A crow landed in the square, hopped a couple of steps and stopped. Cocked its head, cawed, walked three steps, cawed again and with a leap, took to the air.
Within a short while it came back.
…Or it could be a different one. You’re not sure. They all look alike, after all.
This one walked across the square, pecked at some bread, cawed and was joined by another.
Was that the first one?
There was a caw in the tree across the square but there didn’t seem to be a crow in there. Wait – There. A few trees anyway.
Turning back to the square and three crows are huddled together. Two leapt into the air, circled, flapped wings, caw and caw and caw.
The third watched with a twisted head before cawing once. Loudly. The two landed and all three regarded each other with black, beady eyes before taking off, joined by not one, but two crows from the trees opposite.
They circled the square once, twice and disappeared over a roof.
But… where did the two in the square come from?
The sound of wings, and the group of five returned.
With an extra two.
Suddenly the square was full of crows, some on dustbin rims, some on chairs. Most on the floor, walking, hopping, pecking at a discarded crust, starring and cawing at each other or, more often, at nothing in particular.
There was one more rousing caw and then all fell silent. One walked across the square turned, hopped three times the other way, ruffled his wings and pecked at the ground. Another, on a dustbin cocked its head, bobbed up and down, stretched its neck as if about to caw, then hopped around the rim.
Two flew up, flapped, landed at the opposite end of the square.
A group ruffled their feathers and shook their heads.
The original, and again this was open to interpretation, cawed, pecked at a bag, shook it, pulled out an old wet french fry and threw it in the air.
A number of birds flapped their wings at that.
Suddenly a car pulled up and all the crows tensed. There was the sound of a hand-brake being applied.
The crow with the fry tapped his beak on the ground.
A caw went up from a tree – 3 times. Insistent.
The car door opened, a figure stepped out of the car, slamming the door.
The door closing coincided with the cough of 20 wings flapping as one and a feathered cloud took to the sky.
