The wind roared; dark clouds approached the window and as the small girl slept her breath, icy cold, became a misty swirl surrounding her. Daylight finally lost the fight and once again darkness engulfed the room.
The raging wind was no longer able to continue unnoticed and as it buffeted the window the fragile child awoke. Unlike before she wasn’t comforted by the light wind or soothed by the sound of delicate branches; the wind was now violent and the branches now scraped against the window.
All the shapes in the familiar room now became sinister in the dark; it seemed endless, in every corner a threat waiting, in every shadow a face, even the ceiling projected the unknown. She felt isolated from the world and everything she knew.
Her heart now beat fast, trembling she lifted her clammy hand in an effort to remove the bead of sweat that was rolling down from her brow and streaking across her flushed cheek. Sniffing back her tears and trying to hide her blatant fear she stumbled hesitantly towards the window.
The rough carpet that lay in her path seemed to her like thick sand pulling her down, it felt like the house itself was against her and that nothing not even the strongest man or the fastest animal could escape it. Only a few steps from the window she could hear a menacing rustling, a fearful chill spread all over her body forcing her to stop and consider what inhumane nightmares may lay outside her room. Attempting to put her suspicions to rest she eventually managed to muster up enough courage to continue. Her eyes darted from shadow to shadow but she tried to keep up the dream that as long as she kept going and stayed strong no harm would come to her.
Her eyes now became fixed on the darkness in front of her. Dense clouds obstructed the moon light and all she could see was dull ghostly glow. As she stepped up to the ledge she looked below to search for the source of the unnerving rustling. The sound appeared to be originating from inside the oak tree, leaning forward she peered through the leaves she saw two distorted outlines which began to move towards her through the branches slowly they immerged from the tree, two ravens both jet black. The first was clearly distressed and bleeding the second seemed unharmed as she witnessed its beak gleam crimson. Hurt and scared the raven started to back away but began to loose his balance the other seized his chance and struck, he reached out with his deadly claws and forced the raven of the branch.
She watched in horror as the majestic figure fell to his death. She looked up. Already dry from crying, her eyes were met by those of the other raven. His eyes were so dark, so full of hate it hurt to look into them. He spread his grand wings and glided towards the window, jumping back she fell to the floor. She could not move her body had frozen but she knew she had to do something so she leaped to her feat and slammed the dusty shutters closed.
After confronting her fears she was now confident she stood tall with her shoulders back and head high, the room was still dark, still full of intriguing shadows but she was no longer scared of the wind or the trees and no longer willing to let her imagination run wild.
But after hearing the chillingly familiar sound of his boots striding arrogantly through the hallway she feared a worse threat awaited her; a very real threat; a human threat.
