Episode 43: Art Supplies

Terrastina drives home after a day of hiking on the mountain. The twins doze in the back, their sleep breathing barely audible. Mazolli snores in the passenger seat. Vultures cluster over a dark shape on the road ahead. As Terrastina gets closer the birds scatter and reveal the identity of their feast: a dead porcupine. Terrastina stops the car on the gravel shoulder. Mazolli mumbles some words in his sleep. Shhh, says Terrastina. She leans back and grabs the pair of pliers on the floor behind her seat. I’m going to get some quills. I’ll only be a minute.