The Graveyard

Delirium

He's standing on the edge of a cliff, blinking down below, his small hand wrapped around her index finger. It's quiet, misty, no wind blowing around, not even the slightest breeze.

   'Looks like a long way down, doesn't it?' she says, matching blue eyes following his. He looks up at her, and nods. She smiles. 'Aren't you scared of falling?' he shakes his head, 'why?'

   'Because I know you won't let me.'

   She raises a refined brow at him. 'How do you know?'

   He blinks up at her. 'You'd let me fall, nana?' he asks, his grip on her finger tightening a tad bit more.  She smiles gently, 'no, baby, I wouldn't hurt you.'

   'How do I know you're not lying?'

   'You don't.'

   He pouts and she releases a small chuckle, crouching down in front of him, tapping his chin. 'One thing you should know, darling, is that sometimes when people lie, they do it because they love you, and want what's best for you, because sometimes, in order to protect you and keep you from pursuing danger, they have to hide certain things from you, they have to do the things they do because it's what takes to keep you safe, it's not always a bad thing.'

   He squints. 'Are you hiding something from me right now?'

   She tilts her head to the side, pursing her lips as she hums. 'Maybe.'

   He pouts again. 'What is it?'

   'I can't tell you right now.'

   'When can you tell me?'

   'When the time is right, perhaps.' she says, smiling again before standing up and unknotting his little fingers from around her own before pushing him forward softly, the little nudge enough to have him tripping over the cliff, and before he knows it, he's falling.

   He  doesn't remember hitting the ground.

-

   Corbin blinks awake slowly, body sprawled across an empty bed with the sheets kicked off. He groans, mouth dry as he rolls over on his back, squeezing his eyes shut and waiting a fleeting migraine away. A few minutes pass, and as the pain subsides, a small noise comes from behind the closed curtains, a faint tap tap tap on a loop.

   He gets up, bare feet stepping over the towel he wrapped around Eli yesterday as he makes his way towards the window, pulling aside the drapes to find one of his ravens standing behind it, all dark feathers and blue eyes glimmering under dawn light, pecking at the window. It croaks when it sees him, and Corbin smiles as he opens the window and holds his arm out for it to leap onto. It's heavy in his hand, soft under his fingers, healthy, and Corbin smiles, gently caressing the raven's back as it croons.

   'You look good,' he says, letting it walk up his arm to settle over his shoulder, its pointy, sharp claws doing Corbin's skin no harm, 'where're the rest of you?'

   It caws ahead, its cry echoed by the swarm Corbin's eyes fall on as he looks the same way, resting atop a large tree's dangling branches nearby. He stares at them for a while, at their blue eyes and dark feathers and solid posture, as if they're standing guard, as if they're waiting for something, for it to happen, he knows, and they stare back, the one on his shoulder pecking under its wing and rubbing its head against Corbin's temple every few moments before it flies back to the flock.

   He sighs and closes the window, pulls a grey sweater from the cupboard and puts socks on before heading down, his footsteps light and silent against the stares, almost sneaky, even though he isn't stealthing around. It's quiet, no sound to be heard or movement to be felt, the only light coming through the cracked curtains as the house emits a feel of abandon.