BIRDSEED by LILY SHARP Winter in New York City used to be the happiest time of the year for Wren. But now, after her grandfather had passed away, something had changed— winter had lost its magic. The falling snow no longer shimmered in the late afternoon light the way it used to. The makeshift jazz band that played in the square across the street had lost its spunk, and was drowned out by the car horns and sirens that keep Wren awake at night. The little diner around the corner where she and her grandpa used to get wa
es and burnt co ee has closed
and has been replaced with an overpriced boutique she will never visit. The city itself seemed to have lost some of its brightness after her grandfather’s passing— a brightness Wren didn’t know if she would ever be able to find again. But still, Wren was finding ways to make life more tolerable. Taking it day by day. Wren finally rolled out of bed after her alarm screamed for the fifth time that morning. She poured herself a sludgy cup of room temperature co ee left over from yesterday's pot and trudged through her morning routine. At half past seven, Wren pulled a scarf around her neck and stepped out her door into the cold city. The streets were quiet at this time of day and Wren basked in the silent delight, savoring her last moments of peace before she got to work. It was a Saturday, usually the busiest day at The Last Chapter, the bookstore she worked at. It had been months since her grandfather’s passing, but Wren still saw him in everything. In the starlings in Central Park making scrappy nests on the heads of statues. She saw him among the tourists, snapping film photos with every street sign and skyscraper they saw. Even in the clouds that drifted past her apartment window, o ering solace and comfort, but just out of reach. Today, Wren decided to cut through one of the parks on her way to work; she had time to spare and thought she might appreciate a calming breath of nature to get her ready for the
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