Extract from Crow Bones

 

Blotches of dirt obscured my view of the decaying houses and un-mended pathways in the street outside. I was tempted to clean the lower window but I preferred not to watch as bit-by-bit my community perished. So I turned my eyes upwards, away from the sad scene.

 

The higher pane was less spattered with grime so I stood on the balls of my feet and looked through it. The pale yellow sun hung alone in the cloudless sky. Poor thing, its fire had weakened so. Causing our once lush land to succumb to frost and stone-hard earth. Forcing us to drape thick coats around ourselves, even in summer. Was this the end?

 

’Shhh, my angel,’ I said to my babe lying in her crib unaware of what was about to occur.