Calista is a young girl who has lost her mother. When she sees a sign for the Cyber Circus, she longs to go as she once did with her mother. When she asks her father, holed up in his office, he declines but says she can go herself. She does, disappointed and angry. There she connects with a sentient robot who tells her that he can take away the pain of her grief. Calista is immediately interested. What happens next is the crux of this emotionally intelligent story.
Wow! This one hits on all sorts of levels. The storytelling is immersive. The characters are real as is the pain they feel no matter how they express it. The author really explores what grief feels like and the longing to move past it that often accompanies it. But if there is a quick and easy way out of grief, what is its cost? Will it be worth it? This amazing story explores these deep and important questions.
Length: 7,210 words (about 30 minutes)
My rating: 5/5
