The Prodigal: Rafael's Broken Hearted Sister Thinks Back

He took the first cut: stood on the edge of the stage and sliced the enchanted air with his sword. Three of us flinched in unison. He cut me a poem from a leprochaun's lime-lined jacket, bent my ear to the zinc-clink of rain in a metal bucket, tuning the day for our delight. Warm blood scrolled from the tip of his blade. The first cut is the unseen one, making the line clear behind it, energised in red. The rain perfumed the air with possibility. A dandelion clock teased time beyond where we thought we would be. He took the first cut, like charity itself, a chink in his armour, and he was, just for the moment, mine.