Madison’s World

Greg and Cindy had finally finished McKenzie’s homework. It had been harder than Madison’s usual assignments, longer reading, more careful responses, more places where a careless answer might stand out.…

Madison sat cross-legged atop her oversized bed, the soft comforter bunched beneath her legs as she leaned back against a mound of pillows. A makeup tutorial played on her tablet, some girl…

Greg’s eyes moved across the words on McKenzie’s homework, but very little of it stayed with him. Again and again, his thoughts drifted back to McKenzie herself, her determination, her discipline, the widening shape…

Greg lay stretched across the small sofa in the habitat, one forearm draped over his eyes, the little tablet resting face-down on his chest. He was not asleep, but he hovered near…

The air in the habitat felt heavier that afternoon, dense with the kind of stillness that had become familiar over the past several months. Greg and Cindy sat together on the…

Time had stretched and warped beyond recognition.  The once sun soaked days of autumn had long since surrendered to a brutal New York winter, the air beyond the walls now crisp and biting in…