Technically speaking, Ebony was not legitimate. She was borne of a fabulous affair between her common-class mother, Adah, and a man named Christopher Rafael, a wealthy diplomat who had inherited a huge estate in the area. At the time the affair began, Adah was married to Daniel Hayes, a rather unsuccessful businessman whose only notable … Continue reading Ebony, Java, Siva Part 1
Category: Characters before the virus
Ram – Part 2
When the virus hit, Ram could not understand that it was a disease that afflicted his parents and not him. One evening Sue sat down with Ram to explain that she was going to leave the house and never return. As she spoke she arranged and rearranged a dense quantity of canned foods on the … Continue reading Ram – Part 2
Ram – Part 1
Ramone Kingsley was a hypochondriac. His mother blamed his father Lawrence for his military tidiness—early childhood conditioning, Sue claimed. You have fathered a boy who is afraid to make a mess. And so he had. Lawrence raised his boy in a shady suburban neighborhood that was host to dozens of other military families. Lawrence had … Continue reading Ram – Part 1
Sammy – Part 2
One day, Norah asked Sammy to sit with her at his studying table, and asked him to be very quiet and serious. She told Sammy about stories of the old Inuit Eskimos. People don’t stay around forever, Sammy, she said. The Inuits once sent their elderly out into the ocean, riding on boat of ice, … Continue reading Sammy – Part 2
Sammy – Part 1
Sammy was the second son of Norah and Clance Everett, but he was practically an only child. His big brother Wright was 15 years older than him, and, as long as Sammy could remember, had only been a visitor to the house, not a live-in part of the family. In fact, Sammy felt closer to … Continue reading Sammy – Part 1
Bob the Dog – Part 2
Bob woke up in a white room, to the gentle prodding of a man in a white coat. There was a family in the room, a girl, a boy and their father, and they were talking in concerned voices. The man was complaining that his children had missed half a day of school and promised … Continue reading Bob the Dog – Part 2
Bob the Dog – Part 1
Bob the dog had a secret, life, one that no one knew about, and few suspected. To start off, the name ‘Bob’ was only an alias, a case of mistaken identity. His real name is a well-guarded secret, too sensitive to be revealed. ‘Bob’ was born in a lovely neighbourhood, one of 43 sons of … Continue reading Bob the Dog – Part 1
TopHat Part 2
There was something special and primal about these times near the campfire that would always stay with Clive, some secret, primal decision that the Higgins family made, to tap into their savage selves. Clive understood on some level that his life was distant from ordinary. He felt privileged, as if he had been let in … Continue reading TopHat Part 2
TopHat Part 1
Clive Higgins attended one day of school in his life. His mum was careful to drop him off ceremoniously for his first day of kindergarden, and less careful to pick him up. He decided to wander home once the streetlights came on, and was eventually brought in by a police officer to the arms of … Continue reading TopHat Part 1
Lottie Part 2
Lottie first heard about the virus when she was 9 years old. She didn’t understand the meaning of the broadcast, and was surprised when her mother turned off the radio, calling it fictitious trash. Lottie didn’t understand what the big deal was about being sick, or why anyone would lie about it. She had never … Continue reading Lottie Part 2