The crow was perched up on the roof of my house to watch me swat through the grass for the button.
Glaring up at it, I jabbed a finger to the creature.
"This is your fault, you know!" I snapped at it "if it wasn't for your noise, I wouldn't be out here!"
It shuffled across, ruffling out it's feathers.
Damned bird. Why was it bothering me now?
"I don't have anything for you!" I threw up my arms "usually you birds trade for something. Why are you leaving me things for nothing?"
It said nothing. It just stared.
Maybe it was my omen I was going to die? Being out in this grass, a snake could easily bite me, or a spider could poison me.
The nearest hospital was way too far. I only had my old red motorbike leaning against the side of the house that rattled whenever it struggled over sixty kilometers an hour.
That was it. It was death.
And I hadn't even become famous beforehand.
"Great" I mumbled bitterly, swatting more flowers out of the way to try and find the ground "thirty-five and I'm going to die."
I peered back up at the crow still watching me.
The others were gone. The sun grew intense as afternoon set in. I was still deciding if a mere button was even worth it anymore.
It would be that 'different' people wanted, but I could just rip off one from a shirt to substitute it.
Sweating and wiping my brow, I decided to go for that option.
I was dying for a drink. My mouth felt like I was trying to swallow a tea-towel that had been covered in tacky spiders webs.
Struggling up the stairs, I heard the claws of the crow shuffle before something dropped.
The gleam caught my eye and made me whine. On the verge of tears, I picked it up and looked to the crow.
That stupid yellow button. It had it all this time.
"You...." I choked out as I wiped my eyes "you b..."
I couldn't even speak from how useless and frustrated I felt. All those hours combing the grass and developing an itchy rash for nothing.
I should have known it was torturing me. It knew and it did nothing.
It was playing games with me. Cunning creature.
Sliding my weary body to the door, I tossed the button on the bench and sighed at the broken glass I still had to clean out of the sink.
"Don't hurt yourself."
Pausing over the shards, I looked out the window to see the head of the crow poking over the edge of the roof.
"Don't hurt yourself" it repeated in a deep slowness.
Was it just mimicking something it had heard? Could crows do that?
No. That was stupid...
I kept picking the shards to dump on the bench beside me while rummaging for a plastic bag.
I heard the weight of the crow drop to the steps and tap its way to the window.
Fire burned through my finger when I pulled up a bag and saw I had cut myself.
"You hurt yourself" it pointed.
"Genius" I mumbled and sucked on my finger.
The white eyes watched me glaring back at them.
What did it want from me?
A trade for the items?
"Alright" I searched the house desperately, snatching up items "here you go!"
I stormed out the door, startling the crow into backing up to the edge again.
"For the stone" I threw down a fork "for the flower" I tossed a thread pulled from my bed "for the button" I dumped a coin into the pile.
The crow eyed them and waited until I backed up to snatch up the items and inspect them in the sunlight.
"Now go! SHOO!"
It scurried to take off again. This time it sailed into the skies and disappeared.
Blowing out a grateful breath, I gathered up my art supplies to continue my work in my quiet home.
ns 15.158.61.54da2
