Author: Eugene Fischer

Length: short story

First Publication: Strange Horizons, 2009

What the Story is About: “Next is a family with a nine-year-old boy and a dead parakeet. They aren’t just dropping off the carcass for deactivation and disposal, they’ve come to have Gerry, a professional, explain death to their son. Gerry talks to their son about what happens to the bodies of animals when they die, and points out to him the things that make it clear that his bird is dead: the uncoordinated motion, the abandonment of normal behaviors, the lack of interest in water. ”