Midnight Cackle

The occasional twig snapped loudly beneath my feet.  With every step forward, the sack which rests on my shoulders seemingly gained another pound.  It wouldn’t be much longer before the weight becomes more than I can bear.  I felt its eyes upon me watching, waiting somewhere in the darkness.  For what reason, I hadn’t the faintest; all I knew was that I must have disposed of this secret long before the first rays of sunlight illuminate the sky.  A sound off in the distance caught my attention causing me to lose my footing.  As I tumbled downward, colliding harshly with the hard earth, the sack flew free from my grasp and out came my secret.  I raced toward it, but before I could scramble over and push it back inside, something descended upon it.

A raven cackled, perched atop its new throne.  “Caw, Caw, Caw.”

I attempted to shoo it away, but the raven slashed out with its beak.  Recoiling, I fell back onto the ground. 

Again it cackled, “Caw, Caw, Caw.”

While I sat dumbfounded at this creature's harsh mockery, several additional black birds descended from the sky, appearing suddenly and without any clear origin.  One by one, the growing crowd joined in on the boisterous laughter clearly directed at my own expense.  As the horrible sound swelled and began to rattle the very fabric of my consciousness, I felt the growing madness become seemingly inescapable until something inside clicked into place.  They aren't laughing at me.  No, not if I’m laughing too.  I threw my head back and let out the loudest shrieking impression of their cackle that I could manage, cutting through the sound of the crowd.  Silence fell following my outburst, but only for a moment.  And then again the crowd cawed, though this time their cackle felt inviting.  WIthout thinking, I instinctively joined and wholeheartedly cackled, my voice taking on an unusual tonality matching their own.  Bathed in moonlight, I gradually melded into their numbers until I was no longer distinguishable as myself.