I often think back to that day, and I still have no idea why the crows saved me. I hadn’t behaved well at all, but I guess I had behaved better than Civic, who was out for the kill. I suppose. I don’t know. Let me tell you the story, and perhaps you can figure it out.
It started on a cold dry grey blustery morning, much like any other winter morning. I left my building and walked to my car, parked in its usual spot.
I saw it as I drew closer: the dead crow, lying in the empty parking spot right next to mine. It was unavoidable- a large black crow, lying on its back with its beak pointing sharply towards the white wintery sky.
I tried to avoid looking at it as I got into my car. I just wasn’t up to dealing with it at that time in the morning.
It was still lying there when I got back after work. I remembered, the parking spot next to mine had been empty for a while. In the dim twilight, it looked blacker and bigger. Old leaves and trash had blown in and gathered around the corpse, so it looked like it was lying on a bed. There were no visible injuries on it- no clue as to why it had died, or why it was lying there untouched. Live crows flew around, cawing as they started to settle for the night.
I still did nothing, just parked and walked straight back in.
I woke up to the sound of cawing, right outside my window. I glanced outside. So many crows, the sky was alive with swirling black.
I prepared and ate breakfast to the background noise, usually a time of peace as I think about my working day ahead and mentally prepare myself. But instead of my to-do list, I found myself hoping that the crow-corpse wouldn’t be still there, next to my car.
But it was.
I thought of calling the building maintenance people to deal with it, but I was running late to work in the morning traffic, and by the time I got there, I got sucked into the hustle of the working day, and totally forgot.
I was exhausted by the time I reached home. I was almost as startled as yesterday when I parked and got out of my car and caught sight of corpse lying next to my spot. The sudden sight of the crow-corpse annoyed me, for no rational reason. On impulse I kicked it away, and it landed by the wheels of the next car over, a Honda Civic, making a soft crushy sound as it fell on frozen ground.
In the morning, a horrible sight awaited me.
The Civic had driven off, driving over the crow-corpse, so it was now a flattened frozen black mass of feathers and flesh, beak still intact, still jutting out sharply.
I jumped into my own car, and raced to work, refusing to look, let alone deal with the corpse.
I returned in the evening, once again forgotten all about the corpse.
As I got out of my car I nearly stepped on the crow-pancake. The Civic owner must have finally noticed the corpse, and kicked it back or maybe even placed it on my parking spot, just beside my car.
I was furious and without a moment hesitation, I bent down, picked it up by the outstretched beak, carried it over and plonked on the hood of the Civic. The parking lot was empty. Even after I dumped the corpse, the scratchy sharp coldness of the beak against my hand remained. I showered vigorously to get rid of it.
But I could feel the beak in my hand all night.
I did not sleep well at all. The cawing of the crows seemed to haunt me through the night. I knew even in my sleep I was being petty and foolish and I needed to deal with the crow corpse situation. I woke up un-rested and groggy, still feeling the beak in my hand.
As I stepped into the parking lot, a big burly man jumped me.
I didn’t have a chance and I dropped like a log. The attacker straddled me and grabbed my collar.
“What’s your game, asshole?” he screamed into my face. He looked crazed with rage, I could hardly tell what he looked like- I could hardly breath, I tried desperately to wiggle free and somehow push him off me- my arms flailed helplessly.
“That bitch set you on me? Dead birds on my car? What the hell are you playing at?” The Civic owner sat up, raised his fist and smashed it into my face. Pain exploded into the universe and filled my head, like nothing I had ever experienced before. Scarlet blackness welled in my eyes.
I felt the bones in my face breaking and blood filling my mouth.
“Was it that bitch? Tell me!” and Civic lifted his fist for another blow. I turned my head helplessly, scrabbling around in the frozen hard ground for dirt, my eyes blinded with pain, and tried to mumble something. And so I didn’t first see the swoop of black wings around Civic’s head.
I only felt the feathers and the loosening of Civic’s deathly grip. The cawing was right inside my ears but it was not directed at me. Visions and sounds of night mixed with the pain and sounds of the morning, my eyes cleared a bit, only to be filled with fluttering feathers and wings.
Civic screamed and rolled off me, now his arms were flailing about as tried to fight the crows which had engulfed us. I scrambled upright and sat, trying to avoid the horrible spectacle of the man entangled by the murder of crows. I shook my head and blood splattered. I stood up and ran towards my car, the air dark with sound of caws and human screams.
I jumped into my car and still half-blind with pain and blood, I swerved off.
I still don’t know why the crows chose to save me that morning. I think Civic would have killed me. And I know I hadn’t behaved well at all, I hadn’t done anything which merited the crows to come to my rescue, and yet they did.
Later, when I could, I found the corpse and carefully buried it in a patch of earth by the parking lot, which bloomed with landscaped flowers in the spring.
I never saw Civic.