I've been obsessed with images of winter recently--images of bleakness, with one spot of brightness that suggests the promise of warmth, of color, of life.

Richard Thomas' "Maker of Flight" story, which won the "Enter the World of Filaria Contest" at ChiZine, is one such spot of brightness, even for readers unfamiliar with Brent Hayward's Filaria.  Like the bluebirds in Thomas' story, the story itself is a moment of brightness, creating life where there was none.