Twenty-eight

Then as though a spell was cast on the bird, it looked up towards him and had its gaze fixed on him as though he was some guys who had taken its food or something close to that. 

There was no familiarity or smile in the look. He was actually sounding ridiculous to himself but had no idea. He thought that he was making sense but he had no idea what he was making of himself. Making it seem as though he was what he wasn't. Like he was more than what he was. 

Firstly, he had never taken a course on how birds feel and how they react to things. How then was his feeble brain able to calculate that the bird was smiling and not frowning. Probably because he was thinking too much, he had been to loose his sanity or something close to that. 

A conscious effort was tossed at him. He did remember that he was yet to hear the tree speak back at him. He shouldn't be thinking about that at that moment. If the tree was serious about it, twould speak. And if twasnt serious, he would go with the Raven. He didn't know what he was thinking but his feelings seemed to be right at moment. 

He felt like there was a connection between himself and the Raven. Like the Raven would still be at his own mercy. He wasn't too sure but he wanted to be. That would help put him on a look for changes if ever he did need one. 

He was snapped back to reality by the hooting of an owl. He was surprised. How could a owl be hooting at that period of the day. That was some natural dipshit that he hadn't seen in a long while. Even the last time that he had happened, twas owed to the death some of the priests of several caves all over Rome. And when they did die, their corpses summoned ghosts and the owls were out to discern for the living. So was the trick. 

The owl was hanging in the air few metres away from him and was looking towards the Raven. He felt like if the owl should stay like that for some moments that it would lose its balance and weight and sink into the base of the earth on his beak. He didn't want that to happen to it and he simply couldn't communicate with it. 

He did the only thing he could at that moment. He looked towards the Raven which the owl had been spent on. He noticed too late that the Raven had charged at him as though twas coming to pluck out his eyes. 

He actually had no idea what else to think with the Raving coming full speed, head poking and some screeches which he could possibly call causes like, you sonofabitch or maybe asshole or dipshit or many more. He couldn't be sure what twas but he knew that twasnt some dimwitted complement. Seeing was what made him believe of course. Or probably he was just think too much. 

He couldn't dodge the blow of the Raven. As he decided to bend, the bird already caught up with him. 

He didn't know how he felt at that moment. He was expecting to feel pains coursing through his eyes or his head or neck. He couldn't quickly figure out where the bird had perched on his body. His body system seemed to be active to any of the stimuli. He would wait a while till they would get themselves back from the shock. Then they would be able to have their ways around the whole deal of course. 

Then it seemed as though everything was normal again but he wasn't understanding what was happening. Where was the Raven?

It wasn't on his head, neither on his face or on his chest fighting to get his heart or something. He didn't know. He wanted to round to see whether it had gone to the top of the oak tree to get more fruits after losing the thread of the last one, but he had a sound by his left ear on his shoulder. 

He turned his head gently towards where the sound had come from. Oh! Hell let loose! The Raven was seated on his left shoulder looking away from him. He didn't know what to do at that moment. 

He firstly felt like throwing the bird away but that would be quite ruthless of him. He wouldn't know how to do that. That would be somewhat ridiculous to him. And the bird might turn from being good to being bad. 

He wanted to understand what the bird was trying to do but he couldn't. The bird made some rhythm but he couldn't decode. He wished he could understand what it was meaning to say. How glad he would be if he was able to figure out an answer to it. He felt a wave from behind him then a voice,

"Come into the tree and see who I am!"

Oh hell! He had forgotten that he had spoken to some stupid spirit living in some stupid tree. He had been caught up in the moment of the Raven and the owl and the shoulder. He didn't know what title he would give that when he put them down in the scroll where he did write about things related to only himself.

He turned towards the tree. He didn't know what the owner of the voice meant. He was forced to think that twas the Nymph who was actually impersonating. He couldn't be sure but he wanted to be. 

He didn't want to take it seriously but the bird on his should sank two of its claws into his shoulder. 

"Ouch!"

He almost threw the bird away but he couldn't even do that. Twas stuck to him. The bird alone could choose whether to stay or go. 

He took few steps towards the tree. He was skeptical and wanted to move back but he remembered the pinch of the Raven's claws. He needn't that anymore. 

He went again. And he kinda felt a force pushing him towards the tree till he was very close and could feel the breath of its bark. 

Then he took the last step and was expecting to hit his head on the bark but there was a passage. More like a door. 

Before he could figure out what was happening, he had already been absorbed by some hands into the tree. 

He was shocked at what he saw as the bark of the tree close behind him.