Page 5 - My FlipBook

cacophony as thirty-three middle-school students spread
out like a virus. The teacher’s voice competes for attention.
They have already been to Poe’s sad, claustrophobic house
on Amity Street; this is their last stop, and the teacher is
exhausted.
She begins a recitation of the history of Westminster,
the name Poe rising to the surface over and over like the
whitecap of a wave.
After a while, the school group floats away and even-
tually we hear the sighing of the bus door and the rolling
away of the tires.
Late afternoon settles down like a nap, and then there
is a burst of activity at rush hour. The sounds build and
then lower in intensity and volume as another day draws
to a close.
Again, Owen and Clarissa emerge for their secret ren-
dezvous. Her face glows. He wants to walk over and take
her in his arms, but he reminds himself to be patient. They
whisper I love you and descend back to sleep.
Time passes. In the late evening, we hear the distinct
creak of the iron gate, and once again the hairs on the back
of our necks stand at attention. The sound of footsteps on
crunching leaves betrays the Living. In the moonlight, we
see Olivia enter.
She stops and looks up at Poe’s monument. Perched on
top, Raven regards her, unmoving.
Olivia bends down and picks up a stone. She throws it
at the bird, who doesn’t flinch, and then she laughs when it
misses by a long margin. In the next second, her cell phone
vibrates in her coat pocket and she ignores it, sitting on the
stone bench.

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