~1025
A/N: There's a big list in this chapter and the formatting didn't transfer super well to YWS, so sorry if it's hard to understand!
Kerra was shaken up. The wave of pain she’d felt coming from Everen had been intense, though it hadn’t been accompanied by a lost connection like it had for Shandi. She’d been watching a holovid on her couch at the time, trying to distract herself from… well everything. But the pain that flooded her head had brought everything right back into focus.
But Everen wasn’t dead. She had no idea what had happened to her, but she wasn’t dead. There was nothing Kerra could do to help her from all these lightyears away. So she was left to stew and fret.
She’d gotten really good at stewing and fretting over the years, and she’d gotten an exceptional amount of practice at it over just the past few weeks. With all this stewing, she was half afraid that she’d turn into soup and ruin her couch. She needed to relax. But she knew she couldn’t relax. She needed to do something to feel like she was getting anywhere, so she did what she always did when she had too many things to sort through: she made a list.
It was a list without any formalities, objectives or restrictions. It was just a list of things that she knew.
I want everyone back. The thought surprised Kerra. What did she mean by that? She wiped tears from her eyes, though she didn’t know when she’d started crying, and then pushed herself to expand her sentence.
I want everyone back. I want Everen home from space. I want Shandi back in the flesh. I want mom back alive and the way she was before. I want Samn and Maple and Mos and all the friends I had before.
The names surprised her as well. It had been a long time since she’d allowed herself to think about the friends she’d had to leave behind when she’d gone into stasis. A few days after she got out of stasis she received a letter from Samn, her best friend. It was a thick letter, almost thirty pages long. Samn had written a lengthy paragraph every year, with the instructions that it be sent to Kerra when she woke up. It had been incredibly bittersweet to say goodbye to Samn as a young adult one day, and then only a few days later read their final words as a nonagenarian.
She had buried that letter under piles of paper and tried to forget about it. Only now did Kerra realize that she had never really come to terms with the fact that Samn, Maple, Mos, and all her friends were well and truly gone. She had even discovered a kind of afterlife, but it was empty except for Shandi. Shandi. She and Mom are fully gone too. Sure, Maybe I can still talk to Shandi, but I’ll never see her again. And the same goes for Everen.
Then the truth of it all finally hit her.
Everyone is gone, and they’re never coming back.
I’m totally alone.
End of chapter
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139,316 Literary Works • 672,529 Reviews
Hello, Stormblessed here!
Nice job on this chapter! Even with how short it was, you managed to give Kerra depth and development. The list was very helpful to catch up, and you integrated it into the story well.
Cute little line there! It made me chuckle since it is definitely something I would say.
I couldn't find any spelling or grammar problems, so good job there! I cant wait for the next part to come out!
Hope this helped!
Stormblessed242
Well, for this being the first chapter of your novel that I've read it's pretty great. I'm not too lost and I feel like I've gotten a rundown of everything that's happened. Secondly, the list idea is great but I think it could be executed better. Since this is written from a limited third person pov, the reader can know what the main character is thinking so why not write down a list of the factual things that happened and then go in depth into how the Kerra feels about it on her head instead of inside the list. This is just my personal opinion because I feel like the list got a little messy and convoluted at times. On a positive note, Kerra's purpose and character voice were very clear throughout. The last part where she realizes what she wants is great. Though I do understand the issues I perceive may just be because of formatting, I think you did a great job. Well done!