Crow by Nicola Skinner

Author:Nicola Skinner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barrington Stoke Ltd
Published: 2023-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

ALIVE

“How – how did he get here?” I stammered.

“Who was knocking on the door, Dad?” said Oliver.

And then the oddest thing happened. The little black mouth I’d drawn on Crow’s face opened.

“I knocked on the door,” said Crow. “With my broom handle.”

“What?” we all said.

“I hopped all the way here,” said Crow.

His pillow head tilted down a bit and looked at the stump of the old gate post. “On this.”

“Incredible,” I stammered.

“Not at all,” said Crow. “It was easy. I went over the playground, up a field, past a well-dressed gentleman in a lovely waistcoat, then a sharp left …”

“No,” I said. “What’s incredible is that you’re alive.”

“And can talk,” said Dad softly.

He peered closer at Crow.

“Hey, that’s my catering college T-shirt,” Dad said, looking a bit upset. “And my jeans.”

“And my cap,” added Oliver.

“Sorry,” I said. “I made do with what we had. It’s my scarecrow. I made him.”

“Never mind my jeans. More importantly – HOW IS IT EVEN ALIVE?” said Dad. “And … I’m sorry, what did you say your name was?”

“Crow,” said Crow.

“Right. Crow. Now listen. You’re a very lovely scarecrow. However, it is late and I’m finding this all very weird. So why don’t we all just go back to bed? Then we’ll wake up in the morning and this will all have been just a dream,” Dad said.

“But I am here to protect your daughter from mishap, misfortune and anyone who dares harm her,” said Crow.

“Too many long words for the middle of the night,” muttered Dad as he rubbed his eyes.

I sighed. “No, Crow. You’re not meant to protect me. I built you to protect my den.”

“The den? You mean the tree back at the school?” He frowned. “I’m there to protect that?”

“Yes. You’re meant to stand there and frighten children away from the den.”

“Oh,” said Crow. “The children? The ones who danced with me?” He gave a little laugh. “I liked the dancing.” He gave a little hop and hummed a tune.

“I didn’t make you to dance. I made you to scare away the children,” I said.

Crow looked down at the ground, then back at me. “Why?” he asked.

“That den belongs to me,” I explained.

Crow blinked. “Doesn’t it belong to—”

“Off you go,” I said quickly. “You’re letting all the cold air in.”

“Bye, Crow,” said Dad, shutting the door.

A few seconds later we heard a faint tapping sound as Crow hopped off – on his way back to school, with any luck.

Dad squinted at me. “Did that really happen?”

“Yup.”

“Hattie,” Oliver said softly as we went up the stairs. “That. Was. Amazing.”

I grinned. It was kind of amazing. Even though I hadn’t quite planned it, Crow coming to life was amazing.

But back in my room, I began to worry. Would Crow go back to normal after the storm ended? I didn’t really know what to do with a living scarecrow.

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