Birds cannot be trusted. They are not on our side.
I warned everyone.
A single blow to the back of the head, and my perspective is irrevocably changed.
Is this a kind of enlightenment? But it came not from the cudgel of a well-meaning Buddhist monk, but from a black-winged devil.
The crows are everywhere. How did I not notice this before? Every time I leave the house, they're there, shrieking, rasping, lurking, glaring with soulless eyes. They're almost always in groups of 3 or 4, and seem to have a affinity for parks. They are intensely territorial, and will scream continuously if they consider me an intruder....which seems to be about half the time.
Now, whenever I hear a crow, or see one, I snap into a heightened level of awareness. I need to know where they are and what they are doing. I am beginning to learn their language. When I walk past a group, I turn to watch them, in case one decides to swoop down on me.
And one did, this morning, in a park far removed from the earlier attack. As I passed, it started circling at a low altitude, perhaps just warning me off, but maybe looking for an opening to attack. But I kept turning to face it, maintained eye contact, and it broke off and perched on a lamppost. If it had actually dove, I would have tried to knock it away. I don't know what the outcome of that would be, but I think I'd rather take damage to an arm than to my face.
I'm starting to think about maintaining air cover while I walk. Directly under a tree, I'm likely safe; but a short distance from a tree, or anywhere out in the open, I'm a target. There really aren't many safe spaces, when you start to think about it.
