I’m looking for a short story from about 10-15 years ago, title was something like “The Return Trip”.  The flight of a famous M.D. is grounded in Boston for weather.  In the airport, he receives a call from a young woman, the daughter of an old girlfriend who is dying of cancer.  Story ends with his burning the unopened DNA lab results of the (his?) daughter, ordered years ago by the mom.  Published in the July issue of an airline magazine (USAir?) about 10-15 years ago.

I realize it’s not a book, just a short story.  I recall Googling the author when I knew his name, he had several collections of short stories, but none included this particular story.  Not sure if it was ever published anywhere other than the airline magazine.  I don’t recall the airline, but United and USAir were the most likely.  I do know that it was a July edition of the magazine.

This is the story I am looking for. I was in elementary school when my father read it to me. I’m afraid that it might have morphed some in my memory. It has stuck with me a long time. I’m 65. So he would’ve read it to me in the mid 60’s. This story sounds vaguely similar to the Nightingale but I do not remember a mechanical bird in my story. It is tragic like the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen stories. I do not have a title or an author.

This story involves a bird that a man, maybe a king, is enamored of, either because of its beauty or its song. I don’t remember which. The bird pleases the king so much that the king decorates it with jewels. It seemed like he thought he was was rewarding the bird. Giving it value. The bird can’t fly, can’t do bird things, is ostracized by its friends, becomes tragically lonely and dies of a broken heart. That’s what I remember.