No wonder this town sounded so good to me, sight unseen from my computer far, far away. We had a connection. I justhadn’t known it at the time. The town and I both had a love of crows. And junk food. I truly had found home.
Chapter Eleven
Corvus
The commotion in town had me curious. My thoughts had gone all over the place since not speaking to Joshua that day.
I often wondered why people drifted near madness when not near their mates once they realized who they were. I got it now. I’d walked the orchards a hundred times, glancing over at Joshua’s property thinking, despite the phone call, that he might come over.
It never happened.
Maybe flying into town and observing the humans would give me more knowledge about how to court my mate. Plus, this festival used to be my favorite. They wanted me to speak over their budding crops, blessing them with bountiful harvests and extra to share with the community. They didn’t ask that now, but I felt the pull to go anyway. For old times’ sake.
Something that reminded me of my history.
I made the trip close to town and hid my clothes in the crook of two tree branches before shifting. Just in case. A crow never knew what would happen next. I took one lap around the town, taking in the sights. The residents had tables filled with all kinds of goods for sale. Books. Something they called 3D-printed items. They smelled of plastic, even from up here. Sourdough bread and homemade jams and jellies, made from local fruit, probably. The scents of deep-fried foods rose in the air and blanketed my senses.
I perched on top of the clock tower. There was a time when I would land atop a tall structure and everyone would gather to hear what I had to say, crow and human alike.
From this vantage point, I could see so much more. One booth held objects that resembled crows. They seemed to be all handmade.
I’d settled in, content to watch from afar, when a voice rang in my crow ears and made me caw. No one turned, of course. A crow sound probably couldn’t be heard with all the talking and yelps of children and people walking around having a good time.
But I’d heard my mate’s voice. He was here somewhere. My crow scanned the crowd below. I had to find my mate. He was here.
It took only a few seconds before I saw him, talking to someone. He had something in one hand and a hot dog in his other hand.
There was no decision to be made. I flew down to where I’d stashed my clothes and forced the change from crow to human. It was easier now with my new surge of energy. I put the clothes on and walked into the square, acutely aware of where Joshua was.
Now to accidentally bump into him.
I threaded through the crowd, careful not to knock into anyone until I got close to him. My steps hurried and I brushed past him. Waited. One second. Two seconds. Three.
“Corvus! I was hoping I’d see you here.”
Mission accomplished.
“Joshua. Hi!” I clearly wasn’t good at acting like I accidentally collided into someone. “Did you figure out your work problem? I mean, I’m sure you did. You’re smart but…” I needed to shut up. When had I become a blubbering mess?
Not befitting a king. But, now that I’d met Joshua, he had become my king, and I was his servant. Anything he asked for, I would oblige. Happily.
Joshua inched closer as the crowd around us shifted. We were in front of a truck that boasted of their world-famousfunnel cakes, whatever that was. The smell of deep-fried dough, powdered sugar, and strawberries made me more than curious. And judging from the line, it was the place to be. “I got through the problem. Yeah. It was…wild. Computer glitches and possible order mess-ups but everything is okay now. How are you? You didn’t go over and overwork yourself again, did you?”
I shook my head. “No. I worked in my own orchard. Pruning and fertilizing. Making sure my trees had everything they needed for the summer.”
My mate laughed. “So you did overwork yourself. Have you eaten? I was thinking about getting one of those Philly cheesesteak sandwiches over there.” He pointed to a truck. Another world-famous one. Perhaps Whisper Grove had gotten more popular while I was lying in wait, on the outskirts of civility.
“That sounds great. I haven’t eaten.” I patted my pockets, making sure I had some of the paper money. I did. Enough to buy my mate anything he wanted and more.
We carried our sandwiches around while we browsed. I was eager to go to the booth that sold crow items. Get a feel for how my mate looked at them. If he cringed and said something about our kind, I would have to convince him otherwise. Some people still had the wrong idea about us and birds in general. Even when I was on my throne, there were some who thought us evil and bad omens. We were the opposite.
“These are very nice,” I said to the young woman manning the booth.
“Thank you. My daughter makes most of these herself. She’s obsessed with crows.”
The little one in question stared at me, mouth open. Children had a sixth sense. They were still attached in some ways to the universe and the Goddess in ways the rest of us had broken from.
I bet in her spirit, she had an inkling about what I was.
