tidies by andrew downs ears blue lips birth spring geese chemistry electro-rationalism starlings ray academic competition hannah ball age dated breath bait godfatherly geese Darling looked at the dog and the dog ruffled its wings. The dog looked at the goose and the goose made a kind of a smirk with his 20+ beak. The dog ruffled his wings and Darling looked first at the dog and then at the goose. Then the goose went back into his house. The dog looked up at the sky. Darling looked at the dog. The dog then went into his house, a kennel. "You can't put a stop to that, " thought Darling. "All the arrogance in the world can and will put a stop to anything you care to name, " said the dog. The goose made a kind of smirk with his 20+ beak, in his house. Darling looked at at his notes and turned up his Walkman. The dog bit into Darling's shin. The shin bled. Darling went to look for some plasters. The goose said to the dog "You didn't have to do that." The dog barked back at the goose, and ruffled his wings. The goose made a kind of smirk with his beak and looked up at the sky with his blue eye. Darling came back and smacked the dog round the chops. Off the dog went to whine, the corners of his mouth pulled well back revealing the kind of teeth any horse dentist would be keen to file. "O, don't go, " said the goose after the dog. When this conversation was over, which was very quick as there was no reply from the dog, the goose had a train to catch; but first of all his telephone rang. "Excuse me, " said the goose, and went inside. After a minute, the goose came out. He'd wiped that smirk off his beak. "What's up?", said Darling. The goose said nothing - just walked slowly out from his house as far as the traffice lights and waited for the man to turn green. Then he just walked on and on until Darling couldn't see him any more over the hill and behind Sainsbury's. Darling went inside and picked up the goose's phone. It was still warm, like an egg recently deserted. Darling put the earpiece to his ear and the mouthpiece to his mouth and listened, in silence. All he could hear was the sea and his own breathing. © Andrew Downs