Egg by Sasha Brown

One by one, the penguins adopt us. One by one, we disappoint. Tucked under their bulky stomachs, beneath their piss-caked feathers, we screech and flail and struggle. The giant birds stab down–elegantly, surgically, long beaks puncturing our tiny human skulls.

I watch, I learn.

When it’s my turn, I curl my pale naked body egg-shaped. No gangling parts. No elbows. The male rolls me onto his gnarled feet. I freeze. Towering over me, he twines his beak with his partner like a heart, like a greeting card. I clutch my knees under them. Stay smooth. Never move. Never move again.