By Jaron Weidner

“Did you know that a bird’s feather is hollow?” she asked me from the backseat of the car. She always had so many questions on these early morning drives to the school. I was hardly awake enough to respond, but that didn’t seem to bother her.

“If angels have wings, does that mean they have feathers?”

“I guess they do,” I said.

“What do angels do?” she continued. Her eyes sparkled with imagination.

“Well, I think they probably protect us sometimes,” I said, but I wasn’t really sure I believed it.

“What about that philosopher who said that God is dead?” she asked with a puzzled look.

I clearly needed more coffee to have this conversation. How did she even know about that at her age?

“If God is dead, what do the angels do?” It was obvious she wanted an answer from me.

“Maybe they turned into birds,” I said. I don’t think she believed me, but she smiled anyway.

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Jaron Weidner is a songwriter turned fiction author. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, he now calls Memphis Tennessee home, where he lives with his wife and son. His short fiction stories have been published in January House Literary Journal, TrashLight Press, and Novel Nest Literary Magazine. Jaron is currently submitting a variety of short stories to many different publications, while also working on his first novel.