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The Crow

The beady-eyed beaky bird with glossy silver-grey coat pounced on any crumbs I tossed on my windowsill. Thank you was prompt pickup, delivery downwards. A raucous caw if another crow dared zoom in. I placed rice pudding in front of my late mom’s photo, which after an interval would be placed on the windowsill for crows to consume. A symbolic offering. Fearlessly hopping in, it started siphoning off pudding in front of mom’s picture. Cheeky impatient creature, I thought, too bemused to shoo it off. The crow cocked its eye at me quizzically. “Cawww?” it queried. Anything wrong?

Amrita Valan is a mommy to two teenage boys, a writer who loves observing their antics, birds and insects, collecting rocks and memories. www.facebook.com/amritavalan

Aftermath

Scene