The Raven Comes to Visit

by Sebastien Campbell

The raven comes to visit. He never stays for long, just long enough. He watches while I work, takes the things I offer him, yet his presence is all I ask for in return. He is a constant collaborator, one I cite in every academic paper I write. How could I not? Without him, my work would be incomplete.

When customers come with their requests, he is never there. He’s my dark little secret. I fear that, if they found out, they wouldn’t trust me with their gifts. Yet I pass each one on to him. He takes what he wants and leaves enough for me to work with. The red of a rose. The promise of a ring. The memory of a bone. I know not what he does with these gifts, but I know I cannot stop him, lest he take something he shouldn’t.

So here I sit, watching my alembic bubble away. The raven visits again. Watching. Waiting. We do not speak. As the solution begins to cloud, he moves. At precisely the right moment, he swoops down and snatches away what he desires.

Such a peculiar little fellow. I cannot help but be fond of him. Yet we are not friends. We are colleagues. Perhaps one day I will offer him something he finds wanting, something he refuses, and he may take more than I give. But do I fear him? No. He is simply an essential part of my work, and as I watch him pick through my offerings, I wonder: am I merely the vessel for this creature?

My master claims that he is not alone out there. That there are other corvids doing Saint Albert’s great work, taking offerings freely given. Part of me had hoped that I was special, that the raven was just for me. Yet there is comfort in knowing that his presence admits me into the circle, that my offerings are enough for him.

Today he brought a friend. I made a simple adjustment, stirring the mixture three seconds longer, or perhaps the water was extra pure today. Otherwise, everything was as it usually was. I left my humble donation in the flask, as always, and watched him swoop down and pluck the color from it like thread from a spool, little by little. I stirred, lowering the flame, as my colleague’s white twin took his place upon the shelf.

Albedo.

🜁🜄🜂🜃

Sebastien “Seb” Campbell (he/him) is a student and amateur author with a particular interest in speculative and dark fiction. He writes short stories that explore the strange, the unsettling, and the spaces where folklore, symbolism, and imagination intersect.