Vast and Trunkless Legs of Stone
ShortStory 5,570 words Recommended by 2 award/anthology sources
"Mom—” “I swear, Mal, I don’t know whether to be proud of you or horrified.” I held the phone away from me. I didn’t even have it on speaker, she was just that loud. If people around me started getting horrified, I wouldn’t be able to go through with this. “Mom, it’s going to be fine. Really.” Just had to keep saying it. “Promise?”
Quasar links out; the story lives on Clarkesworld, where the author gets the click.