I walk through the library, hoping a book title would jump out at me and inspire me to finish my paper with the hour I have left.

There were books about technology, human history, the polluted air - and then I saw it. It was a thick book I hadn’t seen before.

I pulled it off the shelf and flipped to a page.

It spoke of creatures from before the great Ending. Of wings and feathers and beaks and eggs. Of birds.

I had thought they were only legends told by mothers and fathers, trying to give their children some hope for our kind.

There were writings of kingly lions and striped tigers and the chubby pandas and everything in between.

I slammed the book shut and took it to the librarian, hoping I could take out this book for my paper.

The librarian was a sweet lady who looked like she would’ve had many many kids before the great Ending. She looked to be lacking something the way all of us were, even if we hadn’t witnessed what we’d lost.

I put the book on the counter and she marked down the author in silence.

The second she was done, I grabbed the book and sprinted back to my quarters to finish my paper for later that day with my newest knowledge.