July 17, 2023, 04:26 PM
the hummingbird's body kissed a crater into sandy loam, a belch of powder rising in a garland of dust. beach-sand shifted underneath, singular grains rolling one by one down the tiny ridges made from impact.
fluttering life imbued its darting frame seconds before. now it was still and that stillness robbed it of its beauty, somehow diminishing its spirit into something impalpably small.
rainbow green and dazzling blues, subdued into lifeless color.
* * *
miette turned her head to the side, peering down at the broken figure that disturbed the sand. it was hardly snack-sized. a speck! each wing pointed in absurd angle. its small claws were raised and curled to a chest of impossibly bright vermilion.
instinct bode her to eat it. the dazzling array of blues and greens told her otherwise.
* * *
she vowed to keep it somewhere safe.