When A Dove Begins To Fly With Crows [Bamon]

Three Evenings

Bonnie took in a shaky breath and squeezed her eyes shut to get a grip on herself before she looked up at the dark velvet sky. Through her tears, she saw the stars glisten like small, reassuring dots of light in the dark veil covering the world. The sight somewhat calmed her, and her fists, which had been curled under the hollows of her knees, relaxed.

"How will I know you're alright?" she whispered quietly. "That you've found your way into the afterlife? I wish you would give me a sign, anything..."

A sigh involuntarily escaped her as her fingers massaged her temples, when an air current unexpectedly brushed her face. In reflex, Bonnie jerked up her head and looked around. "Grams?" she asked breathlessly, but her gaze only met with the stars glistening in the sky and the forest rustling at the background like before. All had gone quiet again.

Disappointed, Bonnie shook her head, but then her gaze came to rest upon the black bird that suddenly flew closer and perched on her windowsill. It was a crow.

Bonnie felt herself stiffen and blinked as the crow cocked its little head and looked at her through beady black eyes. Her headache, dulled by the aspirin, was forgotten as she stared back. An ominous feeling told her that she'd seen this crow before, whenever she would wake up from the frightening nightmares that resulted in sleep walking. She furrowed her eyebrows.

Her first instinct was to shoo him away, and she had lifted her arm to do so when an old memory drifted to the surface. A memory of her Grams telling her about crows as a symbol of the spiritual aspect of death or the transition of the spirit into the afterlife.

Bonnie's breath caught and her hand fell to her side again. She leaned forward to the bird, her eyes narrowing. "Grams?" she repeated, this time hesitant, though a bit hopeful.

"Caw!" the crow called indignantly and ruffled its feathers before it cocked its head once more.

Bonnie shook her head in disappointment. "I didn't think so," she mumbled as the small spark of hope left her and the familiar feeling of loss enveloped her once more. Still, the crow had managed to pull her out of her misery for a moment, and for that she was grateful.

"Wait here," she said idly to the small animal and disappeared inside her room to return with a crumbled biscuit out of a pack she held in a drawer of her desk. Bonnie leaned out the window and noticed that the crow had stayed at exactly the same place she'd left him. A small smile formed on her lips as she carefully lay down the crumbs on the windowsill and retreated.

The crow took a few hesitant steps forward and clicked its beak. Its gaze trailed to the crumbs spread before it.

"For you," Bonnie invited him in a soft, non-threatening tone. She nodded encouragingly when the crow's beady eyes looked up at her again, searching her delicate features. The moment she retreated and closed the window, the crow approached the crumbs with a few large hops and eagerly began to pick them up.

When Bonnie returned to close the over curtains, the crow was gone.

Second Evening

                        The next day, Bonnie awoke a bit more rested than usual and got ready for another day at school. Thankfully, and probably due to interference from Elena, Caroline stopped bugging her about her quitting cheerleading in the middle of the school year. So her headache was not as intense as she'd expected it to be when she parked her Prius back at home and walked into the kitchen.

She spent a few hours studying for a geography test that didn't hold her interest, breathing a sigh of relief when her cell phone rang. It was Elena.