Box City WIP: Book Snippet #2

It is dark out in the village of Veronica, on the outskirts of Box City. Callie is grateful to live outside of the city, where there is less smog and light pollution. She has always enjoyed stargazing. It has always brought her peace to look into the dark night, full of stars. How could she feel alone when the sky was so full? How could she be overwhelmed  by anything other than that beauty? Looking up at the sky is how Callie prefers to end her nights. All the way home she gazes at the stars, staying in that peace.

Callie arrives at her small cottage on Box University’s Veronica campus. Tall red metal tree sculptures shade the cottage and provide privacy, with their ugly imitation of reality. Callie unlocks the door and waves her hand for the lights as she steps into her sanctuary. Soon she begins her nightly routine. Callie fills a kettle with water and switches it on. She takes out her favorite tea blend with herbs harvested from the indoor garden she and horticulturist V built.

As she waits, she puts left over homemade veggie soup on the stovetop. Every delightful step is an action of resistance. Other seed keepers have been disappeared for installing such technologies, and growing their own food. Food printers are how the public receive their daily calories. Callie tries not to think too much about the risk; she needs this spot of joy in her stressful days.

One thing Callie splurges to print is sugar. It can’t grow in secret, like the other plants they garden, and Veronica does not host the correct climate for its growth. Callie loves to add a little sweetness to almost everything, especially her tea. After the water is done boiling, Callie pours it over the mix of hibiscus and lavender flowers waiting in a teapot. As the tea steeps, her soup comes to a simmer on the stove V installed for her.

Once everything is ready, Callie sits in front of the fireplace. She has lit a few candles there. Someday she hopes to get wood and sit around a proper fire with her closest companions. However, the trees that remain are reserved for construction by The Destroyers. The trees go to government contractors, who build and repair properties. People can rent or buy from the government.

This is where Callie’s night ends. Sheltered in the home she banded together with Maura to purchase. Privileged in knowing what delight is in a world drained of beauty. However, there is also a burden in knowing more than what one should, and it is not so delightful to be without Maura. There is a definitive chill, in place of her warmth.

Copyright©️2026 Sojourner “Hughes” Davidson