RAVEN
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A raven had always resided here, next to the pond. Landmarks dotted the land near and far. A wooden house, a cliff, a pond and a forest. Since it was born, it’d watched its surroundings in silence. Every scant morning, where the sun’s grace painted the pond a lovely rose gold; every night, where the moon’s soft glow pierced the clouds, pacifying the earth.
Food was given in abundance by the pond and grass, and the branches it stood on housed it for all its life. The gradual shedding of their leaves and feathers were this raven’s domain. Every chirp, every storm this raven braved through were deeply imprinted. This was its home.
A boy also lived here, near the pond, but he’d never paid too much attention to the wildlife. To him, it all blended in. It was nature. It was different for the raven. This boy stood out. It took interest in seeing him stumble, scrounge for food and discover. Recently, something new appeared. A strange glow—an orange glow radiating out from the boy’s house. The bird had even flown overhead for a better look, pecking at the wood logs, but found nothing.
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And then, one day, the bird noticed another peculiarity. On the opposite side of the pond, there were forms similar to the boy approaching. Interested, the raven tilted its head, staring in wonder at their sharp stone toys. Their figures were much bigger and robust than the child’s; they looked more mature.
The bird didn’t notice anything special, but something caused its feathers to slick back. It hastily snapped its head toward the house, but there was nothing of note. Only empty space. Though the bird stared intently at the space above the house, only the moon was visible.
Moments later, the luster that had previously illuminated the house dimmed until it disappeared. The boy burst out of the house, knocking his door down and speeding off into the forest.
The raven stood still, in mild shock. Its feathers calmed, loosening as it watched curiously. The others were approaching. They found the shack and began to investigate. As they came out, their faces soured as the lead figure, a topless man with beast hide strapped to his waist immediately signaled the shack’s destruction with a grunt.
Soon, it was done. It only took a little while, but what remained was shambles. The leader paid no heed to anything else and directly left. Silence returned to the area as their footsteps receded.
The raven, left alone, looked simply at the pond waters, blinked a few times, and directly took flight. The branch that housed it seemed lonely, shaking slightly as leaves gradually drifted downward. A bare branch of a simple tree.
The forest welcomed a curious raven.