Josefina’s best friend, Arissa, was waiting at the bottom of a small hill that led up to St. Mary’s College.
The girl was a sight for sore throat. Having Arissa around would make the next eight hours more tolerable, and Josefina looked forward to spending her lunch break chatting about whatever came to their minds. The dent in the sky? Homework? Josefina’s upcoming contract with a local maintenance team? How about a bird in a pot that Arissa pulled behind her back?
Arissa lifted a green plastic pot to Josefina’s face. There was a sapling jutting out from the ground, and what appeared to be a beak near the edge. “I got you something. A Birdsong. What do you think? Isn’t it adorable?”
“Where’d you get it?” Josefina asked.
Arissa pressed a finger into the ground. “It fell on it. That’s what I think so. I was leaving the foster house and I heard this little adorable song coming from behind a hose,” she said twirling her finger around the edge. “Here, I think you’re better pulling the little fellow off its shell. Just don’t capture it,” Arissa continued rocking herself when she placed the pot on her friend’s palms.
Josefina patted the sapling twice and watched as it tucked itself a few centimetres underground. It was a shy one. Probably a hatchling that had fallen off a tree, she thought. She began digging through the dirt until she caught patches of its speckled feathers; its wings spread out and three narrow stems that jutted out from its back.
“So?” Arissa asked.
Josefina continued. She was close to reaching the bottom when she felt a nip at the tip of her finger.
“I told you not to capture it,” Arissa said reaching a hand forward.
Josefina sucked on her thumb. “I wasn’t,” she answered.