“Peek-a-boo!” As Emma’s peal of laughter filled the sun-dappled air, her parents, Tracy and Eric, turned from the picnic table towards the sound of their daughter’s voice. Tracy gasped. Their daughter stood before an ancient, sun-kissed tree, slowly covering and uncovering her eyes playing the age-old game with— “What is that?” Eric asked, his voice…
Tag Archives: family
When he was still young and green, he liked to say, “I’m separate from you.” Her reply never varied. “That’s how it should be.” Even so, he suspected there was something beneath her quiet, calm patience, a secret that belied her answer. He thought it might have to do with the echoes of her he…
Ayn really didn’t know how to make a meeting with Nev happen. She called Mearzt, but her friend wasn’t speaking to her. Ayn couldn’t really blame her. In a way, it was her fault Nev had gone missing. Still, she wished more than anything that her best friend were acting like one. She’d never felt…
“Ayn, you’ve seen the vid that’s now circulating about the Terrestrials and your father? Good,” she continued when Ayn nodded. “What he may not have told you was that the vid has generated death threats against your father.” “What?” Ayn leaned back against the door, looking at her dad, who was busy looking at the…
“So, it’s true? You’re using Terrestrials to harvest minerals?” Ayn’s sense of unreality grew as she watched her dad’s face twist into a grimace. “Ayn,” he said, “that is so far beyond the point of this conversation between you and I right now. This is about survival.” “You’re scaring me,” she said. “You should be…
“Why?” she said, her voice shaking with disbelief. “Because of his ‘associates’? Why not take them in? Why do this to Nev?” Her dad stared at her, wordless, shaking his head. Zoe whimpered and went to him, resting her head on his lap. He stroked her back, and ruffled the fur between her ears, then…
Her dad pulled the chair from her desk and turned it to face the room. He sat, and indicated with a hand for her to do the same as she walked in the room. Ayn waited for the door to close behind her before sitting on the edge of her bed. Zoe sat at her…
Her dad caught her arm as she passed him. “Apologize, Ayn,” he said, not letting go. His voice was quiet but firm. Ayn clenched her jaw and turned enough so she faced the iron-haired woman whose lips curled in the faintest of smiles. A burst of heat rushed through Ayn’s chest. She’d only experienced that…
Lettie turned to face Ayn and asked, “What was it they took?” “Photo images,” Ayn said, explaining about the missing images. Lettie raised an eyebrow—the gesture Ayn had come to hate. With that single action, Lettie managed to make Ayn feel like she was nothing more than a stupid child. “Very well. Did you hear…
“Tell me, are you as interested in plant biology as she was?” “Not really, sir, no,” Ayn said. “Genetics then, like your father?” Ayn shook her head, biting her lower lip. When was this interview or whatever it was going to end? “What are your interests then?” “Animals,” Ayn said, “but not in the same…
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