Why would someone just leave it like that? Why wouldn’t they give it to her personally? It took her less than a minute to open the door. Were they that impatient or was it something else?
She swallowed heavily as she weighed in her mind what she should do. A part of her felt silly. After all, it was just a box. At least, it looked like just a box but, then again, who knew what was inside. It could have been anything. Maybe Dante sent her something?
Without thinking twice, she grabbed the box and rushed back in, almost slamming the door behind her. Her heart was racing, as the box nestled neatly in her hands. Mina sat down on the bed and inspected the outside of the box. It didn’t say anything. There was no name, no address, nothing. Maybe it wasn’t even for her.
Then, she remembered the last time someone dropped something in front of her door. It was the same as now, no name, no nothing but, when she opened it, she knew the message was for her. Maybe it was the same person sending her another message. She eagerly opened the box.
“Aaah!” she shrieked upon seeing what was inside.
The box dropped to the ground and the dead body of a small, blue bird rolled out. Mina noticed a small red ribbon tied to the bird’s feet, making a miniature bow. She got closer, slowly, as if she was afraid that the bird might resurrect somehow and blame Mina for her death. Mina took a small napkin and picked it up. The bird’s head flung downward loosely, as if its neck was broken.
“You poor thing…” Words of compassion escaped Mina’s lips. “Who did this to you?”
She wondered what this could mean. A dead bird. A red thread around its foot. Was someone warning her? Threatening her? It looked like witch magic. Maybe Reeba would know.
She rushed over to Reeba’s room, and knocked on her door. A second later, Reeba opened it and, without a word, Mina shoved the box in her hands, walking into the room. Reeba accepted it, then pushed the door closed with her foot.
“For me?” she grinned. “Aw, shucks. You shouldn’t have.”
“Look inside,” Mina said gravely and Reeba realized it was no time to crack jokes.
Reeba did as she was told. She opened the box but she didn’t shriek upon seeing the dead bird inside. She remained serious, inspecting the body without touching it. Mina allowed her a few seconds, before she spoke.
“What does it mean?” Mina asked her.
“Where did you find it?”
“Someone left it in front of my door,” Mina explained.
“I see…” Reeba nodded, turning the box to inspect the bird, but she was obviously unwilling to touch it with her bare hands. “Someone wants to scare you.”
“Well, that part I got,” Mina frowned. “But, do you have any idea who it could be?”
She was aware that she sounded a little ruder than she wanted to be but she was partly freaked out by this and partly pissed off. More of the latter, though. She wanted to find out who sent her this unseemly gift, so she could thank them personally.
“No idea,” Reeba shrugged her shoulders.
She looked like it was no big deal, but there was something about the way she eyed that bird, that told Mina it was more than just bizarre curiosity.
“Are you sure?” Mina asked.
“Well, I know what it means, but I don’t know who could have sent it to you,” Reeba murmured. “It could be anyone, really. We have a witch’s spell book in the library. Anyone could have gotten a hold of it and read about this there.”
“What does it mean?” Mina jumped at her.
“A dead bird is a threat. You figured that much out on your own, too. You know, like the mobsters used to do, when they wanted to frighten someone, they’d put a horse’s head in their bed or something.”
“I think you saw too many movies,” Mina laughed. “Isn’t that too much effort?”
“Not when you want to scare someone to death,” Reeba shook her head, even though she was laughing, too. “Anyway, whoever sent this means you harm. That much is sure.”
“But, what about the piece of thread?” Mina wondered.
“Oh, that…” Reeba took another look, then faced Mina again, “I think someone was trying to cast a spell.”
“A spell?” Mina pondered out loud.
“It’s a weak spell, but here… you see this white stuff on the bird’s head?”