She smiled thanks as Tao offered her the steaming cup of tea, but it was a brittle smile, quick and shaky, and Tao found herself thinking of a porcelain sparrow that she had seen once in a trinket shop. The sparrow had been crafted as if in flight, small wings lifted to catch a drift, and while it was beautifully made, there had been something sad about it as well, frozen in place in the shop window.
