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Here’s a little more of the first chapter, just for fun…

“Breathe, honey.”

I stared up into the medic’s black-brown eyes as she held something cold and rigid over my mouth and nose.

Moments later, she released me from the breathing apparatus, and I caught my bearings. The smell of vomit permeated my clothes, and my fellow passengers leaned as far away as the cramped space allowed. But I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t been able to handle their first interplanetary trip. 

A few medics knelt around the room, keeping their balance by digging their heels into the rusted metal floor. My head spun when I realized they weren’t buckled in.

“Okay, honey, we’re almost there.”

Earth, if their promises meant anything. 

“To the moonbase,” she explained. “We’ll get you cleaned up and checked out there. Now just try to relax, and I guarantee the landing isn’t as bad.”

I nodded and she pried my hands away from the harness, then placed a round blue tablet in my open palm. “Take this.”

I forced the tablet between my clenched teeth, and my stomach settled almost immediately. I pulled at one of my curls, feeling the wiry coil slip through my fingers as it bounced up again.

I caught the passenger across the way glaring at me, and I crossed my arms over the vomit stain on my shirt. Sleep closed around me, but not before I finished my prayer.

“V’tishma kol tachanuneinu ki el sho-me-ah t’fila v’tachanun ata. Baruch ata Adoshem sho-me’a t’fila.”

Copyright 2023 Kate Willis