Her Neighbor's Keeper
by Jessica Snell There were three rules at the Grove, the high-density housing unit where Lena lived: Bodily autonomy is to be respected. (This meant: no touching anyone without their permission .) Spatial autonomy is to be respected. (This meant: your belongings must fit within your cubicle .) Resource allocation is to be equitable. (This meant: no hogging the bathrooms .) Other cubicles in the Grove were constantly in danger of breaking Rule 2, but hoarding had never been a problem for Lena. The only thing she kept in her cubicle, besides the very basics of clothing and toiletries, was the terrarium her grandmother had given her. It was her sole inheritance—not valuable, but pretty. And Lena couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if she put a fairy patch on it. *** If I put the fairy patch on Nana’s terrarium , it might ruin it. Fairy patches were unpredictable. That was the fun of them. They were like those stupid little scratch-off cards the grocers offered when you boug
