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where daddy works!" Billy thought, as he saw the image of the bridge. Billy perked up. He was now focusing all of his attention on the TV.

"Apparently," the newscaster continued off-screen, "an ironworker on the Golden Gate Bridge climbed up the north tower of the bridge today, and he intended to simply jump to his death. But watch this folks, watch what actually happened."

Billy watched as he saw his father standing on the north tower of the bridge. "No Daddy!" Billy cried out. Billy watched as his father raised his face to the sky, reached his arms out to his sides, and then dove from the tower toward the water.

Billy watched in horror, as the newscaster narrated. "Now watch closely folks, this is amazing." And what Billy saw was amazing. In mid-dive his father seemed to transform right in front of the camera from his father into a large red and yellow bird. Half-way to the bay, his father, now a beautiful bird, changed direction and flew up into the sky and away into the distance.

"Did you see that!" The newscaster asked excitedly. "We'll run it again so you can see this; remember this truly is a miracle."

Billy was no longer watching. He rose quickly and ran to get his mother. He pulled her outside with him so he could tell her and blue bird and black bird what he had just witnessed on TV, to tell them all about his father.

Once he got outside, he was so surprised to see a third bird, a new bird, a beautiful red and yellow bird flying with black bird and blue bird. As Billy ran out to meet his friends, black bird landed on the fence rail first.

"Billy!" Black bird cried out. "Do we have news for you!"

Billy looked up at his mother. She was staring at this new bird. She was crying.

"Mother," Billy said, "I have to tell you something about my birds, and I have to tell you something about Daddy."

"I know Billy." She said, looking down at Billy. "I've always known." She looked up into the sky at the new bird. The new bird circled, swooped and then landed on the fence post next to blue bird and black bird.

"Now," said the new bird, "I can be with you always."

Almost instantly Billy's mother began to shake. In complete wonder, Billy watched at his mother transformed into a beautiful white dove. As she transformed, she quivered, and then sought her wings, finding them, she flew, awkwardly at first, and then with incredible gracefulness. She soared into the sky as though feeling freedom for the first time in her life. After many minutes of soaring, while Billy, black bird, blue bird, and the new bird, who was his father, watched, she came down to the fence post. She sidled up next to the bird who was Billy's father.

"I am honored to know you." She said. "Thank you for coming back for me, now we can be together forever."

"I love you all." The bird who was Billy's father said. "Now we're a family."

Billy's grandparents never understood what had happened to their daughter; she had simply disappeared without a trace. So had Billy's father. Billy's grandparents thought that maybe they had simply run off together, and that they had left Billy behind.

And over time, they came to accept and then to love Billy as their grandson. They had more difficulty though accepting the fact that the only friends that Billy appeared to have were four odd looking birds who had made their home within the "back 40."

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