(Hey I'm back! summer's been insan)

She saw it on her walk home. Maria felt the blood drain from her face as Katya tugged on her arm, and pointed to the creature sitting on the fencepost. The black bird seemed to stare directly into her eyes. "Come on Katya! We need to hurry home. "

"Was that-"

"A raven." Maria could see the fear in Kaya's small face. "Just a Raven, nothing more. Now we need to get home, or Mama's going to be upset, and there'll be no dessert for either of us." Katya laughed, and the two made their way home. Maria turned back only once, and saw the bird's eyes following her.

Maria couldn't shake the image of the large bird from her mind. The bird was too small to be a raven. the tail too round. despite what she'd said to calm her sister's fears, Maria knew exactly what bird that had been. A crow.

To see a crow was possibly the worst luck you could have. The crow symbolized death. Everyone knew that. But what had caused it to show it's face here? She wasn't sick. The town had just finished stabilizing old infrastructure. Maria found herself unable to erase the fear from her mind.

The next evening Mama sent Maria and Katya to market for some flour. Maria tried to convince Mama that they'd be just fine without, and they still had plenty of food at home. However, she couldn't bring herself to tell her the truth. She couldn't bear the thought of seeing her mother's face. not after Pa's passing last winter. She couldn't bear to see her like that. not again. So without a real reason to avoid leaving, she found herself hand in hand with her little sister, heading into town.

When they made it to the market, Maria was dismayed to see another bird on top of the cart. "Can I help you?" the woman asked.

"Flour" she managed after a moment. "We need flour." When she looked up again, the bird had vanished.

They paid for the flour and headed home. "Stay close Katya. It's getting dark." Maria swore she could hear the beating of wings around her. Katya was not inclined to

follow Maria's warning. She laughed and ran further ahead. "Katya!" she yelled trying to keep up. She struggled to carry the flour and keep up with her sister.

The caw of a crow echoed loudly. Katya wasn't watching as the cart turned the corner. Maria screamed, and yanked her sister out of the road just in time. She began to cry. The crow on the fencepost looked at her and flew away.

The girls rushed home. Maria tried to wrap her mind around what had happened. The crow had warned her somehow. Maybe there was more to the bird than she'd thought.