I’ve chosen sugar cookies for Jackson’s scent reminder. Most people chose something from nature. Pine trees. Roses. The petrichor aroma after rain. But Jackson told me the smell of baking sugar cookies meant home. Lying there in his stasis pod,… Continue Reading
“Hey,” Max says. “Got some bad news. We’re shutting down.” I stare at him, slack-jawed. His tongue lolls out, and his tail gives a vigorous wag. “I hate to harsh your day,” he says, “but I thought you might want… Continue Reading
A ship from Earth twinkled among the horizon of stars. Torpos Hansen, Ambassador to the immortal Factory, greeted all races, but his excitement peaked when vessels from home arrived. Sadly, his fellow humans rarely continued their existences beyond a single… Continue Reading
The Dolphin Dauphin, boss of the High Council of Terrestrial Intelligences, ordered the total evacuation of Earth. “The time’s come,” he whistled. “Sol’s going sub-giant. So get your butts outta there.” Poor Mother Earth was worn out, her mountains eroded… Continue Reading
“Tell me how the world ends,” Ani says. Michael shakes his head. “Some things,” he says, “it’s better not to know.” They sit across from one another, at a table in the back of a dimly-lit bar. His hands are… Continue Reading
As soon as her husband went into the sitting room, Meera slipped out of the back door. Today of all days, he had come back early, complained he was unwell, shouted, slapped her once and finally gone, grumbling, to watch… Continue Reading
Tomorrow they’ll come for us and the world will end. Today I wanted to hear a story from papa. “Will you?” I asked him. I shivered. There was no wind blowing; only a stale chill. I don’t think papa heard… Continue Reading
Behold the rose, glowing scarlet in the daylight of a shattered sky. It sits, perched delicately on the edge of a crumbled pit, in defiance of weather and acrid air. Nothing moves the rose but wind, nearly all other life… Continue Reading
The world would end at 6:09 p.m., but Meg’s final batch of chocolate chip cookies would be done in three minutes. She had kept the dough in the fridge all night, chilling it to perfection, and began to bake before… Continue Reading
“So what do we do now?” she asked after they had been sitting silently in front of the TV for a long time, trying to process what they had just heard. On the screen, the president’s speech kept running in… Continue Reading