The Linnet's Wings | Page 24

WINTER ' FOURTEEN used on the ill-fated maiden voyage of a soapbox car. It was my life thus far I had been digging and unearthing. “I think you’ll do just fine in Dublin,” said Da. “Just fine, Cathal,” he said. “It’s what you want and don’t ever let anything or anybody change that.” “I’ll not be a stranger ,” I said. “I’ll be back home. I promise.” “A shore is a particular thing,” said Da. “They cut through the land and then disappear. Years from now, this’ll still be here when we’re long gone, and nobody will know of it because it’s buried beneath the surface. You only really ever learn of something’s existence when you start to dig.” The sun had reached its zenith and lunchtime had arrived. I climbed out of the shore, which had steep loose sides that were above the height of my shoulders. I entered the outhouse to retrieve the food. Bluebottle flies traced crazy parabolas. Panger, our cat, wanted to eat too and it mewled and studied my approach. I opened the lunch pail and took out a wheaten bread farl. I noticed Da had gotten down into the shore. He shovelled loose scree out of the bed of the shore and flattened the ground with the back of the shovel in little tap-tap-taps. “It’ll make a good bed,” said Da. “And Gods be good we’ll never see what goes into it ever come back out of it, the longest day we live.” “I won’t want to see anything come back out of it,” I said. I watched Panger leap on something. Between its claws was a field mouse, a terrified mass of trembling brown fur. My instinct was to shout at the cat to try and scare it into releasing its captive but it would not have changed the situation or reversed the nature of life. I looked beyond Panger and all you could see now of Da was his head with its thinning grey hair. His head bobbed up and down as he worked so that it disappeared from view and reappeared. Farther on toward the treeline the swallows flew low. They were down catching flies, which only happened before a hard rain. The sun poured down like melted wax. When I no longer noticed Da’s head bobbing into view I knew something terrible had happened. I went to the edge of the precipice of the trench and Da was laying down the long shore like he were sleeping on a bed and he was face down and unmoving. ### The Linnet's Wings