The Sparrow Roof Throw

On a rooftop in Old Delhi, a child throws her lower tooth straight up and her upper tooth straight down. "Chidiya, chidiya, take this old one and give me a new one!" she calls. Somewhere a sparrow flicks her wings and dives in. By the holy basil at the temple corner, an offering is being quietly made — a tooth, a wish, a sparrow that knows what to do with both.