Music class begins. The walls are plastered with works of past musicians, such as Mozart and Beethoven, and their works of sheet music are spread out for all students to take in. Takei’s love for music has been held since the days of her mother. The sweet voice she gave off planted like a fine seed, sprouting and rising from the ground that she lays. A sign of life in the afterlife. And what a gifted women she was. A voice that will set weeping faces for those who felt somber, a warm embrace for the broken and misguided.


    “Sweet darling bird set upon the nest, sleep tightly and know mother is here. I will fly and gather food. Before long, I’ll be home again soon.” The lullaby she used to sing, and those were her favorite lyrics.


    They all set up their instruments and prepare to play. Takei on the piano, Keiko on the violin, Ishimoto on the cello, Okazaki on the clarinet, and the two unoccupied instruments, the oboe and flute unoccupied from the two absent in the group. Their minds all come into unison and think it’ll be fine. Today is a day mainly for personal play, then a group, since it seems most of the students aren’t here today.


    “Hey, hey? Where is everyone gone? This place is a ghost town, utterly and diabolical ridden with a bunch of nothingness.” Pouts Keiko.


    “I’m guessing most of the students all decided to go home early instead of staying after?” This class, being an elective after school, it would make sense, but to them all, it feels different. There is a lingering in the air that tastes of the unknown variety.


    “Don’t matter anyway. Today is a personal practice day, so let’s get this over with so I can go home.” Okazaki prepared to play.


    Three dings go off. The sound of the announcement speaker clinging through the room. All of their attention is struck up at the box and then a voice.


    “Attention students. Please make your way to the assembly hall for an important announcement.”


    The announcer cuts off.


    “What could that be?” Takei says, confused.


    “The hell? Why are they making an announcement now? It’s after school. They ain’t ever done that before.”


    “My, this doesn’t seem to bode well. It’s got me all sorts of worried now,” says Takei.


    “I’m sure it’ll be all right.” Ishimoto is the first to place his instrument back in his seat as he raises up.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    “Let’s get going.”


    They all leave their instruments in their assigned spots and walk down to the assembly hall. Staring around, other students gathered, but a noticeable lack of them signals in all their heads that there might be something terrible wrong.


    “I hope Usagi is okay.” Takei worries seeing her absent from all the other faces making their way into the assembly room.


    They all find their seats next to one another. There is a heavy tension in the air and a clambering of students talking among themselves. Whispers and rumors are spreading fast.


    “This is worrisome.” Ishimoto’s tone changes.


    “Aoi, Chiba, where are they? I don’t see them.” Ishimoto peers around the room.


    “You’re right, I don’t see Harada either. Weren’t they in class earlier?” Keiko adds.


    “Who the hell cares about those guys? Where is Usagi? She ain’t come neither.” Okazaki says.


    “I’m worried about them all. I hope nothing bad has happened to them.” Takei pauses, staring down at the ground for a moment. She can’t recall any reason why they wouldn’t be here. The students named are students who are always here after school, some of the last to leave in their electives, and they still have an hour left. There’s no way they’d miss it.


    “This isn’t good.”


    Then, the sound of footsteps. It deafens the room. Time seems to stop for Takei. Her breathing can be heard in her head. It rattles and stings. Her eyes go to the left, and the window to the outside world is still. There is no breeze or howl, and no cars or grass blades hindered by the wind. The world is a cold and iced-over image. The only thing that moves is the birds. In the sky, they’re going south. It isn’t winter, it’s spring. She glances at them as they break away, and one bird cloaked in black sits on the window. A raven? Takei doesn’t recall ever seeing a raven in Japan before. It doesn’t seem to have anything wrong with it; there are no injuries or noticeable features that other ravens don’t have, but something about it feels strange.


    She steps up. The clacking of her shoes sounds as if she is in an empty hospital. The air is similar to it, a touch going up the back and cool like an ice cream touching bare skin. The world in its stillness is calm, yet the otherworldly feel of this lingers. She arrives at the window and lightly taps against it. The bird doesn’t move, staring into her eyes, its beak perching up at her like a guided missile.


    “You and them.”


    The words burn in her head. The bird doesn’t move. It seems to be communicating with her through a form of telepathy. Her heart beats. Her pupils dilate, and the wonder of this supernatural occurrence is beckoning softly on her sanity. Is this actually happening?


    The raven moves now, looking at her other friends frozen in their seats.


    “You and them. You are the ones? My, what great things you will do, and what a wonderful world you’ll bring.”


    “W-what?”


    “Takei? Takei? Takei, wake up, wake up, sleepy head!” Her body jolts, an image snapshotted in her head before she awakens. The image of the raven and an aura of black surrounding it. It’s stuck in her head as she holds it.


    “What happened...?” she asks.


    “Takei, this isn’t a time to pass out. They’re about to make the announcement?” Ishimoto points to the principal set up at his podium.


    “Whatever’s going on. We’re about to find out.”