Chapter 2:
One week later

They got arrested. They’ll stand trial next week. Justice..? It means nothing. It won’t bring her back. I need to bring her back. I ne- Someone hugs me tight. “Hey Sammy…” Lee whispers. I hug him so tight. He laughs a little. I kiss him on the cheek. “I heard about what happened….You doing okay?” I smile. “Now that you’re here.” We walk together in the park. Just us. Just doing fine…I’m okay. I’m okay. I’m okay. Suddenly, I see her out of the corner of my eye. I turn around quickly. It’s just another kid. She doesn’t even look like her. Now that she’s gone…I see her everywhere. I see her in the store. I see her in the mirror. I see everything she loved. I see the sun. I see pink. I see dogs everywhere. My heart keeps telling me she’d love that My Little Pony set. Or Wow! I should show her this flyer… But she’s gone. She is gone. She’s gone, she’s gone. She’s gone, she’s gone, she’s gone, she’s gone. Lee grabs my hand. “Sam?” I look up. His deep brown eyes shine in the sun. “Sam-“ “I think I need to sit down.” He leads me under the willow tree. Little flowers bloom around us. I lean my head on his shoulder. I cry. I cry for so long. Lee cries too. Everyone adored her. Everyone loved her. She was a dove in a world of crows. I hate myself. I hate it. I should’ve helped her. I should’ve saved her. I should’ve…

Birds.
Pretty birds.
She was a bird.
She flew.
She flew so high.
Nobody could tell her no.
Nobody could oppose her.
Everyone admired her.
She wanted to be a zoologist.
She loved birds.
She was
Utterly
Truly
Perfect