As the rain began to fall outside, the sounds of a steady drumbeat echoed through the rundown apartment building. Raven sat stoically, mesmerized by the music emerging from the quick twitches of his hands. Abruptly, he stopped, prompting the screeching of the nearby raven.
“It’s been a while since I banged out that beat. In fact, it was with my first band. We called ourselves Phoenix. It was pithy, of course, but it seemed to fit. You see, we were all rejects from our previous gigs, so from the ashes we were going to rise to greatness.”
Raven laughed as he twirled the drumsticks in his hand.
“From lowly places, we rise. That’s what we’re promised, right Python? As children, that was the story told to foster our hopes and dreams. I believe we share a similar story, don’t we?”
Raven played a slow, steady beat that caused the black bird to flutter its wings.
“We both rose from nothing, we both were thought of as nothing, but all it took was one moment and fate intervened. For you, the ability to wield a power unlike anything of this world, for me, the ability to enchant thousands with the sheer melody of song.”
The former musician continued to play, closing his eyes, getting lost the drum beat. Suddenly, the playing stopped.
“That would be great if that was where our story ended. Real life is unlike the stories we’re taught, stories like that of the phoenix. We were withheld the true meaning…the plight of the phoenix. You see, we’re destined to be consumed by the flames, over and over. Darkness and death are our inescapable destinies. It’s life’s cruel joke.”
Raven walked away from the drum set and peered into the darkness from the cracked window of the loft.
“We cannot escape the fate life has bestowed upon us. In our constant rise and fall, others are caught in the wake. Your friend, my Sarah. Others will fall as well. Can you withstand the rigors of this responsibility, Python? Are you willing to accept the recourse?”
The large black bird flew from the other side of the room and landed upon its keeper’s shoulder.
“At times in this constant cycle, something else…something different…emerges from the ashes. I now thrive in the darkness and shadows, full of rage and vengeance. How have you be reborn? Does the light of hope still light your way or have the shadows began to infiltrate your being?”
The raven screeched into the night as a sly smirk appeared on Raven’s face.
“This week will serve as another inflection point, Python. You will again experience firsthand the plight of the phoenix. However, there will be no reemergence this time. I can and will provide respite. I will make sure that this time the flames will engulf you, relieving you of this burden fate has placed upon you. I’ve watched you and I find you lacking the fortitude needed to be reborn and survive in this place. You’re already dead, you just don’t know it. Let go, Python, quote the Raven, nevermore.”
Raven walked away from the window, disappearing into the shadows of the night.