(paper bird)
"Take it."
The words were soft, and the woman whispering them held out her thin hands. He extended one of his own, and opened it under her two clasped hands, expectantly. She parted her hands, and a paper fluttered down from its nest, a bright yellow and blue bird. It settled in his palm, snuggling deeper into his hand.
"Th-thanks Mum," he said hoarsely, disappointment gently kissing the words. "Drooble's Best Blowing Gum."
"Keep it," she mumbled, and shuffled away to her bed.
He looked at the paper again, taking in the curves and line of the wrapper. It lay in his hand, a dormant bird, waiting to burst into flight. To remember how to burst into flight.
To remember.