Murder On A Wall

=Mariana's P.O.V.=

I've been following Jenni into the forest for some time now. She doesn't know, of course, and I don't like to do such a thing in secret. But if she knew that I knew, I'd have to stay home with Mum and Dad, and I prefer to escape my dysfunctional reality for as long as I can. I know that at the end of the day I can't escape it, but it's nice to pretend I'm someone else sometimes, or that my problems don't exist. Most days I set off a few minutes after Jenni, where I follow her to the cave she visits every day. Some days she'll disappear into the cave and I can follow her no further, but sometimes a teenage boy around her age comes out of the cave and I can stay for a few short moments. Of course, I give them their privacy, but it's nice to see someone healing Jenni for a change. She's always breaking, always broken, and no one ever tries to pull the pieces back together. Except, obviously, for this Uriah person, he always makes sure Jenni's really okay. He's always worried about her. Not that I want him to get wrinkles prematurely, but it's good to see someone worry about her.
Many days, more often than not, at least, I'll go back to a clearing off a ways and wait out the day for Jenni. I'll sit and draw, and Jenni will come fetch me on her way home. Sometimes I'll leave before she comes, but most days she gets me.
Today, though, I never made it to the clearing.
I was stopped by an old stone wall.
I mean, it's on the side of the trail, but still. It's always been there, always. I just never payed it much attention until recently. There was always a crow there when I went by, just one. But today, today there were over ten.
I thought, Wow, that's a drastic change.
It was then that I realized it was a flock now. A murder.
A murder on a wall.
Hmm, I thought. That would make a good book.
I was never good with words, that was Jenni's field of expertise. I was good with pictures. But today, today I had words, plenty of words.
And so I began.
A long time ago, there was a flock of crows that rested on a wall. A girl, a very young girl, would walk by and point, but her mother would always rush her along. When the girl was older, she would walk by on her way to school, but had only a few moments to stop to look at the birds. Now, this may all seem completely normal, but this girl was special. Her name, a simple one, was...