Photo 1
Venice, he had said. We must feed the pigeons. She had smiled and humored him; it was their honeymoon, after all, a time for whims, caprices, follies. She'd even sprinkled birdseed into his hat without a murmur about the inevitable cleaning bills.
So, Venice. A few years later, Constantinople; then Casablanca, each gilded with his laughter, made gemütlich by his company. Next year, perhaps, Jerusalem?
Apparently not. She leans on the single permissable suitcase; again it sticks. She removes the photograph album and drops it into the trash. Now she must travel light; the memories need no room at all.
I adore these drabbles, all of them. There are so many good ones that I don't know where to start in my praise of them.
Photo #8
Who is behind the camera, looking at these saucy girls, aching to become women? Who is gazing at Emily, checkered skirts "accidently" hiked up to show a glimpse of undergarment? Mary's schoolgirl braids, milky skin and forthright eyes, and tomboy Ann, with her poker-straight posture and clenched jaw?
And why does the camera linger on uncertain Isabelle, the timid one, the only one too shy to put the cigarette (forbidden to good girls, which they were) between her lips?
Mark her. Mark Isabelle.
It's the last day of her life.
Oooh, Erin. That made me shiver.
Photo #1
One of the few remaining photos of Zosia, Lady of the Wingéd Messengers, and her consort Tanek. Zosia's claim that she was sent from her ancestral forest home to help foster better communication between humans and the more enlightened 'Creatures of the Air' was at first met with doubt and raised eyebrows; however, after the Grand Pigeon Tour of 1927, where thousands of birds followed Zosia and Tanek across Europe, even hardened skeptics were at a loss for another explanation.
Zosia died in 1933. For three weeks following her death, the sound of birds was heard at near-deafening volumes in forests across the globe. Tanek, after a mourning period of seven years, resumed his travels. The last known sighting of Tanek is from 1974, where he was seen in London, again surrounded by pigeons. According to the witness, he looked as if he had not aged since the 1927 photo.
Nice. Isn't she mysterious?
Oh, Erin. That was amazing.
I love the Jilli drabbles.
