The Raven In The Dark

by Jade Long
9th February 2024

 

 

     

           The Raven In The Dark 

 

Her footsteps snapping the twigs, the wind silent and the evening melting into the most beautiful dark purple night, then Click. The torchlight flickered on. Darkness moved in fast as she walked through the woods from her house. Not far at all.

The Old  building was at its most beautiful when the sky was so vivid. It almost looked like it was lived in yet it was abandoned many years ago. Erin wondered to herself how beautiful her photographs would be. An old gothic house, a marble archway leading up the path, large glass windows, Long velvet curtains, an Ornately carved stone Raven adorning the small ivy covered spires and a beautiful  abstract stained glass door. It felt. Familiar and more like home then anywhere she had ever been. Even though it was beautiful she felt a little sad as there once was another carved Raven adorning the opposite spire that must of been damaged and was in pieces on the ground. From the appearance of the ruins and the intact statue, it seemed as if the ravens were looking into each others eyes. It added to the mystery this house held.

You could say this house was an addiction. Several times she had been. This was the first time she ever took her camera. 

 

Erin took off her lens cap and started to click. Flashes and swathes of light rebounded of the glass surfaces and every picture she took was better than the last. As an hour went by Erin checked her camera. "Those are some perfect pictures, if I do say so myself" she chuckled. She couldn't help but feel sad that this house, this home once must of been so alive, vibrant even and now as darkness crept in like a weighted blanket it looked so frail and alone.

She was blasted back to reality when a raven cawed, it startled her so much she dropped her flashlight. With a gasp and a chuckle she exclaimed

"You scared me Poe!" , shocked by what she called him, Erin picked up the torch. she ventured over to the Raven, slowly.

His beautiful opal eyes glowing, as if they were made of pure moonlight. Then he disappeared as soon as she approached. Erin decided that was her sign she needed to go home."I must be tired" she repeated to herself. She walked back, retracing her steps. Four minutes from home. Thinking of the house and the beauty around it, she crossed the road, blinded by light and the screaming of tyres, she didn't see the car speeding around the corner of dimly lit country road. 

All Erin had seen was blinding light and a beautiful raven flying towards her. A dark phoenix. 

 

Erin awoke in a state of panic, darkness surrounding her,  Reaching around she touches a flashing light, her phone.

The brightness lighting the way like a beacon. She found a familiar switch. With a flick, on came the light. She was in a bed ... her bed ... at home, fully clothed and tucked in gently. Next to her was the camera. Undamaged. She got up, eyes darting around the room. Glancing at the time on her phone It read 12.00am. Three hours gone. In utter shock with shaking hands she held her camera, looking  through the pictures, an eerie feeling creeping down her spine. Ice creeping into her blood. There was just an archway with a Raven statue upon it. With glowing, moonlit eyes that resembled opals.

Every picture the same as the first. No house. Just ruins, rotting away, except for the stone carvings. Ravens.

No matter how many times she went over what happened, she still didn't know or understand. But she was home and safe. Then a rapping on the window gained her attention. It grew louder but stayed the same pace. She gasped and smiled as she opened the stiff handle. She suddenly felt as if she was finally free.

With a gust of wind she raised her head. Her eyes glowing like opals in the  moonlight.

"Poe, My Love, you finally found me.".

 

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