❛ no! well, yes, but —— ❜ her eyes dart to the coffee table, atop which was a careful arrangement of birds who lie still and spread-wing. somewhere in the east, ribbons of air had risen from the warm salt of the ocean and had gathered repeatedly upon themselves, coalescing into a bedlam of wind and poor circumstance. a hurricane struck the coast like a heartbreak. the birds, of course, had gotten the worst of it. they've gone stiff with shock. their too-round eyes gleam with temporary death, and pearl is beside herself. ❛ i . . . understand that you only wanted to help, but you shouldn't — - ❜ she wrings her hands, pausing for a moment to ideate the stormwater that had gathered in stagnant pools about the birds. she imagines the bacilli bursting into existence among a progeny of other bacteria, and it's almost more than she can take. she's relieved steven is away with connie. he'd have wanted to hold the birds.after a long moment, pearl stands. ❛ — - have laid them out on the table. they need a softer surface. here. ❜ she leaves, and when she returns, it's with one of steven's old towels. ❛ lay them on this. it'll help absorb the water. ❜smiling, then: ❛ it's bound to be more comfortable, anyway. ❜
