Nine Perfect Strangers

by Liane Moriarty

Masha was a puzzle Yao could never quite solve.

He did not know why and he didn’t care, because the day after his psychedelic therapy he woke dizzy with a new freedom: the freedom to make mistakes. Perhaps this was his first mistake. He looked at the screen showing nine people who did not look to be transformed in any way. They looked tired, agitated, and angry. They were meant to be out by now, beginning the next stage of their “rebirth.”