Blue Sky Papercut

Josefina looked up at the sky and witnessed three seagulls giving the sky a papercut.

She wished there were more. Any excuse to skip school was good. Josefina could have written down a note saying that it was getting dark or that the street lights were not working since it was nighttime at nine a.m.

She looked up after passing an intersection.

The sky above the Newtown suburb was as clear as a pond saved for the three holes that the birds had caused. Stars were visible from the inside, and she spotted a corner of the moon poking itself at the corner of the slit. Just a little more, she thought. Three, maybe five seagulls were enough to cause the sky to rip and then she would get to spend the rest of the day trailing around Mount Victory.

It was wishful thinking in the end.

Another day. Another eight hours of counting the ticking tick tick from a wall clock. Josefina watched as a long band of cirrus clouds patched the hole. She counted to ten before her feet found their rhythm. At least Ari can help speed the time, she said as a seagull flew over her. and landed at the hospital car park.

It landed in front of a man leaning against a grocery cart. The bird squawked. The man threw breadcrumbs at it. The bird squawked again, lifting it blue-painted wings over its head.

“Do it again tomorrow,” she whispered as she trailed her eyes towards a nearby dairy store and then back to the bluebird.