Nature book . Let ’ s say Whiter . You were bored of it . One day that cold mush fell so thickly that you couldn ’ t see out of the window . You didn ’ t know what the cows did that day . Or the next . And you didn ’ t see Directly In Front Of You for a week . A week ! What did you do ? So you are thrilled that it ’ s Summer !
Today , it is truly sunny . The windows are all reflecting the heat into The Courtyard . It is like a swamp of sun , a cascade of light , a light brig – what is it ? Brigid ? Bridge ? It is sunny . You see a large dark shape being lowered from above , swallowing the sun , consuming the small blue square . And when it comes into view it is a cow . Another one ! FLYING !
Well , it is being lowered . Lower and lower , like an angle – no , an angel – and the other cows wander over . Their feet and bodies are a little dusty from the heat , and when they rub their necks and faces together , their little eyes catching the sun , they look like boulders forming a mountain . Curious and strange , a puzzle made of cow .
But then the sunshine leaves again . Another one ? The darkness falls but this time only for a moment . Brief . Another cow , not lowered , but dropped . A fallen angel ? You don ’ t get it , at first . You hear the sound , the pound , the throb of flesh against stone . And you hear the shriek . It cuts through the window and the little sun sparks that stuck to it . The cow just lies there . Why wasn ’ t it lowered like the other one ? It lies there and its body swells and sinks ; a little stream of crimson – the Arts book said this was the darker of the reds – makes its way across the Courtyard .
You peer closer to the glass to see where it ’ s bleeding from , and your neck twinges , a rush of burning heat , and you clasp your hand to the sensation . Panic . What is it ? It hurts , aching like a fire just slowly dying down . You rub it with your palm and then your fingertips , your skin damp from the heavy sunlight filling the world . It hurts you . What do you do ? But it ’ s passing . It ’ s passing . It doesn ’ t hurt so much now . You hope you will be fine .
You see one of the cows , the darker one , approaching , a kind gesture to its fallen friend . Its nose dusts the top of the bloodstream , its whiskers collecting colour . The body on the floor tries to turn the spinning , white eyes in its head towards the familiar face , it ’ s neck twisting round . It shrieks . It tries to move , its legs gambling with the stone but you guess it cannot stand to move . It was dropped from some way , of course , and the Science Book spoke all about gravity .
What are we meant to do ? You see the others appear at their windows . Did they look at you ? You can ’ t tell , they ’ re too far away , and the cows are still in the way , though they ’ re much thinner than before so the view isn ’ t quite so disrupted . Directly In Front Of You is there . They ’ re knocking on the glass . Are they trying to get your attention ? You lift a hand . This is a
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