Bewilderment

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I WAS STILL DREAMING UP NEW LAYERS to our creation when I realized I didn’t need any more. I leaned in. Robin’s breath came light and slow. The stream of his consciousness had broadened to a miles-wide delta. I slipped off the bed and reached the doorway without a sound. But the click of the light switch jolted his body upright in the sudden dark. He screamed. I flipped the light back on.

We forgot Mom’s prayer. And they’re all dying.

We said it together: May all sentient beings be free from needless suffering.

But the boy who took the next two hours getting safe enough to fall back asleep was no longer sure if that prayer was doing much of anything.