Epilogue: James and I are continuing to meet up every month (neither of us thinks it’s safe to be sneaking out more than once a month, because we would be grounded for all eternity if we were caught). We’ve resumed our walks to the market, as James’s parents decided that our separation was not helping his bird. For my birthday this year, he gave me his silver bird. His name is William Jr., and he sits on my shelf. The facial expression of William Jr. is a soft smile, as James has learned how to fix the bird’s facial expression. For his birthday, I got him a carved bird with a deranged expression I made. I said it was an ode to the mildly aggressive expressions past iterations of William Jr. have worn, but in reality I’m just bad at carving. So now, we both have birds on our shelves. We have decided they are courting each other, just like us. Sadly, the number of homophobes in this town has not gone down since I last spoke to you. I doubt it ever will. But for now, at least, it’s nice to have someone who’s like me.
Next: This is the end! First: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1306637557/ Studio: https://scratch.mit.edu/studios/51545451/ Ping List: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1289879064/ A Word From The Author: This is my first (completed) short story. I've grown so much since I started writing this, and I'm so happy you stuck around until the end (for anyone who jumped on board now, what are you doing???? read it in sequential order!!!). Your support and constructive criticism has really helped me grow. So thank you. I put my heart and soul into this, and I hope you love reading this just as much as I've loved writing this. ~Poppy <3
