labor day

August 2087. Madison Riley is 64, Bryson is 65, Keri is 26, Willow is 6, Lily is 5. 


 
Madison was disappointed in her retirement. She hated the way her body had changed. She hated having all this time and no hobbies to fill it with. She hated that her daughter was gone constantly, and would soon be gone for years. She hated that her husband was still working, because it reminded her that she was not. She hated that her only granddaughter had a new "mother" now. There was a lot to be disappointed in. 

Keri was stationed out in Washington now, deep in the snowy mountain forests on some military base. No cell signal, but she returned Madison's calls a couple times a week. She made a trip back home whenever she could, while she still could. But Madison might as well get used to her being gone. The big mission across the cosmos was always looming out there on the horizon, two or three years away. Like a mother given her child’s terminal diagnosis. 

No, it wasn't that dramatic. Keri would be home alive again some day. Probably—an adventure like that was far from risk-free. She could only hope that she and Bryson were still alive to meet her when she came back. Five years was a long time at their age. 

Madison just received the sad news that Micah Phoenix was dying—they went to high school and college together, they were in each other’s weddings. It was apparently that season of their lives now that their close friends would start to die off. Meanwhile, Madison's doctor told her that she was healthy as a horse—You have the heart and joints of a 25-year-old, you’ll outlive them all. 

Sometimes that felt like a curse. So much time. What would she even do with it all? 

it's your day: Selena

August 4, 2087. Selena Sosa is 24. Luis Talbot is 23.

previously: Andre's confession at graduation // gossip floating around about Luis


 
He bought her a necklace for her birthday. She could tell immediately from the shape of the box that it wasn’t a ring. 

empire

February - July 2087. Justin Kim is 27, Stephanie Nova is 27, Willow is 5, Lily is 5, Benji is 11 months. 


Justin wanted to believe that he might look back on this time, years from now, and recognize it as the launching point of the best part of his life. Doesn't every great success story have an absolute low from which a person can only rise? In twenty years, when he’d made himself a successful career as CEO of several companies and holdings, when he gazed out over the landscape of his success—a warm and spacious home, happy children, spoiled wife, a yacht, a vintage Ferrari 250 convertible in red, and another one in yellow just for good measure—he’d look back on this moment and feel humbled and proud that he made it so far. So much treasure built with his own two hands. That moment, if it ever happened, felt so very far away right now. 

Justin sat in front of his former boss, uneasy about the look of remorse on his face. “I’m so glad to hear that you’ve recovered,” Adam said. “But I’m so sorry to say, the job you had before doesn’t exist anymore.” 

postcards from a bug on the wall

July 2087.

In Fort Palmetto, half of the high school class gathers at the Collins residence to celebrate Jacob Collins' 15th birthday. The shady yard and chilly pool make the perfect place to ride out this mid-summer heat wave.  

real music, part 3

June 21, 2087. Vale Akiyama is 26, Vicky Garth is 22, Lauren Sanders is 14, Blossom McCarthy is 28, April Hutchins is 23, Ariel Beech is 19, Josie Booth is 20, Lara Nova is 34, Patrick Nova is 36. 

"real music, part 1," "real music, part 2"


Vale still had his bags to pack and a flight up north to catch for the long-awaited Copper Island Summer Solstice Festival. But first, he wondered what to wear for his big night. He tried on a few combinations and texted the selfies to Vicky.

     Vale: Which one says “musical superstar”?

     Vicky: I don’t know, but that vest says arrogant and pretentious.

     Vale: And the other one?

     Vicky: I don’t know, just pretentious I guess.