Kira Isek

It's winter on Aldera and there is a thick blanket of snow and ice on the ground. Kira, in a thick sweater, is curled in an armchair in the living room. The bundle of baby in her arms coos at her and she can hear her daughters playing in the other room. Two years old now and big sisters to their new baby brother.

She never thought she'd be here. The baby, Alek, curls his tiny fingers around her pinky and sighs, content.

A noise at the door draws her attention from her son (her tiny, perfect son) and she smiles, exhausted and so happy, at her husband.