“My Other Sky” Something just felt… wrong.I’d kept that praying mantis egg warm inside my lunch bag,looked after it so carefully. When I’d put ants in a toy capsule before, Mum got really mad.But when all the baby mantises were born—she got even more upset than about the ants. Grown-ups change their minds all the time.Even more than I change my mind about the toys I want.One minute they say no, then laugh and say yes.Or say yes, then suddenly get angry. They say they care about me,but if they keep changing their words so easily,maybe that’s not really true. That’s when it happened.Something came down from my favourite sky. It had tiny, clear wings—glowing, or maybe just fading.And it said to me: “Shall we go to this other sky?” I didn’t really get what it meant,but I nodded and reached out my hand. Up we went, gently into the air,slipping through wind and cliffs,past silvery mists and gaps between the stars. We flew through so many nights and mornings,and bit by bit, I felt lighter and lighter. In the end, I only remember the feeling of a hand in mine. ＊ ＊ ＊ The fairy looked back. Warmth still lingered in their hand—but the boy was no longer there. In his place bloomed a single hydrangea,blue and white.The pure blue and white of a child.Like the colours of the sky he loved. The fairy said nothing,and gently let go. Then flew off again,to another sky. ――My other sky.Now, I’ve become my very favourite colour.
