TER

O'S P

MORN

stless sleep weighed on my limbs. I went through my morning routine-shaving, a hot shower, pulling

he living room, the silence w

n was pristine. The stainless steel appliances gleam

ounded hollow in the empty apartment. "Did she transform back into a bird and f

realized how much I had expected to see her si

engthened as I hurried into the kitchen. I check

pitch. I whirled around toward the large floo

the swirling snowstorm, I caught sigh

led tightly against her chest. Her face was buried in her arms. The he

apartment. It stole my breath away. I stepped out onto the concrete. The cold bit through my leat

ed bright red from the frost. Her lips were trembling. She looke

ed. Her voice shivered

and. "But what is with this expression? Why are you sitting in the freezing cold? I've told you before, I can't take yo

grip. She stood tall, though her body shiv

flat and lacked the bubbly tone from yester

gainst my face as her words sank in. F

ed. I leaned in, sure the howl

opped to my leather shoes. "I heard you last night through the door. You said I am a

over me. She had heard

You have no identity papers, no money, no clothes. How are you supposed to survive out there? You are no longer living the life of a bird, where you can just fly away when t

her small hands clenched

oosing to let you stay. You've only been human for a single day. I am not the kind of man who lets a helpless creature freeze to death on the str

g lashes caught the falling snowflakes in a heart-achingly cute way. The raw f

our hours, and she already knows what it feels like to feel unwanted. She already understands the shame o

eezing shoulder and guided her back through the glass doors.

apartment envelo

eft some clothes for you on the couch. Thick sweatpants and a sweater. Put them on after you take a hot shower. I'll order breakfast from the cafe downst

ted from her face. A soft

I know every alleyway, every rooftop, and every window within a ten-mile radius. And I am very smart." She paused. Her eyes scanned t

e a lot of books in my study. But... do you even

k alongside me as I moved toward the front door. "Whenever they came back from school and sat at the desk to do

ips. I felt a sudden surge of

s under the coffee table. They're educational," I said.

you were sleeping. They are books about internal combustion, mechanical

dropped slightly. "You... you read my adv

she sai

ng brains. If you want more advanced material, you can go through the main bookshelf in the study. Just d

" she giggled. She wave

lled the door shut behind me. As I walked tow

eave my chest. I pressed the elevator button and watched the numbers ligh