Freshly cut. Already making plans.
Beyond the Window
“We could visit the roofs first,” Perry said.
Beside him, Dot lifted her head a little farther from the dough.
“Which way is out?”
“Past the garden. Then there’s a tall tree.”
“Out of this.”
She looked down at the golden sheet still holding the lower edge of her wing. Perry stood beside his empty outline, with both wings raised. He had already discovered the window and was making good use of it.
Beyond the glass, a bird crossed the garden and disappeared behind the leaves.
“There,” he said. “That’s the way.”
Dot tried to look. From her angle, she could see his tail and a considerable amount of countertop.
Not Quite Away
The chef slid a thin spatula beneath her. Dot rose with a soft pull, leaving a clean shape behind. A few loose crumbs travelled with her onto the little board beside Perry.
She settled upright and opened her wings.
Warm light lay across the wood. There was butter in the air, and the faint sweet smell of vanilla from a bowl farther along the counter.
Dot turned towards the window.
The garden was much larger from here. The tree reached beyond the top of the glass, and the roofs Perry had mentioned were only small red corners above the wall.
“Have you been?” she asked.
“Not yet.”
He liked the sound of the word. It left room for everything he had just seen.
“We could go together,” he added.
Dot considered the roofs. Then she looked back at the sheet.
Near the far edge, a small chocolate eye had opened. Another dove lay there with one wing still flat, watching the place where Dot had been.
“Who’s that?” she asked.
Perry turned.
“I don’t know.”
A First Visit
Dot moved towards the edge of their board.
“I’m going to say hello.”
“Before the tree?”
“Yes.”
Perry looked towards the window again. The bird outside had returned to a branch. From there, it could probably see all the roofs at once.
He had imagined arriving beside it, opening his wings, and asking what lay beyond the tree. Perhaps there would be water. He liked the bright patch of sky caught in the kitchen jug and wondered what a whole pond would look like.
Beside him, Dot stopped.
“What do you say after hello?”
He lowered his wings a little.
“You could ask where she’d like to go.”
Dot looked pleased.
“Will you come?”
Perry glanced along the counter. The new dove’s eye followed them, then shifted away when she saw them looking.
He stepped beside Dot.
They crossed the board together. At its far end, the chef’s hand came down, and two fingers rested against the wood. Dot stepped onto them. Perry followed, and the hand carried them the short distance to the other side of the sheet.
Fellow Travellers
The new dove raised her head as they arrived.
“Hello,” Dot said.
“Hello.”
Perry settled beside her. From here, the window lay beyond the golden outlines they had left behind.
“I’m Dot. This is Perry.”
The new dove looked from one to the other.
“Do you know each other?”
Perry lifted his wings.
“We’ve travelled together.”
Her eyes moved past him to the two empty shapes, still plainly visible across the dough.
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