Father's Heart

I was with Jake and Amanda when she was giving birth. It was an abandoned apartment building, a remnant of the previous administration, from back when the world was full of people. I dragged an old mattress into a small apartment, moved an old fridge to block the window and rigged some cables so that I could connect a light.

It took Amanda three hours, but she finally gave birth.

”What is that?” I said.

The thing was pink and black, a part of it was open like a flower, a tiny organic element reaching out to the world.

”It’s not complete,” said Jake. “It needs a heart. I need to find one fast."

"What do you mean?"

"Find a drifter or something. Any heart will do."

"Is that how it always is with you people?” I asked.

”Huh?"

"Nevermind,” I said.

It did not matter. It was a new world, I had to learn the new rules.

Posted by: Paweł Kowaluk