could help, they say, smiling.
The one with the blue bird mask hands Thaddeus an apple, apologizes, then runs to catch up to the group.
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Selah and Thaddeus donât sleep
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for several days, in which they decide that a war against February is needed to cure their sadness. They invite the Solution to their home, who talk for hours on strategy to destroy February. When they drink their tea, they lift up their bird masks to expose their blue-wintered lips. Thaddeus tries not to cry when a yellow bird passes him a list of missing children and asks Thaddeus to please add Biancaâs name where there is room. He reads the list over. His eyes fill with tears. He writes down Biancaâs name.
Will a war bring my daughter back, asks Thaddeus.
The birds all look at one another.
Itâs possible, they say. Anything is possible when you start a war.
I want my daughter back, says Thaddeus. I want her back, and I want my wife to be safe.
He holds her hand.
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The Catalog of Missing Children
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Evie Rhodes âtaken from her bed on February the 127th
Candace Smith âdisappeared while feeding birds on February the 175th
Adam Johnston âvanished while playing in a closet on February the 112th
John Smith âalso disappeared while feeding birds on February the 175th
Daniel Hillâ considered lost in the woods on February the 212th
Joyce Aikey âdrowned while diving for turtles on February the 188th
Joseph Mendler âtaken from his bed on February the 139th
Estrella Roberts âvanished during a game of hide-and-seek on February the 144th
Emily Boyce âdrowned during a snowball fight on February the 222nd
Sarah Lock âdisappeared in a blizzard on February the 247th
Bianca Lowe âtaken from her bed on February the 255th
Peter Tunerâ never came home from school on February the 199th
Jessica Chambers âvanished while walking with her dogs on February the 312th
Suzy Peck âtaken from her bed on February the 322nd
Caldor Clemens
I was Thadâs number-one guy during the war against February. Thatâs right, number one. The righthand man. Top wolf. Or top dog. Whatever.
I thought Thad was crazed because of the kidnapping of Bianca. But after I noticed a change in the ways of the town during the season of February, I went to his house with the Solution to talk about the war. Each week we recruited more and more people from the town, a whole mess of us cramped up there. Everyone drank tea or some shit. I drank vodka with mud.
Before Thad spoke, the Solution told me he was the one they were looking for to lead the war. He was their guy. He was their wolf to lead this war. All right, I thought, letâs see what this guy has got to say.
The one thing that really made me want to be a part of the war, besides the fact that it was bloody exciting, was what Thad and the Professor showed us one night. It was called a mood chart. It explained how our moods change by the seasons. Now, Iâm not the Professor, but it was real clear that something was happening to us during the season of February. The sadness quotient peaked, or whatever itâs actually called. Thad pointed to a chart with an ascending line and a frowning face. And to hear about his poor little girl missing and to see my own kids knocking their heads against a wall all February long, it made me so angry that I decided I would give my heart, my blood, for the War Effort.
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The first attack on February
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occurs. Thaddeus, Selah, Caldor Clemens and the Solution devise a plan to trick February by pretending itâs summer. The men take their shirts off and roll their pants into a ring at their kneecaps and call them shorts. Selah wears a thin summer dress, the one she wore while on her first balloon trip with Thaddeus. It smells like cedar and grass clippings from the floor of his workshop. The rest of the women wear skirts. They unbutton their blouses and untie their