“I wanted to be alone, so I was angry when a bird came to me in the shadow of your walls, small and dull, insignificant in every way. She asked me for a favor, to clip the flight feathers of her wings to the quick, and even in my frustration I was shocked. I asked her why she would do such a thing. “For grief, she said. For sorrow. When the world has changed so completely, why should I remain the same? I cannot remain. I cannot stay.” Tui In Hao took a measured breath, as if she was about to make her final argument to the judges. “I did as she asked, and she went on her way. I put it out of my
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