Her mam had been sick with the consumption for weeks, and had taken to her bed, so Mina took the milk up to the castle doors. That morning on her way, Mina saw a black figure flying over her head, and looked back at the house. There, on her mother's window ledge was Lon Dubh, the blackbird. He had come for herself. Mina dropped the pails and ran back to the house, up the steps. Mam was sitting up on the edge of her bed looking bright, healthy. 'Can you fetch me a cuppa a' gràidh?' her mother asked. When Mina returned with the cup of tea, her mother was gone, and the bird no longer there.
[Image: Chatham-Kent artist Tracy Root's painting, 'Solitude of Silence' 2021]
