A small object lay in the bottom of the box. A curio? Like the horse figurines my mother used to collect. Which is when it struck me this might all be an elaborate joke. A tiny bird perched down there. Sitting dead. Taxidermy. A hummingbird in midflight, attached by thick wire from below to a small pedestal. Frozen wings. Frozen eyes. Iridescent feathers. Beside the hummingbird, I found a single piece of paper, with two words written on it and a signature. Hummingbird .. .. .. Salamander —Silvina
