainted with the girl, seeing as how she was the only kid my age within at least 20 miles.

So, after a while of flying over the mountainous woods and seeing the aesthetic sights, I turned around and headed toward the asylum. I wasn't too far but it was still quite a while before I reached it.

I arrived nearly an hour or so later and I apparently arrived at just the right time to see something going down on the front steps. The girl was standing out in the open while her mum practically ganged up on her and cornered her without a corner to do so. The mum was yelling about something, I couldn't quite catch it from the distance I was at.

The mother suddenly shoved the poor girl into the large rubbish bin that sat out front of the place, earning a cry of pain from the frail girl as she collided with a piece of dirty metal. The sudden attack threw me off and I flew closer in order to see what was happening better. I knew the parents were off, to begin with, but I never could've expected them to be this abusive. It suddenly made more sense why the girl seemed so much smaller than she should've been.

The girl was yanked to her feet again by her mum and given a harsh slap across the face before being dropped into the dirt again like some old ragdoll. The mother yelled some more and grabbed her husband by the wrist; she dragged him to their van that waited in the dirt driveway and within a quick few seconds, they were driving away and leaving their poor daughter in the dirt.

I strangely felt bad for the girl. In a way, I somehow felt the pain that she felt and it made me feel bad. I flew down to her and landed not too far away; I wasn't sure what I would do but I knew I wanted to do something. The girl had tears in her eyes that she was struggling to contain and her lip quivered.

I cawed softly to get her attention, and the girl managed to blink away her tears when she heard me. She turned her head to look at me and when our eyes met, she smiled with a hint of relief in her eyes.

"It's you..." she muttered weakly, extending her hand to me to reach out and pet me. I leaned my head against her hand and she gently massaged the back of my neck with her fingers. It seemed to comfort her enough, so I let her pet me for a while like I had the first time she met me.

"You're such a nice bird..." she said calmly and pushed herself up into a seated position. She winced painfully as she got up and I could see from my spot on the ground that the wound she obtained from hitting the rubbish bin was bleeding. It concerned me but it didn't seem to bother her too much so I didn't bring attention to it.

"What's your name?" she wondered as if I would answer. It was clear that even though she was injured and traumatised by her parents, her imagination still ran strongly. Her imagination was probably what kept her going on hard days so it seemed only fitting that I help make that fantasy just a little bit more real for her.

"I'm Edgar," I answered her and the girl's previously calm features widened into a look of shock and awe. She gave me a wide smile that seemed to light up her face despite the dirt smudged across her skin and the tear streaks that left trails down her cheeks. It let me know that I was doing good so far.

"Are you magic?" she asked excitedly and leaned closer to me.

"I guess you could say that," I responded casually. I obviously knew I wasn't but with my necklace, I technically was and as far as the girl knew, I came straight out of a Disney movie. The girl's excitement only grew and she extended her hand for me to step up. Not wanting to ruin her better mood, I obliged and sat in the palm of her hand. She pulled me closer to her and with wide, hopeful eyes, she asked, "Are you here to save me?"