An Unkindness

or The Raven Queen

Delora gripped the flowers tightly on her way to see Geof.

She knew where he would be.

He was always there.

Always.

Today should have been a happy day. There should have been food. Music. Dancing. Joy.

There should have been flowers.

Today was the day that Delora and Geof were to be wed.

She came to the meadow. To the dead tree.

Geof was there.

He would always there.

Beneath the tree.

Buried.

Delora closed her eyes, picturing his face. His smile. Remembering the feel of her hand in his. The sound of his voice when he said her name.

She felt too empty for tears. It was too soon.

She opened her eyes.

There was a raven perched on the branches of the dead tree.

It hadn’t been there before.

It watched her.

Delora held up the flowers.

“These are for Geof. Please don’t disturb them.”

CAWWW

“I hope that means you’ll leave them alone.”

CAWWW

Delora gave the raven a sideways look, a warning, before bending over and placing the flowers onto the freshly packed dirt.

“This is Geof. Please look after him.”

CAWW CAWWW

Delora had a piece of dried meat in her apron pocket. It had been there for days. It had been there since she and Geof broke off pieces of it, before…

She wasn’t hungry.

Delora set it down at the foot of the dead tree.

“This is for watching over him. Thank you.”

***

Delora came back a week later with fresh flowers.

The old ones were wilted and faded but still where she had left them.

Delora closed her eyes, picturing his face. His smile. Remembering the feel of her hand in his. The sound of his voice when he said her name.

Her eyes were sore and red from crying for days.

She opened her eyes.

The raven was perched on the branches of the dead tree.

“Thank you for watching over my Geof.”

CAW CAWWW

Delora fell to her knees.

She placed the new flowers on the grave, then pounded the earth with her fist.

“It’s not fair. It’s NOT FAIR!”

CAWWW

The raven hopped to a closer branch.

“He shouldn’t be here,” she said, face down, eyes closed.

“He should be here… with me… alive…”

CAW CAWWWW

She looked up.

The raven watched her like it was listening.

Delora talked to it. She felt like talking would help. She told the raven how Geof came to be there…

buried…

beneath the dead tree.

The Baron’s men accused Geof of poaching.

There was a boar. It was to have been their wedding feast, but Geof had been nowhere near the Baron’s land.

The carcass was seized and Geof was executed to the sound of horrid laughter.

The leader was a man who wore a gold ring with a green gemstone. It was he who took Geof’s life.

CAWW CAWWW CAW

Delora wiped the tears from her face, then stood up. She smoothed out her tunic and apologized to the raven for… for… she didn’t know what.

CAWW

“Oh. Of course. Yes. I have another treat for you.”

Delora set down another piece of dried meat at the foot of the tree.

“Please keep watching over my Geof.”

CAWW CAWWW

***

Delora came back the next week holding fresh flowers with both hands.

The old flowers were exactly where she had left them, but there was something else too. A coin.

Delora closed her eyes, picturing his face. His smile. Remembering the feel of her hand in his. The sound of his voice when he said her name.

She opened her eyes.

The raven was there… with two friends.

“Did… did you bring me this?” Delora asked, bending over to pick up the coin.

CAWWW

She put the new flowers where the coin had been.

“And I see you brought friends too.”

CAW CAWWW

The two new ravens were very busy building what appeared to be a nest.

“You’re too kind. Thank you. I just wish…”

There was silence.

CAW

Delora hurt. Deeply.

CAWW

“I just wish those who did this would face justice, but they are the Baron’s men. Their brand of justice is the ONLY brand of justice in this place.”

CAW CAWWW CAWW

“I’m sorry. I should know better… know my place.”

Delora pulled another piece of dried meat from her apron and placed it at the foot of the tree.

“I… I wish I had more…. I do have some water. Would you like that?”

CAWWW

She poured half of her water into a small depression in the dead tree’s roots.

“I hope that’s good. I have to go now.”

CAWWW

“And please, keep watching over my Geof.”

CAWW CAWWW

***

Delora came back again the next week with more flowers for Geof.

There were dozens of ravens. In the tree. On the ground. Circling overhead.

The noise was deafening, but they became quiet when Delora approached.

The ravens were everywhere.

Or almost everywhere. The one place they would not go was Geof’s grave.

Like before, the flowers had not been disturbed.

There was something else there too. A crown made from twigs and sticks and shiny, silky scraps of cloth and flowers and a small gold chain.

“Is… is that for me?”

The whole group of them, every raven erupted in noise.

Someone once had called a group of ravens an unkindness.

They were not unkind at all.

They were magnificent!

Delora picked up the crown.

The ravens became still and quiet.

She admired it before placing it on her head.

The crown must have been what the other two ravens were building.

Delora placed it on her head and again, the ravens exploded in sound.

It was… she felt… it was amazing.

Ravens flew all around her, circling, swooping, rising into the sky… and she was the center of it all.

One raven, her raven, the first one, landed on the ground at her feet.

It gestured with its beak towards the grave.

Where her crown had been, lay a golden ring with a green gemstone…

… with the finger still inside.