Misha opened his eyes. They were red and puffy from crying. His mother was sitting on the bed next to him.
“Caw!” said Misha.
He started. That’s not what he meant to say. He cleared his throat and attempted to talk again.
“CAW! CAW! CAW!” he shouted.
“What’s was wrong with me?” he thought. His mother stared at him unaffected. He held his hands over his mouth. He could feel something coming up from his stomach. Was he getting sick? Misha closed his mouth tight, but it was no use. A fountain of black feathers poured out of Misha’s mouth. He tried to cover his mouth with his hands to stop the flow, but he couldn’t. The Feathers just kept coming. They spilled out over the bedspread and onto the floor.
“What’s wrong Misha?” asked his mother in Russian, “What’s wrong with Misha?” She put her face in her hands and started to cry.
Misha shook his head, he wanted to answer but he kept vomiting feathers. Then just as suddenly as the feathers started, they stopped. Misha coughed out the last feather that was lodged in his throat and said in a raspy voice, “Mama, don’t cry I’m fine.” Misha’s mother looked up but when she did Misha saw that her face had turned into a face of a crow. Misha screamed and woke up in a cold sweat.
Misha looked around it was already dark. How long had he been asleep? Dominique was asleep, sitting on a chair with her head and arms on Misha’s bed. Misha couldn’t see her face, and he was afraid of what he would see. He lay still for a few minutes and finally got up the courage to tap his mother on the shoulder. He touched her shoulder and she woke immediately with a start. She smiled at him. A warm loving smile only a mother can give. Misha’s fears were relieved as she gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“We were so worried about you Misha. You passed out when you came into Grandfather’s room, It must have been so hard on you to come here for another funeral.”
“Mama, who was that pale lady with the long black hair?”
“Who are you talking about darling?”
“She grabbed me from behind right before I passed out.”
“No one grabbed you sweetie you just fell. We were all so worried! Now go to sleep Misha you need your rest, tomorrow is Grandfather’s funeral.”
Misha lay back and closed his eyes, but sleep wouldn’t come to him. So many things were running through his head. Why were the crows coming after his soul? Was he going to die soon? He wished he could ask his mother but she would just say it was his imagination, or a dream he had. Finally sleep fell upon him although he didn’t know it. He just remembered waking up alone in his room to the sound of a knock on his door. Misha answered and a servant came in with breakfast and a black suit for him to wear. Misha finished getting ready quickly and was headed out to the main entrance to meet his family there, when he heard a blood curdling scream. It came from the front gate! Everyone ran to see what was going on. Misha ran into Makoto on the way out. Their rooms were right across the hall from each other.
“What’s going on?” asked Misha.
“I don’t know but it seems bad,” replied Makoto.
Makoto reached out her hand and grabbed Misha’s. “So we don’t get separated,” she said. Guests and servants were all converging in one point, and more and more screams came from the front gates. The hallway was crowded and congested. It was hard for the two of them to get anywhere.
“Come on,” said Makoto, “ I know a shortcut.
Makoto turned left and raced down a clear hallway with Misha close behind. They exited the house though a side door and ran along the wooden path to the door to the front yard. The two of them could already hear the noise growing into a wild confusion. Makoto took a deep breath and opened the door. They could see the main gates from where they stood. There were people gathered in a semicircle around them crying a wailing, because strung up on the gates was their grandmother. Her mouth hung open as if stuck in an eternal scream. She was covered in blood and scratch marks, but worst of all it looked like her eyes had been pecked out by birds. The children looked on in horror as more and more people discovered the body. Everyone was so shocked they didn’t know what to do so they just stood there. Finally, Makoto’s father came out of the house followed by Momo and Dominique. Makoto’s dad cut their grandmother down from the gates, and Momo yelled out, “Someone call the police.” Dominique took off her shawl and placed it over Grandmother’s face to cover the gore. She crossed herself and said a prayer. Makoto couldn’t watch anymore and ran for the back garden. Misha followed after her. When they got there they saw Nana and Yuuki were already there feeding the koi fish. Makoto barely took notice of them as she collapsed in tears on the grass. Misha sat next to her too shocked to cry.
“I’m sorry, It’s all my fault,” said Misha.
“What how is it your fault?” asked Makoto wiping the tears from her eyes.
“The crows, that pale woman with the long black hair, they killed Grandmother! They took her soul, and I couldn’t stop them!”
“What are you talking about!? Have you gone Mad?” asked Nana. She and Yuuki abandoned the fish and came closer to find out what was going on.
“Why are you saying Grandmother is Dead?” asked Yuuki.
“Because she is dead!” yelled Makoto, “why do you think everyone is crying?”
“God Makoto,” snapped Nana, “You don’t have to be so mean, he was just asking a question.”
“You’re one to talk Nana, you torture him all day long!” retorted Makoto.
“Well you are an ugly…”
“Stop it,” interrupted Misha, “this in no time to argue. We have to find a way to stop that woman from killing someone else!”
“What woman,” asked Makoto.
“When Grandfather died I saw a crow sitting on him. I screamed and tried to run toward it to scare it off, but I was stopped by a pale woman, who was tall and thin with long black hair that fell like drapes on either side of her face,” said Misha.
“That sounds like my English tutor, Yamada Sensei,” said Makoto, “I have a picture of her on my phone.”
Misha helped Makoto up and the children raced to Makoto’s room. She scrolled through her pictures and brought a picture of Yamada Sensei on her phone. Yamada was in the background gathering papers as Makoto smiled in the foreground. Misha looked at the picture with alarm.
“That’s the woman I saw!” he exclaimed.
“Yeah right,” scoffed Nana, “you two are just trying to trick us, well I’m not going to fall for it. Everyone knows you just passed out when you saw Grandfather. No one grabbed you like you said. Come on Yuuki, we should go back in the garden where Papa told us to wait.” With that Nana grabbed Yuuki by the arm and left.
“Makoto, it’s true! You have to believe me!” begged Misha, “why would I make up stories at a time like this? I’m afraid Makoto and I don’t know what to do to. I need you to believe me.”
Makoto looked into his eyes and she could tell he wasn’t lying. “I don’t know if what you say is real but, something about what happened with Yamada Sensei yesterday morning creeped me out. She wanted to see my mother, then disappeared before she got to the door? But even if it is Yamada Sensei, how do we stop her and is she really going to kill someone else?”
“I don’t think she’s done. When she held me I saw an anger in her eyes, furry, she was like a monster.”
“If she does wants to kill someone else how do we stop her? Maybe we should tell our parents.”
“They’ll never believe us without proof.”
“The letter she sent with my mother! Maybe there’s something there!”
By this time the house was not only filled with mortified friends and family the police had also arrived and were questioning everyone about the events of the previous night. The front gates had been sealed off as a crime scene and no one was allowed in or out of the house. The children snuck past the adults, which was surprisingly easy and entered the room where Grandfather’s gifts and cards were stored until they could be put out for the viewing. The room was thick with the sweet smell of lilies and roses. Bouquets filled every inch of the room and there were so many that some had to be stacked on top of each other. Makoto and Misha looked at the pile in dismay.
“How will we ever find the card in all this?” asked Makoto.
“We have to try at least it’s the only clue we’ve got! Do you remember what it looks like?” replied Misha.
“I never saw it, but I know what Sensei’s handwriting looks like.”
“It will probably be somewhere near the flowers we brought.”
The two of them searched through the bouquets until they found the one they brought. It was covered in white lilies, roses and chrysanthemums. There were a number of cards under it. They all looked pretty much the same, so Misha collected the stack and they looked for Yamada’s handwriting. After going through them all they still hadn’t found the right card. Makoto decided to look at more cards, and soon she and Misha had collected all off the cards they could find into a large pile. Makoto looked through them carefully. The stack began to dwindle and they still hadn’t found anything yet, but then Makoto picked up a card wedged between the wall and a table, and it was addressed “to the Sato and Hayashi Families.” Makoto recognized the writing right away.
“I found it!” she said.
“Let’s see what’s inside.”
Makoto pulled out a note and a black feather. She handed the feather to Misha, who took it reluctantly, and read the note aloud.
“The full moon is rising on the house of Sato and Hayashi,
They will come for your souls as I kill your sons and daughters,
They will take them away when they receive their orders.
Coming in through the windows will be their way,
All will be done in two nights and one day
Mark my words as they are said,
For what hope have the living against the dead?”
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