Epilogue
It was another day in paradise. Sean Jeffries held up his hand, shielding his face from the sun. Up in a tree, a male bird sang a song to a female perched on at the edge of a branch. His notes were strong and pure, but Sean noticed a couple places on its wing where it looked like it had been pecked and a few feathers pulled loose.
Still, its song was intriguing enough for even Sean to hold still. With each note, he hopped closer and closer to his chosen mate. At the last note of the song, another male with bright, unmarred feathers swooped in. His song was a squawk, but his bird-body was perfect. He stole away the ladybird and they flew off together, leaving the wounded songbird alone and defeated.
Sean wasn’t surprised. He knew that outward appearances mattered more than what
