On Independence Day 2191 the village did not have elaborate celebrations. The poor harvest and loss of livestock to disease tempered our celebratory spirit. Misty suspected the technicians coming from the south infected some villagers who in turn passed the virus onto to the animals. Returning home from the lake on the afternoon after my birthday, my father frightened me by announcing the end was approaching faster than he had anticipated. As usual, he was sitting by the window observing the boundless horizon. “Even before you were born, I envisioned your life after I would no longer be there with you. It’s my way of wanting to be a part of you until the end. I can see you following the same road as I did, without all of my considerable shortcomings. Standing there in the light, you have s
