Daily Science Fiction is an on-line magazine specializing in science fiction, fantasy, and everything in between. A new story is published every weekday and sent to subscribers via e-mail, and stories appear a week later on dailysciencefiction.com.

People were gathering, and the buzz of anticipation was almost palpable. I sipped my  champagne and scanned the crowd. I caught someone’s eye and began to smile, but they swiftly  looked away. A quick glance around revealed others furtively watching us too. The surreptitious glances were making me uncomfortable, but Mum didn’t appear to notice. We had been invited to a Mid-Summer party on the Big Field. Mum and I...