One for All — Part Seven
By Resa Nelson
“Please tell me this will be the last time,” Mila says.
In a flash, I remember all of the people we’ve hired over the years. Mila and Jeremy and Yani. Lisa and Mohamed and Raul and all the others.
My family. They were my joy. They were my safe place.
They were the finest people I knew.
Now everything I forgot comes back rapid-fire until my head is brimming with memories.
I’m me again. My life is my own again. Everything is normal.
I give Mila’s arm a reassuring pat. “You worry too much. This iteration was the best yet. There’s so much to tell. Let’s get everyone in the debriefing room as soon as possible. Next time is bound to be even better. We’re getting close to success, Mila. We’re almost there.”
Mila sags. “Don’t tell me you want to go through this again.”
What a lovely girl she is.
Mila and all the others I’ll soon be seeing again in the debriefing room.
They are the finest people I know.
If I’m being honest with myself, there’s nothing I’d enjoy more right now than a cup of tea and a hot bath to soothe my aching bones.
But that’s not what we were about, me and my husband and our girls. The family tattoo wasn’t a whim. We wanted a symbol as a constant reminder of who we were and what we stood for and to always stay the course.
I’m the sole survivor. The only one who can carry on what we as a family believed in. I’ll do as many iterations as it takes—for as long as it takes—until we get this right.
I smile at Mila and wonder if what I’m about to say is something she hears every time, because I can’t remember what I’ve said at this stage, time after time after time.
“Humor me,” I say to Mila. “Just one more time.”
Resa Nelson is a member of Science Fiction Writers of America. She is also a graduate of the Clarion Science Fiction Writers Workshop. She has sold more than 20 short stories to magazines and anthologies, including Clarkesworld, Science Fiction Age, Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Sword & Sorceress XXIII, Women of Darkness II, Future Boston, and 2041. She was the TV/Movie columnist for Realms of Fantasy magazine for 13 years and also wrote articles for SCI FI magazine. She has published 24 novels. Visit her website at resanelson.com.
Copyright © 2025 Resa Nelson
What a beautiful story! I really enjoyed the rapid fire memory disassociation at the beginning, and how it all fell into place to give us hope. Great job!