Jack pried apart the foliage with gentle fingers. Inside the nest lay three small, sky blue eggs. A robin fretted on a nearby branch, head cocked, glaring.
“It’s okay,” Jack whispered, retreating step by careful step.
With a jolt, he stumbled into his brother. Nathan leered, blocking Jack’s path, his narrowed eyes needling the hedgerow’s new green leaves. His stick sang through the air and promised pain.
“What’ve you found, Stupid?”
“Nothing.” Jack flushed, edging past, but Nathan struck. Stick-stung, Jack bolted, swerving from his brother’s boot.
Jack discovered the eggs again: stone-cold and forgotten amongst the junk in Nathan’s bedroom drawer. When he crushed each wafer shell, the stench filled his nose, pulling his face into a knot he couldn’t untie.
Cecilia is a writer from London, UK, who has been published in Empty House Press, Intrepidus Ink, Brilliant Flash Fiction, Bright Flash Literary Review, and elsewhere.
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