Few had come across the community in the eight years since the virus. That’s how limited the population was in the general area, and how remote the caves.
The older children sat at the dinner table, working on the homework. Even they sensed the tension in the room, and avoided drawing the adults’ attention.
We strode up the rise to the doorway that led into her cave home, Devon with a spring in her step, me dragging my feet as if they were made of oak boles.
The sun was sliding behind the high western ridge when people began murmuring their goodbyes to one another before making their way back to their own homes.
Beyond the entrance, Jeanne’s cave home was quite different from mine. The walls were smooth and gracefully curving the way that a river carves canyons.
Then I spotted the one thing that made me think of home more than anything. Peanut butter. My breath felt thick and my hand quivered as I opened the jar.