wataboutit
Corwin sat alone, the dying embers of his hearth casting shadows that flickered like restless spirits. The wind howled through the trees, rattling shutters and whispering secrets of the night. Each gust reminded him of Lenore, taken too soon, her absence a wound no time could heal.
A sudden tapping at the window made him start. "Who's there?" he called, voice trembling. Only the sighing wind answered.
Then, atop the bust of Athena, a raven appeared, black as midnight, its eyes gleaming with strange intelligence. Corwin shivered.
"Messenger or demon," he whispered, "what brings you here?"
The raven's beak opened: Nevermore.
The word sank into him like ice. He sank into his chair, despair tightening his chest. "Then there is no solace, no balm for my grief. Lenore... can I never see you again?"
Nevermore.
The raven's gaze pierced him. Shadows grew longer, darker, as if night itself had claimed him. Memories of Lenore-her laughter, her hand in his-once sweet, now stabbed like daggers. Time lost meaning; the raven's refrain haunted him relentlessly.
At dawn, Corwin understood the terrible truth: grief is eternal. Some losses leave a mark no prayer can soothe. The raven remained, silent, a dark sentinel over all he had lost.
Corwin sank to the floor, whispering into the empty room: "Evermore... you are my companion."
Some shadows, he realized, follow the soul beyond mortal life. Memory itself can be both curse and companion.