“Shush, shush, be quiet, there's danger afoot.
It seeks to destroy you and control me.
It lies just over the hills and the trees.
Its beak bites harder than teeth have bitten.
Shush, shush, be quiet, and lie your head low.”
One said to Two upon hearing the crow,
The bird that had dared ally with evil.
It flew above their heads and then the hills.
One slowly poked its head out, finds no bill.
“Is the evil gone, dearest brother One?
It sounds as if done, but not forgotten.
Can I please forget the visions witnessed?
Those times when once we had friends are quite missed,
So I ask again, is the evil gone?”
Two's voice was not of fear, but of yearning.
The brothers had been alone for decades,
And their loneliness was turning them mad.
“Shush, shush, be quiet, the jealous crow comes!”
Warned One to his brother in answering.
The jealous crow flew above, clattering
Due to its shivering from its cold heart.
“Brother, why did the crow take up that art?
Is evil innate to such a creature?”
Two questioned his knowing brother One, who
Had studied the world quite extensively.
“No, there is a story behind its choice,
A story that I believe you should know,
But we must find a place to hide away
For it will sweep us up if we are seen.
So come with me, dearest brother, and hide.”
And thus they both went down the rabbit's hole
Where the darkness consumed them and hid them.
“Oh such vibrant darkness there is down here!
How might we see if the crow has come near?
Surely it will slip through the shadows and
Come up from behind to devour us!
There seems to be no escape from evil!”
Two could not find trust to put in darkness,
But his clever brother One trusted full.
“Shush, shush, be quiet, you act like a fool.
Do you not understand the truth in black?
It is true that the crow too is dark night,
But it is not his color that turned him
But rather the jealousy in his heart
Did the deed that now plagues those below him.”
Explained One to Two, quite carefully said.
“We are safe here?” Two questioned his brother.
“Indeed we are.” One answered the younger.
“Then recount the dark story of the crow.”
One nodded in reply and inhaled deep.
“It happened many years before you did,
And even before I too came to be.
It was when the crow was young and still pure.
It had been spending time with the Raven.
It is his cousin, or perhaps brother.
The Raven was much bigger then as well,
And quite revered for his strength and wisdom.
He was the King of the sky, and still is,
But his kin, the crow, lacked such great glory.
He flew in the same skies, but none noticed.
The crow too was graceful and passionate.
Often he could be found flying with strength,
And he commonly revealed his wisdom,
Which sometimes surpassed that of the Raven.
Still none recognized his abilities,
And all continued their Raven worship.
Remember, brother Two, life is not fair.
Thus, no matter how hard that poor crow tried,
And no matter how much he did achieve,
None noticed except for the worried snake.
'You appear ill.' The slithering snake said.
'I deserve the fame and glory, not him!
He is lesser than I, except for sheen!'
Did the crow reply with deep jealousy.
'Do temper yourself, dearest friend of mine.
I see your evil. It brews deep within,
Seeks to corrupt you, seeks to destroy you.
Please do not let it succeed, friend of mine.'
The slithering snake's tongue spoke of sights seen,
And nightmares that became reality.
But alas, the jealous crow did not hear,
For it was busy plotting its revenge.
Thus the snake did leave to warn the Raven
Of the evil that had taken the crow.
But the jealous crow saw his direction,
And promptly caught him with his sharp talons,
And before the snake could scream out for help,
His head was bitten off of his body.
The crow devoured the slithering snake,
In mere moments, and then he ceased to be.
That was the beginning of the murders
In which the crow took an evil pleasure.
The Raven did his best to stop the crow,
But he refused to commit evil too.
Thus the crow roams and does as he pleases.”
One finally finished his prolonged tale.
The crow cawed from high up above the pair,
Scaring Two quite efficiently, it did.
One was sympathetic, but not afraid.
He smiled instead, amused by Two's quick fear.
“Relax, relax, dear brother. We are safe.
The crow may caw but never enter here.
Its wings are restrained by the rabbit's hole,
And flying is its greatest advantage.
Down here it is robbed from the evil crow;
Thus we are safe for we may outrun him,
And disappear further into the hole,
Where he is far to large to dare enter.”
And thus Two calmed himself and dared relax.
There was silence between them for some time,
But then it seemed that the crow had vanished.
Thus one lead his brother out of the hole
And they wandered through the dangerous woods,
Until they reached the high up Raven's roost,
Where they would be safe from the evil crow.
Once there, they found that everyone had left.
One sat down in the defeat he suffered.
“They have left without me, my dear brother.”
One muttered to Two, who sat beside him.
“Where did they go off to?” Two questioned One.
One let out a great sigh that shook Two's core.
The sigh carried such power over Two,
That the sigh seemed to be that of a god
Yet only affected his brother Two.
“They have left without me.” He repeated.
“They are gone to a world beyond this one,
Carried away by the Great Raven's wings,
To a world so absolutely perfect.
It is a world without any evil,
A world where the crow can follow us not.
It is what some people call Paradise.”
Two listened to One with his eyes closed shut.
He was imagining One's Paradise,
Which was a world of colors and people,
A world where loneliness did not exist.
This world was ideal, but fictional.
Thus only the Great Raven could provide
Passage to such a world, by his great wings.
But if One truly wished to enter it,
All he had to do was donate himself
To the great evil that flew through the skies.
But he was afraid and would not do so.
Thus he spent his life wandering the land,
Completely alone with his illusions.
-Zero
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