"I want to cherish this moment for all eternity."
I'm sure that no matter who you ask, every human being has held that sentiment at least once in their lives.
Precious memories can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some find joy in an afternoon cigarette, some find warmth in their mother's embrace, some find great pride in their academic achievements, while others may find value in their ordinary everyday.
Yeah...I'm sure that the "act of cherishing" is a core component of humanity, or rather, it is the very basis of "normalcy."
That day, however, was an experience that could never fall under the category of normalcy. It was a situation so strange, so bizarre, so outlandish and alien that no single person could properly recall the tale with mere words alone.
Even so, I, Cassius, a high school student with nothing peculiar about me, will attempt an impossible task.
Allow me to recall the tale of the White Crow and the Auspicious Pretender
———
[March 23rd, 2026]
Today marks the third day of spring. The lingering effects of winter, though significantly weakened with the coming season, had remained throughout Baroque City as a reminder of time passed. Small snow hills collected at the side of the road. Trees hadn't quite regained their color. Frigid winds blew through the claustrophobic streets.
Yup, today was a day like any other.
"The sky's just as dull as usual," I say with an apathetic demeanor. Though I didn't hate early spring, I certainly had no love for it either.
School had ended about thirty minutes ago, and I was ready to head home. Despite the frequent gusts of wind that sent a thin chill down my spine, I rode my bike home as usual. Breaking my routine was simply too annoying for me to bother, and biking was far more comfortable than an overcrowded bus.
My home was roughly two miles away from school. With enough energy and determination, I could make it there in about fifteen minutes.
Or at least, that was the original plan.
"..."
I'm not sure how to describe this scene, or the sequence of events that follow, but all I could clearly remember was a young woman with dark skin and piercing eyes. She stood at around five foot ten inches tall with a high-neck loose fit sweater and wool-striped trousers.
Her visage was as striking as it was obscured. Nobody seemed to even glance at her or notice her presence except for me. Her clothing remained still while the winds raged on. This woman could not be a human. No. She was something far closer to a spirit, and she had beguiled me with her unending charm.
I wasn't romantically or sexually attracted to her, though. I didn't even know the strange woman's name. The feeling was something else, akin to the love one may feel when praying before an icon or standing atop a great mountain and surveying the great valley below.
After what seemed like an eternity of locking eyes, her lips moved, though I didn't hear her words, and she walked away from me with a neutral gait.
"W-Wait!" I shouted unexpectedly.
I got on my bike and pedaled as hard as I could, yet the distance between myself and that mysterious woman refused to close. Was she too fast, or was I too slow?
After about thirty minutes, the chase came to an end. I had lost sight of her.
"Damn...What am I doing? Why am I wasting time with this?" I thought.
It was a rational mode of thinking. Chasing some random girl I didn't know was not only exhausting, but a tad creepy from the woman's perspective. It'd be best to leave on an uptown-bound train.
However...the story would be rather boring if it ended on such a dull note, wouldn't it?
I don't know if the decision I made that day was correct. In a way, it could be considered incredibly auspicious, while in another way, it could be considered a mistake so great that one could no longer go back to being human. A logical error.
My legs, as though possessed, moved through the abandoned shopping building in search for that woman. Many of the shops had been occupied by the homeless population, while other departments had been completely wiped out, leaving nothing but a flat white floor and endlessly expanding ceiling.
This was a place far too inappropriate for a high-schooler's presence.
Despite my fear, or perhaps because of it, I waded through the filth and collapsing infrastructure as slowly as possibly, my eyes surveying the area in hopes of finding the mysterious woman. I didn't actually see her walk in, but I was certain that I felt her presence here.
She must be here. She must be.
I made my way up winding stairs of the complex in fervent desire. They spiraled, spiraled, and spiraled endlessly. Just how many stories does this building have?
After what felt like an eternity, I reached the summit of the endless staircase. It was a blinding light, a heavenly light, and a salvific light. I swung open the rooftop door with all my might, prepared to meet that woman, that strange, beguiling woman, and what played before me was a scene that seemed to be ripped from hell itself.
"Ah...Augh..."
It was a crow—no. It couldn't be. The entity merely donned the corpse of a crow, it's true form. Just how tall was it? Eight feet? No, Nine feet, even? And it's white feathers. Oh, it's feathers. It invoked in me an unnatural sensation — revulsion beyond compare.
At it's feet was a corpse. A rotten corpse.
But it wasn't just anyone.
I could tell.
I could see it.
The black hair.
The loose fit sweater.
The stripped trousers.
It was her.
Without a shadow of a doubt, it was her.
The woman who stole my heart — the woman who both beguiled and confused me — lay dead at the creature's feet.
"AUGHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
It was the first time in my life that I had run with such vigor, such desperation. Every one of my cells were screaming in terror. A singular command had been issued to my body.
[RUN!]
I sprinted down the stairs, my arms flaying wildly, guided by excess momentum. What was behind me? How far was I from that creature? I didn't know. I didn't care. All I needed to do was run away, and I would be safe. I would survive!
I don't want my ordinary life to end!
I could no longer feel that woman's embrace. White crows appeared at every corner. Every stairway, every abandoned elevator shaft, every store and bathroom in sight— they were there, watching.
The White Crow did nothing but watch me flail in misery.
"Ugh!"
A heavy thud.
I fell, that's for certain, but what tripped me? I was certain that the path before me was clear.
"..."
I looked down at the broken-tiled floor to inspect the falling, and I had received exactly what I wished for — the truth was revealed in an instant.
My leg was gone.
Blood pooled out of the stump where my leg used to be. The bones, veins, arteries, and internal viscera were all on public display.
It's leaking. Flooding. The bleeding wouldn't stop! I'm bleeding! I'm dying!
The white crows that had once perched on rails and racks were now gnawing on my severed leg.
My eyes darted around the room, searching for a desperate escape, yet my vision had been replaced with an overwhelming white.
They multiplied endlessly. Every corner, every crevice of the abandoned complex was filled with white crows. In a macabre ritual, they slowly circled around me, as though I, a lone high school student with nothing to my character, had become there prey.
My skin was plucked open and skewered by their sharp beaks as they pulled at my innards. They tore through my sinews, lacerated my muscles, and nipped away at bone until nothing was left.
It hurts…
It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts!
My mind had become a distorted jumble of noise. I couldn't think. I couldn't hear. I couldn't see.
It hurt so badly that I wanted to scream, yet the crow burrowing through my esophagus made it impossible.
And then…it stopped.
The pain went away as my body went cold from blood loss. The defeaning laughs of the crows had vanished. The fetid red was gone.
Ah…I see. I must have died.
Just like that, without any proper conclusion, without any proper denouement — I, a highschool boy named Cassius — had met my end.
What was I supposed to think of that moment? The moment in which a human being ceases to exist?
A part of me must have been terrifed, no? Perhaps I was thinking of my friends at school? Or maybe I was thinking of my loving parents? What about my life? What could I have done with the time I had?
Unfortunately, none of those questions, queries , comments, or concerns echoed through my mind. In fact, I hadn't even given consideration to a supposed "life I would have had."
Instead, I could only meet my death with a disappointing sigh.
What a bad conclusion.
I saw life as a novel in many ways. We all had our introductions, character interactions, focal plot points, and of course, our conclusions.
Most people likely wouldn't recieve a "good" ending. Life was fickle, cruel, and fundamentally unfair. We have no choice but to accept what is offered with a regretful nod.
Of course, I do had met such a pointless end.
If, in this irrational world, there existed a being known as "God," I'd likely consider him to be a terrible author.
"You make a good point, boy."
"…?"
A strange voice, a woman's voice, called out to me from the indelible darkness.
"Life is just as much a tragedy as it is a comedy. Its so sweet that its cruel."
I had no ears, yet her words reached me.
"Even when you die, theres no guarantee that you'll find happiness. Heaven and Hell, God and Satan; who knows if the they really exist?"
I had no skin, yet her warmth soothed me.
"If life can be considered '1' and death '0', then what would the world look like between those two integers? What is the color of infinity?"
Even though the meaning of her words were lost on me, I could feel a certain resonance between her and I. I wanted to hear her tale for the rest of my (after)life.
"The world you'll see will be filled with pain, misery, and suffering. In many ways, it will be far worse than your human life. That is why I must apologize for what I'm going to do. This is my greatest sin."
Even if it was a sin, I'm sure I'd gladly accept what was to come. As long as I could hear her voice, I'm sure I'd be okay.
"However…" she continued. "If the world you see can he considered beautiful…if you can cherish even a single moment, then I'm sure you'll see God."