***
Madryn, too, was having a bad day. Was anyone going to appreciate the heroic efforts she’d made in her journey to Terra? Instead of being praised when she reached her home, she’d been scolded for her dishevelled appearance and sent upstairs to wash and change, her mother’s horrified shrieks still ringing in her ears.
All of a sudden everything was too much effort, and she’d barely managed to drop her torn, muddy clothes on the floor before collapsing onto the bed. She lay there, staring at a spot on the wall, digging her nails into her palms, before drifting into uneasy sleep.