A Rustle of Paper

  The Silver Spoon Andrea pressed her foot firmly down on the pedal of the kitchen bin. The lid opened in response, inviting her to dispose of the spoon. And yet she couldn’t. Andrea was pretty sure the silver spoon was worthless. Especially after recent events. Her children didn’t want anything to do with it and her best friend had suggested she just chuck the thing away. Except now, when it came to it, she couldn’t quite bring herself to do it. Andrea removed her foot from the pedal, the bin lid fell, cutting off the disposal option for now. She carried the spoon to the table. The spoon lay, nestled in its bed of cream faux-satin, inside a tiny box made of gold coloured cardboard. The box had a clear plastic lid embossed with the words ‘community plate’. There was a small pink ribbon tied around one corner of the box. If Andrea had been born a boy, the ribbon would have been blue. And if Andrea had been born a couple of hours later, nearer the actual time, the silver spoon wo