At Irina’s funeral, the town watched in stunned silence as a black crow landed on the little girl’s coffin. The moment it settled, the air grew still—and the crow’s eyes, a deep violet-blue, were unmistakably Irina’s.
Her mother, Maria, gasped through tears, recognizing her daughter’s gaze.
Grandma Elena, known for her ancient wisdom, approached calmly and said, “Her soul isn’t ready to leave yet. She has something to say.”
As the crow flapped its wings, dark clouds gathered, and a chilling wind swept through the cemetery. The bird then whispered strange, broken words until it clearly said: “The forest. The cabin. The truth.”
Andrei, Irina’s father, begged for answers, and the crow responded in her voice: “The journal. Under the floor.”
Maria collapsed in grief, knowing this was no illusion.
Maria’s hands trembled as she turned the final page. The room fell completely silent, save for the faint creaking of the wooden cabin and the soft rustling of the trees outside.
“She knew,” Andrei murmured. “She saw everything… and they knew she did.”
Elena’s face was pale, but her eyes burned with resolve. “This was no illness. They poisoned her to keep her quiet.”
A sudden, loud caw echoed outside, and all three of them jumped. The crow was still perched on the cabin roof, but now it stared directly into the window, its violet-blue eyes glowing in the dark.
Maria clutched the journal to her chest. “We need to take this to the police. Now.”
“No,” said Elena, voice low. “We need proof — more than this journal. We need to find the plant she described. The one with reddish leaves.”
Andrei nodded grimly. “If Irina was right, then it’s somewhere near this cabin. This is where Vasile and the doctor met.”
They grabbed flashlights from the car and ventured into the woods behind the cabin, guided only by memory and intuition. The moon was veiled by clouds, and the forest floor was damp and uneven beneath their feet.
After nearly an hour of searching, Maria stopped and pointed. “Over here… look!”
At the base of an old oak tree was a cluster of strange plants. The leaves were a reddish-purple, unlike anything they’d ever seen. Elena knelt beside them, her face darkening.
“This is it,” she whispered. “This plant is poisonous in small doses — especially to children. It mimics a degenerative illness. No one would suspect a thing.”
They collected a few samples carefully, placing them in a sealed container. The crow cried out again, this time from a branch just above their heads.
“Justice,” it croaked. The same voice — Irina’s — haunting, soft, and filled with sorrow.
The three of them stared at each other, understanding finally settling in. Irina hadn’t just died. She had been silenced. But now, through the crow, through her journal, through the earth itself, she had found a way to speak.
And she wouldn’t stop until the truth was known.
At Irina’s funeral, Andrei was overwhelmed with grief and disbelief, especially when suspicions turned toward his brother, Vasile. Grandma Elena calmly revealed that rare forest plants could poison slowly, mimicking a degenerative illness.
Maria dropped Vasile’s journal in horror, realizing the truth — Irina had been murdered. A crow perched on the windowsill cried out, “Justice,” in Irina’s unmistakable voice.
The next morning, the police raided the homes of Vasile and Doctor Munteanu, uncovering records of toxic plant extracts used on unsuspecting patients. Irina had been the only fatality — sacrificed for fame and fortune.
In court, the crow appeared again, watching silently as both men were sentenced to life in prison. When justice was served, the crow vanished without a trace.
At Irina’s grave, her family planted a linden tree, and each year, a lone crow returns to sing a hauntingly sweet melody. The villagers now listen more closely to nature, remembering that truth can come from the most unexpected voices.