Crows

Ian makes a life changing discovery.

Ian made a point to feed the crows that gathered along the road on his way to work. Many times, he would sit and talk to them while they ate the small scraps he could spare, their black feathers glossy under the morning sun.

Life had been rough for Ian. Last September, his father died in a freak accident at work. The company refused to take responsibility and wouldn’t even pay for the funeral. Since then, Ian’s mother had barely been able to hold herself together, sinking deeper into her quiet grief.

Ian knew he had to step up. He applied for a job as a clerk at the convenience store tucked behind his high school, determined to help keep food on the table. The pay wasn’t much, but with money so tight, he picked up every extra shift he could.

Most mornings, the crows stayed near the cornfield by the road he walked to work, but today was different. Today, they were milling around an old spare tire on the roadside, the same stretch of cracked asphalt he had probably passed a hundred times before. Their sharp beaks pecked at something in the grass and dirt, feathers rustling as they jostled each other for position, as if they had found something worth fighting for.

But something caught his eye; a glint, half-buried under the gravel and weeds beside the tire. He bent down, ignoring the crow that hopped backward, and pried it out with his fingers. It was a small, metal cash box, rusted around the edges, but surprisingly heavy.

Heart pounding, he snapped the latch open. Inside were stacks of bills.

For a long moment, Ian just stared. His hands trembled a the crow circled around him, calling out as if waiting to see what he would do.