I venture into the kitchen, and I get ambushed by dad immediately. He hugs me hard, and I almost want to crumple into traumatized tears, so I don't have to think about any of this, or the other growing issues pressing on my mind.
But I don't. I just lean against him, and let him hug me. It takes the weight off my mind for just a second. Just a second, before a mug of peppermint tea is pressed into my hands. I take my glasses off so they don't steam up.
Something lands on my head, and as I look up, I realize dad is crying. He looks at me, and the confusion on my face. His face falls, and it looks like he might fall apart right there. It scares me, how vulnerable dad looks there, like paper in a storm.
"You don't know?" He holds my face in his hands, running his fingers down my cheeks. He looks even more distraught now.
"What?" I ask.
"Mummy is gone. So are the ravens. There was a murmuration over the Scythe, where you were, and then they just flew off." He says.
"Flew off?"
"They're gone."
"Everywhere?"
"Everywhere. We don't know where, and the Postmaster hasn't issued a statement. " My stomach drops as he says that, and I feel sick, I want to collapse, or scream.
"They've stopped school until we figure out what has happened." From the tones in his voice, I can tell he's hesitant, and isn't telling me everything.
"What do you mean? Layla would have told me if we weren't going." I say, and dad flinches.
"Just for you." Someone's voice comes from another part of the house, and I freeze up.
Three policemen appear, wearing hi-vis vests in yellow and orange, over their black uniforms. What are they doing here? Do they think I caused this? My need to obey the rules pulses furiously in my chest, and I feel scared, like I'm on the edge of a cliff, tipping forward with no way to save myself. I lean sideways, and crash into a chair, almost hyperventilating.
"Who are they?" I grip dad's hand tight, fighting back the urge to cry or run. Or both. I put the tea on the side.
"This is officer Davis, Hana. From the special division." Dad rubs my back, but all I want is to make these people leave, because I know the special division is connected to death, and the postman, and the ravens, and they should not be here, if today could only be normal.
"Yes, and these are officers Clarke and Wilson. I'm sorry to intrude, Hana, you're not in trouble, don't worry." Officer Davis says gently, as officers Clarke, a tall woman with light-olive skin, and long, curly black hair, and Wilson, a young man with a beard and brown hair stand, looking for a place to put the mugs of tea dad probably gave them the minute they stepped through the door.
Officer Davis is tall, and well built but not intimidating. He has a very pleasant face, like he's been doing meditation and breathing exercises, and he has a rich, deep voice, the kind I'd imagine a forest to speak with. It makes me feel calmer, but still on edge. His skin is shiny, and dark, almost ebony, but near the left corner of his forehead are lighter, almost white patches, that ripple down his neck and disappear under his shirt, in patches of discoloration. His aura is a deep blue right now, ripples stretching out to where they fade, like a slightly disturbed pool.
"Hana, as you know, your mother is missing currently. We know because her copies have disappeared, according to reports from other parts of the world, and as result, people have stopped dying." Officer Davis pulls out a large, clear picture of a street somewhere.
There is a crowded street, and some motorbikes are crumpled up against each other like tin cans in a crusher, pushed aside by some careless driver's luxury car. But the people aren't focusing on the vehicles, they're focusing on two people who are half-standing on the road, because one is lying on a stretcher, surrounded by a dangerous amount of blood, and the other is blurred, along with something that could be a limb, blurred as well.
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...
