Gilda, just ten, lives alone in what remains of her family’s home after the air raid. Lost in the broken walls and bricks of Gaza, she clings to an imaginary friend she never quite believes in. Then a hungry bluebird drifts through a hole in the ceiling, feathers dusted with rubble, a bright shard of life in the grey. She lets it stay. Its sweet songs soothe her more than any pretend companion ever could. But the bird is too bright, too loud—its voice carries, drawing the soldier she hides from.
Now his attention fixes on the gaping holes, drawn by every chirp. Her fragile life tips closer to the crosshairs. Yet with the bluebird nestled close, she feels less hollow. Now Gilda faces an impossible choice: turn the bird away and return to the crushing silence of being utterly alone, or risk her own survival for the kindness of sheltering a defenceless creature.
Step into Gilda’s broken world and find the cost of keeping connection alive.