Thorns

Alone in space, a teen discovers a terrible gift

Photo by Dustin Humes on Unsplash

I hate doing this. Crowface led me by chains onto the platform. They made the sharp clicking noises I had come to understand after many beatings. Lie.

They took me from my home when I was fifteen. Their culture is brutal and direct, without sentiment or subtly. Their word for adoption is the same as their word for kidnap. To be given something…