We are all alone now. Mom, Dad and Kiki each have their own lives. They don’t see each other much. They hardly ever talk, not about anything important. Kiki doesn’t tell our parents the truth about what she’s doing, and the truth is growing bigger in the background, like the giant alien ship looming behind the Space Rangers captain. She doesn’t ever talk to them about me. In a way, I have it the best, because I can still be with each of them when I want to, but they can’t really be with me. And they’ve stopped really being with each other.

I don’t know about this new group of friends, but maybe Kiki is finding togetherness with them. Maybe they can be like her family since ours is gone.

36 | Serotina

February 2015

Micah was poring over some paperwork at his desk while Sero waited for him in bed. “Anything I can help with?” she asked.

Without looking up, he said, “Not unless you have an extra 30K lying around.” He closed the file folder and shoved it into the desk drawer. “I was really hoping to get those solar panels installed before summer, but it’s not looking good.”

Sero had been contemplating how she could contribute to the Sanctuary in a meaningful way, beyond purchasing groceries at NatMark with her employee discount and caring for the horse. “I have some money in my savings account,” she said as Micah joined her. “My security deposit, plus what my dad gave me for this semester—about ten thousand dollars. It’s not enough, but it’s a start?”

Micah, his arm around her shoulders, pulled back to look at her. “You would do that?”

“Sure,” she said. She didn’t need that money for school anymore. Though now she was reminded that she would have to, at some point before summer, tell her parents about withdrawing from college. She pushed that thought away. “I don’t pay for much, other than groceries. Maybe the others can chip in too and we can get enough?”

“They already have. That’s how we collected the first half for the down payment,” Micah said. “You know everyone with outside jobs contributes their paychecks to our collective living expenses. And that’s just enough to get by, truthfully. Some months are a little tight.”

She noticed the lines on Micah’s brow and thought for the first time about the mechanics and finances of managing this place. Not everyone in the house had regular paying jobs. August and Zoe were in a band that played gigs on evenings and weekends. Others, like Ericka, had shown up without a penny, and now worked only at the Sanctuary. They grew most of their own produce and had the chickens. David went to the local farmers’ market most Sundays to sell their extra organic eggs and produce at a steep markup.

“I’ve been working on another idea, to bring in some additional income . . .” Micah trailed off.

“What is it?” she asked. Micah remained silent, stroking her bare shoulder with his fingers. She looked up at him. “Tell me.”