Truly Tan Baffled

can’t see the valley right now. Just blackness. It is a dark, frosty night. But the sky is covered in sparkles and this is a cheery side effect of night-time. When we talk, there are little puffs of mist in front of us. They are like speech bubbles in a comic. Only misty. I call my sisters the Lollipops. Here’s how it goes, youngest to oldest: me, Rose, Amber, Emerald. We’re all here right now. We’re waiting for Dad to finish cooking the roast that has taken forever. Rose leans over the veranda railing and looks up at the sky. She is wearing a black cloak that goes right down to the ground and red leather gloves that she got at the Peppercorn Valley Op Shop. The hood is draped around her face and this is to make her look more magical. ‘Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,’ says Rose. Rose has been quoting poetry all day and I can tell you right now I am bored to my bones from hearing it.

‘Freeze, freeze, thou bitter brain,’ I say, and Emerald laughs.