The Ninety-Day Grain

The bar in Kirkwall had five tables and a fire. Polly sat near the heat. "Can I see the menu?" she asked. There were only a few things on the card.

"Could you recommend a good dish?" The owner was a heron. She said the bannock. Bere is a barley grown here for hundreds of years. It grows fast, in a short summer.

"Do you have vegetarian options?" Polly asked. The heron pointed at the same line. Bannock, butter and soft cheese.

"Can we get the bill, please?" Polly said. The heron took her time, which is a good sign. Outside, the wind was almost calm. Polly walked up to the red cathedral.