There was a clatter on the floor. Flora looked behind her in frustration. The old guy who was trying to fuck her was fumbling around distractedly because his false teeth had fallen out and tumbled to the floor. Flora sighed vocally. She got paid well for this, but this was just frustrating. Every job had its perks. Supermarket employees can drop packets of food, say ‘oops,’ write them off as damaged goods and take them ho...

A young woman, who had just ripened this year, Anqqa, of eighteen annual harvests, kneeled on the dusty ground. On this plateau on the side of the volcano, there was a distinct smell of sulphur, as well as the salt blowing off the shore meters below. The dust on the ground was soft and powdery, having been trodden by so many feet before hers. The reborn sun was kissing the horizon, the warm rays disappearing into the ocea...