Nectar of the Gods

A short story

[Note: This story previously appeared in The Asylum and Passage Prize Vol. 1. It is republished here in full.]

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Madeline’s Culmination Ceremony was scheduled for Monday, December 15, 2091, which didn’t leave her much time.

All the arrangements had been made. The paperwork was signed. Her few remaining effects were neatly packed into two small plastic storage containers. She’d been mildly looking forward to the date with relief—until yesterday.

Now it loomed like a bottomless abyss. 

The Culmination team didn’t work on weekends, so she was already getting an extra day for free. There was no getting out of it. She’d agreed to the rules when they admitted her. Adam even showed her the forms she’d signed. He’d projected them onto the wall of her room that morning and zoomed in on the fine print, circled it with his finger, double tapped to zoom. 

“See? Right here in black and white. Culmination is required on the resident’s 90th birthday. Your birthday is tomorrow. Happy early birthday, Mad…