Little Bird

19 year old Katie races along a ruggedly beautiful cliff path leading to a sheer drop to the sea crashing below. Desperate and in anguish, she is running to prevent an impending tragedy. Her nine year old brother, Charlie stands on the edge, motionless. As she approaches, he spreads his arms and calmly steps off. During the investigation into Charlie's death, the unconventional relationship between Katie and Charlie is explored through a series of flashbacks. Charlie's daily struggles with over stimulation of the senses caused him huge discomfort and suffering and his fascination with birds proves to be his escape from a world he couldn't be comfortable in. That morning Charlie was finding home life exceptionally difficult. "Just step into the sky and fly away" she tells him, desperately trying to ease his escalating distress by encouraging his escape into the world of his beloved birds, not realising how literally he would take her words. With the PECS board, a communication tool for children with Autism, reading "Today I will fly", Katie is left steeped in grief, but will the world blame her the way she blames herself?