Chapter Text
It was a cold windy morning in the midst of autumn, the streets were covered with a thick blanket of red and brown leaves. The air smelt of rain that was about to fall, which sadly wouldn't provide any help to the small patches of dead grass and wilted flowers that littered the front porches of every house. The seasons were slowly passing by and so people's everyday lives followed.
As Elvira was walking down said streets only one thing was on her mind, her college work.
Wow, how original .
Well as a 21-year-old that was to be expected. After all the new semester was just about to start and Elvira was already stressed because of it. So to remedy the situation she did the only thing she knew to calm herself down. A run through the local woods. Well, more like a walk through the woods. But alas who cares?
It didn't take long for Elvira to reach the woods, her house was practically next to them. Since this was a not-so-frequented place of said woods, Elvira was mindful to always come to this place during the day.
Oh, if only she knew.
As soon as she entered, Elvira started going down her usual path and for good reason too. She had discovered the path in her first year of college, specifically on a Tuesday when her classes had been cancelled, and now she was in her fourth and last year so she obviously knew the path like the back of her hand.
What mattered to Elvira was that everything was familiar to her. Whenever stress got to her, she needed familiarity, she needed something to ground herself back to reality. And so, when something out of the ordinary was present near the creek she had stopped for a drink, alarm bells started to go off in her head.
She could hear the sound of something rustling in the grass. It was probably an animal, Elvira thought to herself, but what kind of animal was the question. And so she approached.
The animal heard her approach and started to painfully coo. Elvira pulled the bushes to the side and stepped through them.
The animal was a bird, specifically a crow! Elvira doubted she had ever seen one up close! As she examined its appearance, with her somewhat limited knowledge of birds, she came to the very obvious conclusion that the bird was quite wounded.
"What do we have here?" Elvira said out loud to no one in particular.
She came closer to the crow and kneeled before it so she could take a closer look. The crow's feathers were as black as the night sky, and its eyes shined like pearls in the sun. There was a faint outline of a scratch that started from its neck and ended under its left wing. Thankfully, the wound wasn't fatal but the crow had lost quite a bit of blood -judging from the surrounding blood-stained grass- and was probably dehydrated and hungry.
This reminded her of her family parrot -Tofu, the smart African grey- who, when Elvira was around 18 had a vicious fight with a neighbourhood stray cat and had similar injuries.
So Elvira felt quite confident in her ability to nurse this crow but to health. She then proceeded to take off her jacket and carefully wrap the bird in it. Elvira was grateful that the bird didn't seem to want to fight her, so she was able to hold it in her arms.
After she had a secure hold on it, she kneeled back down towards the creek and scooped some water in her palm. She brought her water-filled hand in a gentle manner towards the crow to see whether or not it would respond. Thankfully, the crow immediately responded to the water and started drinking, albeit with a little bit of difficulty but it still drank. That is all that mattered.
As the bird kept on drinking, Elvira mapped out the shortest route to the local exotic animal centre. And so after giving the bird a few more handfuls of water, the young woman exited the woods, crow in her arms.
After the vet visit, the week passed smoothly for Elvira and her new friend, whom she refused to name (she knew if she did, she would get attached). The unnamed crow was an extraordinarily smart bird and listened to every command Elvira gave. Which admittedly stunned her as Tofu was able to follow commands only after years of rigorous training. But Elvira supposed crows were different from parrots, plus crows were hailed as the smartest bird in the world, so she actually shouldn't be that surprised.
Well, it didn't matter anyway as she would release the bird in the wild today, after doing the chores around her house, Elvira thought. You'd think she'd do the opposite but well Elvira could only function properly in the mornings. And her house was a mess so it came first on Elvira's to-do list. After all, she doubted the crow would mind a few hours of delay.
After completing the house chores, Elvira was exhausted, to say the least, and there was no way she was about to walk all the way to the woods, through them and reach the other end of them in the middle of the noon when the sun was still scorching hot. Yeah, no fucking way.
So after making herself lunch, she sat down and opened her Netflix. Scrolling through the endless names of TV shows and movies in her library one stood out to her.
Merlin.
She hadn't watched that show since her high school years. Actually, she hadn't even finished the series. Elvira had only watched up to the middle of season 4 because of one particular "friend" of hers had spoiled the ending of the show for her and well the internet is not safe from spoilers. So she reluctantly dropped it.
"Eh, why the heck not!" Elvira said as she clicked the first episode of the first season.
"CAW!!"
"Yes, yes you'll get to the outside world, after a few episodes..." Elvira replied to the bird, a sheepish expression on her face.
And so the binge-watch started. And what a binge-watch it was.
Elvira could not take her eyes off the screen. She watched episode after episode, season after season till the sky had darkened. She had absolutely forgotten the magic (pun intended) of it all. Merlin's journey throughout the years, all the trials and tribulations he went through, all the characters and their intermingling relationships and just generally the show's vibe. Suffice it to say Elvira was fully absorbed into the show.
When her hyper-fixation had reached its end she had about reached the middle of season 4, where she had left off in high school. As she was about to put on episode 9, Elvira realized what time it was.
"Shit, shit!!" She shouted as she hurriedly changed her clothes. Then she ushered the bird into its cage.
She might have been in a hurry but the birdcage was saying otherwise, its latch was problematic and it gave Elvira a really hard time.
"Come on you stupid thing!!" She angrily exclaimed,
The crow that was watching with careful eyes, let a sound that almost seemed like a laugh. Elvira stopped what she was doing and glared at the bird. And with one decisive move, the latch closed.
"Ha! Now let's see you laughing at me you little shit!" she laughed,
"cawww..."
"..." Elvira said nothing as she stared at the crow,
"Caaaaww" it cawed again while turning its head to the side
"Yeah, you're right. That was mean of me" she sheepishly admitted, "Now, come on, we gotta get you to the woods."
"CAW" the crow exclaimed,
"Yes, ma'am!... Or sir! Let's go!"
The scranching of leaves could be heard as Elvira traversed the forest terrain, birdcage in hand. The night had not quite fallen completely. Light was still spilling from the edges of the sky, so one could see in front of them. And Elvira was very thankful for that fact as she was able to find her way to her section of the woods.
What struck her as odd was the car that was parked at the entrance of said woods.
"-O! NO! DON'T TOUCH ME!!" a feminine voice was heard pleading from Elvira's right.
"Come, here you bitch!!! You can't tell me what to do with what is mine!!" a male voice growled dangerously.
Elvira froze in place. Immediately understanding that this was a severe situation, she hid behind the parked car, right next to the license plate. She silently placed the birdcage on the ground hoping no one heard her. Out of fear, she didn't let the birdcage from her hold.
"NO! MIKE! WHAT-"
"SHUT UP! DON'T SAY MY NAME YOU CHEATING WHORE!!
Elvira flinched at the hatred that resonated in the man's voice. She peeked from her hiding place only to see the glint of a blade in the hands of the man. Instantly she understood the man's wicked intention, having heard that tone of voice in the past. She took her phone out and dialled 991.
"991, what's your emergency?" A woman's voice sounded from the phone's speaker.
"There is a man threatening a woman with a knife. I think he wants to kill her..." Elvira whispered.
"Ma'am, what is your location?"
"Um..." Elvira looked around for an identifiable object, place or something that might help her, "I'm just outside St. Andrew's forest, by Maple Street. I'm hiding behind the man's car, his license plate is HRH 6589!"
A scream ripped through the air along with a loud thud.
"... Did you hear that?" Elvira whispered to the person on the other end of the line.
"Yes, ma'am please stay on the line and where you are, Help is on the way."
"PLEASE, DON'T KILL ME!!!!" the woman shouted, terror for her life could be heard in her voice.
A face flashed through Elvira's mind. A blond woman with a small rounded face, wrinkles around her blue eyes and small rosy lips in a brilliant smile. That's how Elvira wanted to remember her.
" Ely, run!"
"Elvira, darling, I'm so sorry, I love you..."
Another scream ripped through the night air.
The image in Elvira's mind changed. This time, the woman's hair was not blond but red, sticky with blood. The wrinkles around her eyes were gone as the eyes were now lifeless. But the smile, oh that smile, still stuck on that small face. That's how Elvira last saw her.
Y O U D I D N T S A V E H E R
Elvira's breath quickened.
Y O U A R E J U S T G O I N G T O S T A N D B Y J U S T L I K E Y O U D I D T H E N ?
"Ma'am, please stay where you are. Help is two minutes away" The woman spoke.
"I'm sorry, I can't."
Elvira let her phone slip from her hand while standing from her hiding place, haphazardly throwing the birdcage aside, and ran towards the man who at this point was on top of the woman. The latch of the birdcage broke and the crow flew out of it. This alerted the man, who turned just in time to see Elvira tackling him.
Elvira and the man rolled closer to the woods, his knife falling on the ground. The man, taken by surprise, was disoriented by the tackle which gave Elvira the upper hand. She rolled on top of him and started punching.
When the second punch landed on his face it seemed to snap him out of his trance. As the third came, he caught Elvira's fist and pulled her towards the ground while thrusting his head forward resulting in their heads crashing with each other.
Elvira was seeing stars. The man seeing this took it to his advantage. He rolled them once again, now this time he was on top. He then started to give Elvira the same treatment he had given him before.
"HOW DARE YOU, YOU IRRELEVANT SHIT?" he growled while hitting Elvira's face.
At this point, Elvira could only feel pain. Nothing more. She just looked him in the eyes and smiled.
"Trying to play hero, eh?" he asked seeing the baiting smile. So the hits continued with renewed strength and a sense of déjà vu hit her as well.
" YOU UNGRATEFUL BRAT. COME HERE."
"No, Hunter, leave her!"
"Trying to play hero, eh, Sylvia?"
A police siren could be heard in the distance. The man's strength decreased in the slightest, indicating that he was about to leave her there and escape. He then turned his head to her left, spotting his knife in grabbing distance but before he could reach for it Elvira grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him towards her while she thrust her head forward. Hard.
His own move used against him.
As the man stood dazed and on the brink of unconsciousness from the hit, Elvira pushed him off of her. He fell to her left side right next to his blade, unbeknownst to Elvira.
Now the siren was heard so much closer, that Elvira could finally breathe again. Her face was probably busted. She laughed out loud, out of happiness, fear or relief?
She heard footsteps coming towards her and she was about to stand up to meet whoever had come for help.
Happiness didn't last long in Elvira's life. Never did, never would.
She saw a glint in the corner of her eye and before she could react a blade was lodged in her throat. Blood pooled in her mouth and she couldn't breathe.
God, she couldn't breathe.
Before she could properly process that the knife was violently pulled out of her throat allowing her to breathe once more.
She fell back on the ground. Her vision started to blacken on its edges. The only thing she could discern from the barely lit night sky above was the crow she had nursed to health circling above the fight.
"HANDS IN THE AIR!! I REPEAT, HANDS IN THE AIR!!"
Then her vision filled with the face of a brunette woman, she had balled a hoodie in her hands and put pressure on Elvira's neck. Elvira realized this was the woman she had saved from the man.
"Please don't die!" the woman pleaded with her saviour.
"Please don't die! Elvira pleaded with her saviour.
Elvira slightly shook her head, tears filling her eyes. It was no use, Elvira knew. She had seen this before. She wouldn't last until the paramedics arrived, just like how she had.
The last thing she heard was the pain-filled call of the crow circling above.
Elvira guessed it wasn't so bad to die. Elvira could finally join her.
"I'm coming home, Mom ."