Sister Floriana

The Birds

Wednesdays in the Cristo el Rey Monastery usually weren't eventful. Most of the day was spent doing laundry, then folding it and putting it away. None of the novices liked it, except for Sister Carmen for some reason. No matter how hard they tried, not even Diana could make their folds quite as clean as Carmen's. Still, it was a very pleasant day with a strong cool breeze, and it sure beat cleaning up the dormitories, or scouring the silver.

Today it was the task of Floriana, Eulalia, Pacifica, Marisol, Emmie, and Diana. The girls walked outside to where the laundry was hung out to dry. Marisol was borrowing Eulalia's reading glasses for now, which seemed to work just fine for her. 

"Wait a minute, what's that?" Sister Emmie asked.

"What's what?" said Marisol.

Floriana squinted.

"Looks like... birds."

"Birds?" said Sister Diana.

"I really can't tell," said Marisol. She was still a bit near-sighted.

"Shouldn't we shoo them away?" said Emmie.

Eulalia, Diana, and Floriana spoke at the same time.

"No!"

"Better not."

"No."

"Why not?" said Marisol.

Floriana related the whole episode of how they'd once ruined a bunch of food for the kindergartners by startling a bunch of pigeons that came while Flori was asleep. Marisol couldn't help but laugh a little bit.

"Sounds awful." 

"It really was," Floriana agreed. "As long as we don't disturb the birds too much, it should be fine."

"Floriana. If they poop on our clothes we're going to have to do the laundry again," said Pacifica.

That certainly took some wind out of her sails.

None of them were willing to step forwards for a bit. Then they realized that some of the ducks were hanging around their clothes as well, a few of them tugging at the laundry.

"Pablo! You stop that!" Floriana jogged over to him, dragging him away from the tablecloth. The birds simply looked at her curiously. 

"Seems like it's safe... for now," said Diana. She led the way over, and began taking down the laundry, checking the tablecloths for bird droppings. It was somewhat painstaking, trying to find white splotches on white cloth. Most of it looked clean however.

Floriana finished herding the ducks away from the laundry and came back to grab her clothes first.

"Ah, here it is!" 

Floriana was convinced this particular habit was more comfortable than the rest. Unfortunately, perching right above it on the clothesline was one of the birds. 

"Hey little guy," she said sweetly. "Wanna fly away so I can grab my clothes?"

The bird looked at her, and then took off.

"Thank you!" she said.

She took it down off the line. Diana looked at her with a grimace on her face. 

"Um, Sister Floriana?"

"Yes?"

"Look at the back."

On the back was the bird's handiwork. A big white splotch of...

"EW!" Floriana held it away from her with two pinched fingers. Her other hand went over her nose.