Strange New Worlds 10
The Smell of Dead Roses
by Gerri Leen
Perrin huddled on the balcony, trying to will herself into invisibility as the
fight between her parents raged on. She stared out at the other building, hating
that the people across from her might be staring back, might be feeling pity.
"Perrin?" Her sister snuck out through the open door and crawled into her lap.
"It'll be all right."
Nanda was too little to understand what had happened. She'd been bouncing around
Perrin all day. Excited to eat Perrin's birthday cake -- cake that was now all
over the floor.
It had made a strange sound as it hit, knocked off the table by her father. Not
a crash -- it was too soft for that. But not a gentle sound, either. There had
been a sucking noise, as frosting met wood, as cake smashed down, causing the
frosting to spread out even more. Nine candles had hit first. Nine candles that
were broken now and would never be lit.
"Why do they yell at each other?" Nanda asked, scrunching her eyes closed as if
that could make the voices stop.
"Because they can."
"But it's your birthday."
Perrin looked back at what had been her pretty cake. It had come out of the
replicator already decorated with roses in ... read full excerpt from: Strange New Worlds 10 ebook
