A piercing caw broke the midnight silence. Maxwell Fischer groaned and pried open his crusted eyelids. Moonlight sneaked through a gap in the curtains and fell across the carpet in silky waves. He threw back the covers and swung his feet to the floor with a thud.
“Not again,” he growled. He hauled himself upright and glared at the window.
“Three weeks, you bastard. Three weeks!” He screamed at the avian silhouette beyond the curtains. The bird continued to caw, a plaintive cry that bled melancholy into the nocturnal peace.
Maxwell shuffled across the floor and threw open the curtains. His bloodshot eyes peered into the night outside. The raven sat on the branch opposite the window.
“You. You always wait until I’m just falling asleep, and then CAW!”
The raven fluttered its wings and fixed him with a steely glare. Maxwell scowled at the bird. With one hand, he slid open the catch on the window, and pushed up the sash. With the other hand, he felt around in the corner beside the window. His fingers fastened around a metal tube. He lifted it to the window, and poked it through the gap.
Moonlight glinted along the barrel of the shotgun. The raven stared at Maxwell through the window and let out a final caw. Maxwell grimaced.
“Never more.”
Ha ha now if only Edgar Alen Poe had got himself a shotgun. I loved it Icy and I really liked this line “a plaintive cry that bled melancholy into the nocturnal peace.”
I can totally relate to this after my run-in with a rogue turkey this week. He fixed me a steely glare too.
Short and not-so-sweet, I like this. 😀
Finally someone’s given this guy a happy ending! Better him than me, though. Well done, Icy.
Ah, how I’ve dreamed of blowing away the barking dogs that do the same thing each night! Loved this, especially the way it ended.
Nicely done, but now you’ll be on the watchlists for PETA and the SPCA.
Great stuff Icy.. blow that sucker away.. but what or who’s next?
This was a bit like the Gordian Knot… with guns.
LOL I totally sympathize with Maxwell.
There’s something about Ravens isn’t there? Mysterious and just a bit knowing. I think Maxwell felt this too. I always love your characters’ names Icy. They always play a vital part.
Harsh! Clearly Maxwell doesn’t mess around. Poor bird probably wasn’t bothering him on purpose, just doing what ravens do. I hope there aren’t any loud kids in the neighborhood, else Maxwell may be sleeping behind bars someday. . . .
Sleep deprivation can caws a man to go to extremes. (Groan)
I can relate. Last year some geese would sit next to my bedroom window around 5 in the morning and make the loudest, most annoying words ever. If I had a shotgun, I would have done the same thing I think.
Good story though, you capture his frustration well and I loved the “Crusted Eyelids” part.
LOL. A nice twist on the Raven. Ha ha ha. Never more, indeed. 😉
Awwww poor Raven. Nice short piece and I can relate too. I have an owl constantly letting us know he’s awake early hours of the morning
So Maxwell doesn’t just have a silver hammer at his disposal… I liked how this one set up all the spookiness and then just blew it away (sorry).