A fine mist has settled the ground, the chill in the air building as we approach the edge of town where the post office is. It sets an aura of foreboding I really don't like, and the sky, like usual, bears the ever present threat of rain.
We stop right in front of the tower. Corvus looks nervously at Ren again, who rubs his raven face on Corvus' cheek, before alighting to the sky like an angel.
I watch the bird turn a tight arc around the tower, before landing on the window sill right at the top, disappearing inside, with a ruffle of his feathers.
I look at Corvus, and his hands fidget nervously, and I give him a nervous smile, despite being too focused on my nerves to fully comprehend the masking behind it.
"Did Ren say anything?" I ask.
"Yes, he told me the officers could not come in." He admits.
"Oh." I say, with the bluntness I usually have behind my words. "They won't like that."
"No, but I do not want Ren to get hurt." Corvus swallows.
"Oh." I say, realizing just how painfully unaware I was of giving any advice on this. Just how obvious that was with my talking.
He goes quiet and keeps staring up at the tower, and I can't do anything about it.
Officer Davis squinted up at the tower, Officer Clarke using the binoculars, as Officer Wilson just kind of stood there, rubbing his hands together miserably, occasionally plucking sleep out of his eyes.
"What is the raven doing anyway?" Officer Davis asks.
"Ren." Corvus mutters.
"Alright, I'll try to remember, I'm sorry, Ren." Officer Davis corrects himself.
"He is getting the Postmaster's signet ring. But only those who are apprentices of either the postmaster or death can come in." Corvus admits.
"What do you mean?" Officer Davis asks.
"The post office will not physically let you get inside." Corvus tips his head to one side, his breathing slowing, and I could only assume he was listening out for Ren.
"Are you sure it's safe?" Officer Davis asks.
"For me, I will be safe, and Hana is not stupid. We shall be fine, but there is an element of risk. But it is very dangerous for you, and that is why the office will not let you in." Corvus tuns away and stops talking.
We wait in peace for a moment, and then a rush of wings appears at the window, and Corvus opens his arms, embracing the raven, and taking the silver ring Ren drops into his palm.
He places it on his ring finger, and rests his hand on the door, closing his eyes for a second. I detect the paper smell of his magic, as the door bends inward, so a ring is exposed into the tower, like someone punched a magical hole through.
He ducks through, Ren fluttering through after him, and I follow, hesitating nervously as the smell of paper overwhelms me.I turn back, as the hole re-ravels outwards and we're trapped inside.
The inside is a cold room, dry and dark. Corvus touches something on the wall, and the walls light up. They are painted in luminescent swirls of light, and cast some illumination, and I take a breath.
This is not an artificial tower, but rather what appears to be a ring of bark less trees, weaved so tightly together they form a solid structure, with a facade of brick built over the outside. Seemingly endless scrolls and neatly cataloged stacks of paper stretch out above me, a weight of history staring down at me. Bare branches are smoothed, sculpted to weave into cubbies and shelves to hold everything, a railing-less, made-from-the-tree wooden staircase coiling around the room, leading ever upward.
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...
