After Sylvia

After Sylvia — page 1 — For Anna and Gwen

After Sylvia — page 2 — Table Of Contents The Birds Broken Eggs The Code The Consolation of the Loon Politics Avalanche Christmas Calendars Welcome Home Gloria Pork-pie More of Us

After Sylvia — page 3 — The Birds OWEN SKYE could not sleep He lay in the dark in the middle of the big bed that he shared with his brothers Andy and Leonard It was early September the night before the first day of school but the wind that shivered the walls threatened to blow everything into winter Summer holidays were ending The fact of it had loomed over everything for the past several days and the boys had raced to all the great places to Dead Man’s Hill to the river the woods the haunted house and the railroad tracks in an effort to squeeze the last drops of adventure from the season Now summer was draining away Owen stared at the ceiling of the attic bedroom and racked his brain trying to think of something anything to delay the dreadful start of school What about the crystal radio he whispered Shhh Leonard said It’s time for sleep He was the youngest and so knew the least about the horrors of

After Sylvia — page 4 — education We haven’t tried the crystal radio in ages Owen insisted Last winter it seemed like years ago the boys had used the set to intercept messages from alien spacecraft The radios been put away Andy said in a tired voice Normally he would have been the one to suggest hauling it out in a situation like this but even he seemed resigned to the end of the season I know where it is Owen said It was in a shoe box in the corner of their closet Owen slept in the middle so to get out he had to crawl over Leonard and then creep to the closet in the darkness The wooden floor was cold on his toes and the closet door creaked badly when he opened it Dust from the shoe box made him sneeze twice You three go to sleep the boys father Horace shouted from downstairs and Owen held his breath On the next sneeze Owen plugged his nose and swallowed the explosion popping his ears painfully But there was no more comment from downstairs so he reached forward until his fingers felt the hard corners of the shoe box He took it and slowly carefully crawled around the bed to the window When he pulled off the lid out sprang a

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