Is this ok for a short gothic story? One afternoon I washed my hair and sat out on the diminutive stone crescent which served as a balcony to dry it. I hung my head between my knees and watched a bluebottle suck the dry corpse of a spider between my feet. I looked up through my long hair and saw something black in the sky, ominously quiet for an aeroplane. Parting my hair, I was in time to see a large raven alight on the balcony of the house opposite. It sat on the balustrade and seemed to peer into the empty window. Then it poked its head under its wing, apparently searching for lice. A few minutes later I was not unduly surprised to see the double windows open and admit a woman onto the balcony. She carried a large dish full of bones, which she emptied onto the floor. With a short appreciative squeak, the raven hopped down and poked about amongst its unpleasant repast.

The woman, who had very long black hair, used her hair to wipe out the dish. Then she looked straight at me and smiled in a friendly fashion. I smiled back and waved a towel. This served to encourage her, for she tossed her head coquettishly and gave me a very elegant salute after the fashion of a queen. “Do you happen to have any bad meat over there that you don’t need?” she called. “Any what?” I called back, wondering if my ears had deceived me. “Any stinking meat? Decomposed flesh meat?” “Not at the moment” I replied, wondering if she was trying to be funny. “Will you have any towards the end of the week? If so, I would be very grateful if you would bring it over.” Then she stepped back into the empty window and disappeared. The raven flew away.