After the Flood

by Kassandra Montag

I looked at each face around me in the firelight. Before all this, it had been just Pearl and me, alone in the world. And now, each face was like a buoy in the dark sea. Thomas with his spirit that seemed untouched by darkness. Wayne with his willingness to step into the fray. Daniel with his steadfast presence. And Pearl, with the wildness of an animal I’d never want to tame. I felt a maternal protectiveness toward each of them. I would lead them into whatever would come, would try to fulfill my promise to Abran. When the water buried the earth, it felt like it was erasing us. The whole world a grave. But we would rise with the horizon if it continued to rise; we’d mark the sky with our silhouette before disappearing over the edge of the earth.