The Day We Said Goodbye to the Birds
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Once a respected corporate microbiologist, now the scapegoat for the GMO-caused disaster that has turned San Francisco Bay toxic and poisoned thousands, Joe has lost everything: his wife, his home, his career, his reputation, and most of his friends. All he has left is his 18-month-old daughter, Daphne, the clothes on his back, and a chance to start over again in a new town, where no one knows his face.
To take this chance, all he needs to do it to catch the next bus out of town.
But an unexpected transit system outage has dumped him in Oakland, in the middle of a "civil disturbance," so now he needs to get to the next station on foot, while pushing a baby stroller.
And hoping to pass unrecognized through a city where everyone hates him, and a lot of people want to kill him....
Allan Dyen-Shapiro
Allan Dyen-Shapiro is a Ph.D. biochemist, currently working as an educator in Southwest Florida. He has published once before with Dragon Gems, "Magic Notwithstanding, The Family Lawyer Does as Instructed" ran in the Summer 2023 anthology. He has also sold short fiction to venues including Flash Fiction Online (where he is a First Reader), Dark Matter Magazine, Factor Four, Small Wonders, and numerous anthologies.His standalone eco-fiction novelette "The Day We Said Goodbye to the Birds" came out digitally and in paperback from Rampant Loon Press in 2025. He also co-edited an anthology of speculative fiction set in the Middle East.Allan is an active member of SFWA and Codex. He blogs on issues of interest to his readers at allandyenshapiro.com, where you'll also find links to his stories.
More by Allan Dyen-Shapiro
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