Tag: feminist, science-fiction

She felt a soft brush of lips against her forehead, heard the other woman murmur, “Sleep now, chére.”Chére, Hannah though. Cherished. It was a good thing to be. She wrapped the word around her and carried it down with her into sleep.

She’d crossed into a place where truth, even if it was brutal, was all she had to offer.

That wasn’t enough. They weren’t enough.Nor, she soon realized, was Will, though by every rational measure he ought to have been. … He became ardent, spoke of love, hinted at marriage. She stilled his roving hands and deflected his near-proposals. Finally, when his frustration turned to anger, she cut him loose, bleeding and disoriented, her own heart perfectly intact.Aidan wouldn’t leave it intact, she’d known that from the first. Long before they became lovers, she could foresee that there would be an after, and that it would lay waste to them both.

She stood by the bed and stroked her father’s hand, knowing how desperately afraid he must feel at this moment. He’d always prided himself on being the kind of man who could be counted on, a man to whom others looked for advice and support. Dependence would wither his spirit, and the thought of that, of her father being diminished or broken, was almost as unbearable as the thought of losing him.

She prayed for that all through the night, uncertain to Whom or what, but with a feeling that almost resembled faith.

To be touched with love was a kind of miracle.