Nextype
ShortStory 4,033 words Recommended by 4 award/anthology sources
"Mirae sits on her bed, parting her hair with one hand and feeling for the access port on the back of her head with the other. She finds the notched edges of the cap and twists counterclockwise until it comes loose. Her eye twitches as she slides the plug into her skull. The sensation isn’t strong enough for her to say it hurts, but she doesn’t know how else to describe it."
Content warnings 3
abusedeath-of-a-loved-oneillness-and-pandemic
Quasar links out; the story lives on Strange Horizons, where the author gets the click.