"Karawynn Long - Adjusting the Moon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Long Karawynn)

"Adjusting the Moon" first appeared in Writers of the Future, volume IX. You
may print out a copy of this story for your own personal use, but this work
remains under copyright, and may not be published or otherwise distributed
without the express written permission of the author, Karawynn Long. Address
all comments or inquiries to [email protected] or [email protected].
Enjoy.

Adjusting the Moon
by Karawynn Long
copyright 1992

Melanie held her hands out in front of her. They looked exactly like
her real hands, even down to the thumbnail she'd broken that morning. She
curled her fingers a couple of times, watching the movement, and then flipped
both hands over and back as quickly as she could. Of course the technicians
had assured her that everything would be completely realistic, no time lag at
all, yet Melanie was still surprised to discover that they were right.
Glancing down at the rest of her body, she saw that she was barefoot,
dressed in jean shorts and a t-shirt -- her typical after-work attire. The
t-shirt was an old one of Jason's, memento from a Disney World vacation. On
the front a cheerful Mickey floated in a red-and-white spacesuit and bubble
helmet.
Melanie crossed the room then, feeling the flexion of muscles in her
thighs with every step, her feet sinking just slightly into the carpet. She'd
forgotten how good this was. Everything looked normal -- she could almost
believe she'd gone home after work as usual. She rubbed her hand along the
arm of the sofa as she passed; it seemed as though she could feel each
individual thread in the cloth.
She opened the door to her bedroom and touched on the light. It was her
bedroom, down to the collection of old books in alphabetical order on the
shelves. Her little array of sun-loving houseplants stood along the
windowsill, seemingly alive and every leaf just as she remembered. Reaching
out, she touched the dial next to the window. The plastic was hard under her
fingertips, even a little cool. It was set on "Opaque," and she twisted it
all the way over to "Clear." Outside, the little treeless plot of grass that
served as her backyard became dimly visible, and a few stars, but otherwise
there was little change.
It felt somehow wrong, and suddenly Melanie realized why -- she'd been
visualizing the room as it had been that last night. It was the moon she
missed. She had lain awake for most of an hour after Jason had fallen asleep,
watching the light linger on the contours of his face, balance on his bare
shoulder. The memory brought an ache to her chest.
She moved away from the window and touched the light off. It took
several seconds for her eyes to adjust, and she held her hands out low in
front of her to avoid bumping her shins against the bed in the dark. Touching
the comforter, she turned and sat down. A small wave travelled across the bed
and back, repeating in slowly diminishing ripples. Melanie looked out the
window.
"There should be a moon," she said aloud, starting a little
self-consciously at the loudness of the sound in the empty room. "Almost