Page 24 of The Black Flamingo

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face the two who tower over me. I push

my way between the two boys and run and run

and don’t stop until I reach the train station,

where I throw up, rainbow violently,

on the platform.

When I get home Uncle B has bought me

my own telescope.

After dinner, I wash the dishes

while Mum puts Anna to bed,

and Uncle B sets it up and takes it out

into the garden.

It is almost as tall as me,

with the tripod fully extended.

The three legs are silver,

the tube of the telescope is white,

and the lenses are black.

Uncle B adjusts it to the right height so I can

look down the lens. First, I look at the moon

and its craters. Then I look for constellations.

“The Big Dipper. Orion. Pegasus,” I tell Uncle B,

proudly.

Uncle B says, “Pegasus, the horse with wings

in Greek mythology, was born after the

beheading of Medusa, when a drop of

her blood fell to Earth.”

When Uncle B leaves

and the stars are put away,

I think of Alistair.

His pretty face and long hair.

“Mummy,” I say, and go into the kitchen,

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