One side of his syrinx trilled a curse to his family’s murderer. The other warbled his children’s favorite melodies through sobs. His friends comforted him but discouraged his screams: “You’ll die, by predator or exhaustion.” He always replied: “Can’t die. Already dead.”

The humans nearby praised, “Pretty bird. Beautiful song!”

Nature both terrifies and captivates boomer trujillo. Find more of his work at boomert.info.