The smell of wood and sweat flooded Levi's nose as he stood below the seats surrounding the ring. The audience stomped their feet together making the wooden boards above Levi creak, led by the group fo performers in front of them. As they all cheered, Levi struck a pose- perfectly positioned to excite the audience.
Lights flashed, hooves pounded, and the people stomped. A magnificent collection of sight and sound, all right there before his eyes.
One last thump from the audience, and Levi took a breath, running out from under the wooden seats.
The viewers in the bleachers seemed to hold their breath as the performers froze in place. It looked as if they were all paused in a movie, about to get back in motion, twirling, flying, dancing…
Levi stood in the center and ruffled his red velveteen cape, drawing attention to himself. Several pairs of eyes met his as he drew another breath.
"Ladies and gents, this is the moment you've waited for."
Levi opened his eyes. To his disappointment, there were no lights. There were no performers in sparkling costumes, or herds of people all looking at him.
There was only a dirty, disgusting ceiling.
The raven sat up and looked around. It was still dark outside- Levi couldn't see any light coming in through the cracks on the door.
Waking up in the middle of the night wasn't uncommon for him, though, ever since his mother was less capable of doing work.
They didn't choose this life, but it was all they could afford with the job they worked together. All his life, he's lived in this poor excuse for a home- four flimsy walls, a creaky floor, a small table and an old bed that barely fit two people. He took up only a third of it, and the rest of the bed was occupied by his mother.
Every day she seemed to be getting even thinner…
It was routine for Levi to check on her when he woke up to make sure she wasn't dead. He always had to know if he was still with someone- with a living human being. She was the only thing that was keeping him going in this life.
Levi rolled over in the bed, moving up next to his mother. Whenever he did this, the raven took a sharp breath before checking her pulse.
The raven let out a sigh of relief as he felt a faint rhythm. Very faint- but still there.
He stepped out of his stained bed. The old floorboards creaked as he walked over to the other side of the bed where his mother was lying. Positioning his head over hers, he kissed her forehead.
"Don't fucking die here with me. You're going to see another day, mother."
A tear fell down his cheek as the raven grabbed his mother's thin, skeletal hand. He held it gently in fear that her fragile bones would break in his grasp.
Levi stopped himself from bawling there by her side. He slid into the small space next to his mother, lying between her arm and her chest.
Every day could be her last. Right now, the most important thing was to spend all available time with his mother before she passed away. It was the least Levi could do.
This time, Levi couldn't hold back the flood of tears. He whimpered quietly by his mother's side, letting her know that someone still cared about her- unlike the man who had left them to die in the streets. Levi was ashamed to know that this horrible being was his father.
The only thing he had was his mother, now. That man wasn't important anymore. Neither was his mother's tear-soaked nightgown.
I'll have to go to work tomorrow- with or without my mother.
This was the last thought that went through the raven's despairing mind before he fell into a dark, dreamless slumber.
Levi didn't notice when the human next to him had started to wheeze until they let out their last breath. Not one soul knew about the last words of Kuchel Ackerman.
In the quiet cloak of night, nobody heard the words being uttered in a weak, raspy voice.
"This was a mista…"
The rattle of wheels against metal tracks woke Levi with a jolt. The sun was streaming in through cracks in the door, shining directly on his face. It was warm.
Unlike the body curled around him.
Levi's blood ran cold. Tears started to well up in his eyes, but the raven forced himself not to cry again. Slowly, Levi turned his head to the side to catch a glimpse of his mother. His heart pounded until he saw her face. Then it skipped a beat.
His mother's face was extremely thin and pale. Her cheekbones stood out razor-sharp against her papery skin. Her eyes were sunken in, and her lips had almost disappeared, revealing a set of yellowed teeth.
Levi couldn't scream.
Realization swept over him as he jumped out of the bed. His legs were shaking, and his vision was swimming, Levi covered his eyes to take it all away- his mother's illness, her rotting corpse, his father's betrayal…
But you can only hide for so long.
Dead.
Shaking train cars thundered on the road. They filled the terrifying silence with a loud hum that only added noise to Levi's panicked state. He kept trying to forget this- to forget what cannot be undone.
My mother is dead.
A sudden thud from the train passing by his house brought him back to reality. His mother had died, and there was no way to reverse it.
His eyes still wide with fear, the raven remembered his choice from last night.
I'll go to work with or without my mother.
Levi slung his mother's small handbag around his shoulder. At the moment, he didn't care if he wasn't in work-appropriate clothing. He didn't care if he looked half-dead, or if he wasn't himself.
The bag contained some money and the supplies his mother used for work. It'd be enough to give him a chance at earning some more money. After all, he was 23, and could look after himself. Levi dug around in the bag a bit more, but there wasn't anything valuable around their house to keep, anyway.
With a heavy sigh, the raven looked back at the corpse on the bed.
"I'll be back, mother. I have to go meet Kenny at the station or I'll miss the train."
He tightened his grip around the bag's straps. He'd be back for sure. Who knows- maybe he'd be a changed man by the time he returned. He could be a better person. Or he could be a gang leader. Or a thief.
Either way, Levi knew he would be changing quickly, for better or for worse.
