‘A Fair Exchange’ by Tom Jolly

Omens and Ravens

In ‘A Fair Exchange’ by Tom Jolly, unforeseen riches pose the usual problems.

Glimpse the first of fair exchanges with this excerpt from Issue 44, Autumn 2024.

A Fair Exchange

by Tom Jolly

Amy was outside her shack, splitting pine logs on an old oak stump that she’d left there just for that purpose, its roots still clutching deep into the ground. She stopped for a moment to wipe her forehead and drink from a glass of tepid water. A large shadow passed overhead and Amy looked up, hoping for a drifting cloud to cool the air, but whatever had been there was gone almost as soon as it had appeared. Probably an airplane, Amy thought, though there was no sound of engines.

It was less than a minute later that the raven appeared. It sat, staring down at her, on a high pine branch overlooking the clearing. It cawed, sort of a low-voiced, gargling croak, not as obnoxious as a crow but not exactly melodic either. Amy took off her baseball cap, pushed back her thick auburn hair, and studied it. Was it another damned omen? She’d had enough of omens. The tax bill was an omen, foretelling a homeless existence. Her company pension, gone since the coal mine went bankrupt, was another omen, predicting that she’d starve to death eventually. Amy felt omened out. Maybe this one was just a bird.

It reminded her of her Uncle Derek’s pub when it was still in business just outside of town. He’d called it the Raven and Dragon and hung up a fanciful sign with a picture of a fire-breathing raven, its wings spread wide as though to fan the flame. Amy remembered saying, “You should call it the Crow and Dragon. It’s got a better rhythm to it.” Uncle Derek wasn’t swayed. “Dragons hate crows,” he’d said, without expanding on the statement, as though it had its own deep truth. The name stayed the same for nearly twenty years, but locals just called it the Raven. The pub turned into a gift shop after her uncle passed away.

Uncle Derek never made much money on the pub. He tended to give away a lot of drinks to his friends, which helped explain the debt. He always told her, “Enjoy life while you have it, Amy. Life isn’t about accumulating crap.”

He lived like he preached and walked the walk. He left Amy the shack he used to live in, along with a mortgage.

And now Amy had a raven in her yard. It seemed like a little more than a coincidence that a raven would show up at Uncle Derek’s old shack. Ravens were smart. Had they been friends?

On a whim, Amy went inside, took an unshelled peanut from a bag in the snack cabinet, and put it on top of the cutting stump.

Find out what happens next, in Issue 44, Autumn 2024!

Tom Jolly is a retired engineer who spends his time writing SF and fantasy. His work has appeared in Analog SF, Daily Science Fiction, New Myths, and a number of anthologies, and can be heard from wandering storytellers if you buy them an ale on a warm afternoon. We were delighted to publish his story ‘Falling for You’ in Pulp Literature Issue 37, Winter 2023. Tom’s books are available on Amazon, including his fantasy novel, An Unusual Practice, the story of a doctor who unexpectedly finds himself working for the supernatural community. To find more of his stories, visit sites.google.com/view/tomjolly/stories-and-articles.