Free Writing Prompt – Write for twenty minutes starting with the phrase,” The inside of an egg…”
Once laid and cooled, the contents of an egg shrink a bit and an air cell forms in the wider end. Small cells mean fresher eggs. The yolk is a saturated yellow that could be squeezed onto an artist’s palette. It is dense and heavy. Egg yolk is food for an embryo, suspended in the glaire by two spirals of chalazee. The glaire gathers its liquid as it moves through the oviduct, picking up layers of discharge to build a dwelling for the yolk. The glaire is high in protein and low in fat; it is mostly water. You can identify eggs as fertilized or unfertilized with the light from a candle. An unfertilized egg will show a yolk or nothing at all. You cannot see inside a fertilized egg. The chick draws the curtains so it can develop privately. As it grows, it takes up more room and curls into itself inside the slick egg. A beak buds, and big feet end in curled claws. Round eyes overwhelm a small face. Three eyelids develop to protect the eyes from wind and light. Feathers begin to grow on the body, but they’re wet and haven’t unfurled. Once it is too dark and too small inside an egg, the chick begins to tap the shell with its beak. The crack lets in light, and the chick begins to work harder at breaking the egg. Light is something the chick has no name for, but when it leaks inside the egg, the chick starts pecking. It is hard work, and when the egg finally splits into two hemispheres, the chick lies stunned in the bright, aggressive light, blinking its eyes. It doesn’t know yet that it can kick its legs, and it lies curled in on itself for another moment.