For the Turtle

SUSAN

Susan was a smart girl, but she didn’t want to be. She wished she were a pretty girl, or a sporty girl, or a friendly girl. She wished she had a companion; someone to talk to and be understood by. She wanted to be older, and richer, and experienced. She wanted to abandon her family; get by on her own. She wanted to travel the world, meet people, and live. She wanted to paint the world like her dreams. She wanted so much, but what she got, who could want? Susan was a smart girl, but she didn’t want to be.

JEZEBEL

Jezebel should not have gone into that house. She should’ve listened to her mother. She should’ve walked home with her friends. She should’ve done a lot of things, but it was too late now.

“Daddy? Are you home?” Floorboards creaked. A stray cat mewed. Tin cans rustled in the wind.

Jez wandered deeper into the room. She spied someone slumped over a beat-up armchair; a scruffy man, zonked out and reeking of beer.

“Daddy?”

“I ain’t your daddy, kid!” She screamed. He clasped a dirty hand over her mouth and held it there until the struggle melted away. “Jezebel? Aw, shit.”

CHARLEY

Life since the accident was an android’s Heaven: carefree, peaceful, and kind, but artificial just the same. Broken, wheelchair-bound, often pitied, but never liked. His parents wondered why he never sat with his head upright. They fitted him a new chair, with a sturdy headrest. It didn’t take.

They paid his bail: get out of Life free. They sent him to college, bought him some friends, found him a job at the company. It didn’t take. “Charley, you freak! You sick, ungrateful bastard!”

When he stopped talking, they gave him a voice machine. It didn’t take. Eventually the Lawsons gave up.

DIANA

Diana, goddess of the moon, the forest, and all things free. Diana, with dark hair and sapphire eyes. Diana, whose birth was an accident. Diana, whose mom dropped her off at the foster home. Diana, whose mother never came back. Diana, with no one but herself to rely on. Diana, who survived on the streets. Diana, who continues to do so. Diana, who is not a dead princess. Diana, who gets lonely at night. Diana, who is searching for a home. Diana, who might find one yet. Diana the Strong, Diana the Brave, save yourself if you want to be saved.