The bright morning shattered as heavy wings flapped and fractured the thick humid air. The chattering flock circled as the messengers waited their turn to light on the windowsill, just a thin pane of glass between them and the black-haired child inside. Blue eyes acknowledged black and the dark birds rustled and fluttered themselves into silence along the narrow perch. The curtains gripped by his aching, crooked fingers, the boy forced his wheelchair closer as he glared angrily at the birds. They watched, mesmerized by the fatigued bobbing of his head until finally, they exploded upwards, their secret orders received.