Luca stuck out like a sore thumb in the group home and he knew it. He was tall, he was lanky, and he was the oldest kid there. Usually, that made people avoid him. One look and they knew he was unadoptable, too old to be any good, too damaged. Like a lamp without a shade.
This time, it seemed to draw people right to him.
"This is Lucy and Edward Demarchis," Sister Margaret said. "Say hello, Luca."
Luca wasn't sure why they were talking to him. Pity, maybe? Luca smiled anyway, trying to look polite. "Hello."
"Hi, Luca." The woman, Lucy Demarchis, smiled. She had a gentle look to her, even gentler than the kindest nuns there. "What are you doing all alone over here?"
"I'm..." Luca fixed his eyes on his notebook, suddenly embarrassed by everything written there. "Writing."
"That's nice! One of our daughters loves to write. I think she'd like you." Lucy sat down near Luca, but not too close. Her husband, Edward, did the same. "What do you guys do for fun around here?"
The conversation that followed was the most Luca had spoken to someone in a while. He wasn't used to people taking interest in him.
He wasn't used to people being so kind.
YOU ARE READING
The Edge
Science FictionThere is no known edge to the universe. Cosmonauts have long tested this theory, flying further and deeper into the reaches of space. They explored, they discovered, they found new homes and settled down. But they could never find the edge. The long...
