Raysha screamed out the final note
as long as her voice held, fists raised high as the roar of the crowd washed
over her. The sound swept through her body, and for a moment she could close
her eyes and imagine it lifting her up into the air. A moment.
She dropped her arms, dropped the
mike to the floor and walked off stage without a backward glance. The crowd’s
applause and wild cheering meant nothing to her after that brief moment passed.
Her spiked heels beat a rapidfire tattoo on the slick concrete floor as she
raced for the privacy of her dressing room. Slamming the door and throwing
herself on the worn couch, she threw her arms over her face, hiding her hot
tears from the world.
The rush of wings heralded
company. Raysha gulped and scrubbed at her eyes. Sitting up, she turned away
from the two black crows sitting in the open window. They hopped into the room
and jumped in the air, dissolving into smoke.
“Crow girls don’t cry,” Deerka
sniffed, examining her black-painted nails and rocking backward on her
silver-studded biker boots. Kaldie cackled until Deerka flicked her fingers at
her in annoyance. Raysha wondered how they had ever been her best friends. She
wondered how much longer they would stick around, and how she would survive
without them. Her face must have given some of her thoughts away. Deerka’s face
softened momentarily. “You’re still one of us, girl. Broken wings can heal.”
“Yeah,” Kaldie chimed in with a
sharp grin.
Raysha jumped up, tugging at her
sleeve. She thrust her wrist toward them, the tattoo of a broken feather
clearly visible. “How long?” she wailed. “Deerka, I can’t stand it any more! I
want to fly!”
She dropped back onto the couch,
sobbing.
Kaldie echoed Deerka’s earlier refrain,
with a kinder tone. “Crow girls don’t cry…”
But Deerka hopped over to the
couch and dropped next to Raysha, pulling her head onto her shoulder. She
grabbed Raysha’s wrist and rubbed the tattoo. “Hang in there, girl. It will
heal,” she encouraged Raysha with momentary kindness.
Raysha sniffed and gulped for air,
swallowing the sobs. She relaxed against Deerka for a moment, then pulled away
before either of them could tease her for such human weakness. She rubbed her
nose with her sleeve as she jumped up, shaking her head into a disheveled halo.
“Wanna come out with me for the
final song?” She asked with a mischievous grin. The two girls jumped up,
clapping as they hopped behind her to the door.
In the concrete hall, the three
girls linked arms and skipped toward the stage. Lights blinded them as they
hopped up the steps, and they were hit with a wall of sound from the crowd.
Note:
I was listening to Mary Ann Harris' "Crow Girls" and had the sudden thought, "Oh my goodness Kei$ha is a crow girl!" Tell me it's not true...
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Dogs in House
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Houdini, Brindle
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Music
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Daughter’s piano lesson
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Time writing
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~45 minutes
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February word
count
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1,787
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