Four for birth.
With large flaps, the fourth crow settles on the soft earth, where footprints still lay, the small gusts created by its landing scattering some dry rotted leaves.
To many people’s surprise, Elena joined in with the storytelling, first only a few words commented on a particular favorite of their exploits, adding details that many hadn’t heard of. Then she mentioned an adventure that no one had even heard of; she was short and brisk on the details, but Elena began to unravel. No one mentioned her reddening eyes, or waver that entered her voice every so often. She started to speak of the younger days, of awry plans and lessons learned. She spoke of raw cookie dough, mentioned the lady bugs and fireflies, and the Great Easter Bunny Incident that she still will never explain to another soul. Shadowed grins crept onto her parents' faces as they jokingly chastised her for all of the accidents that may have purposefully broke many of the household rules. In response, she reared in mock indignation, claiming that all information spilled today can’t be used as evidence, because she must uphold their plausible deniability.
Five for heaven.
The branches host another dark figure, raucously louder as its caws disrupt many of the routine movements of the other birds, but its claws grip a nearby branch to perch close to its companion.
Elena moved into plans instead of stories after a while. The Demolition Duo’s events were well known and explosive for a reason and many knew of the incidents for the aftermaths. She started into their future plans, new innovative pranks they came up with and had been setting up for future dates. She had been slow and deliberate as she described in depth with her memory filled tales of glory days, but she turned to rambling about unfinished thoughts that was shared with her partner in crime. Some of the ideas were moot in retrospect, seeing that they often had related to either of the girls’ pining for raw cookie dough or the like, but Elena conveyed everything she could think of in relation to Melanie, which turned out to be everything.
Six for hell.
There was another crow that slipped into the ranks, soaring to join the black birds above who circled with doom filling in their beady eyes.
Elena broke down after that point, when she finally saw that Melanie, no 'Lanie,' had been everything to herself, to 'Lena' whom no one will ever call her by that name again. She twisted her face in a wordless scream of anguish, salty tears falling and blurring everyone else’s figures. She drew her arms close to her body, running past all the life, because this was Lanie’s and Lena’s death. She tore past the reaching arms that promised it would be better, and she fled out beyond the masses. She ran and ran until the caws and croaks of the crows was all she heard, the crows who flocked and flew to circle above, and she fell, writhing, her black clothing tangling itself, and all she could see were the black feathers instead.
Seven for the devil, his own self.
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