The Half-Life of Ruby Fielding

by Lydia Kang

If there was one thing that made humans uncomfortable, it was silence. They didn’t know what to do with it, except to fill it with words that gave away their inner thoughts—an arsenal of useful information.

Love and affection were not the same thing. One, she had plenty of. The other, she was starving for.

Maggie was always the shadow. In school, on the street. She was hardly noticed. She’d come to find solace in the invisibility of herself, but sometimes it was heartbreaking to never be seen.

“So you like plants that kill.” “They heal too. It all depends on the plant, and the dose. They’re like people. They aren’t always just good or bad. We all have hands that could pick up a knife and kill someone viciously. Does it mean we’re bad?”

It was far too easy for me to find a beautiful mind and tender character attractive. No matter which type of body housed that mind and character. There was an irresistible beauty in all forms that God made.