The girl in the ratty dress was ruining his birthday party, and Evander had already decided that nothing⁠-not the dank smell of the underground, not the glass skylight that showed a tempting but unreachable summer day, not the jealous looks his so-called friends threw him⁠-was going to ruin this day.... A short story about a boy, a girl, and a wooden bird, all set in a futuristic dystopian world.