Dana Lustery - ((exclusive))

The next morning, a fresh orange sits in the exact same spot.

Dana Lustery is 47, a senior data harmonization consultant for a global logistics firm. She lives in a minimalist, high-floor condo in a city that experiences all four seasons with punctual regularity. Dana is not cold, but she is exacting . Her friends (she has three, whom she sees on a quarterly rotation) describe her as “reliably steady.” Her colleagues describe her as “efficient to the point of invisibility.” She describes herself as “content.”

She disposes of the orange in the chute, sanitizes the counter, and runs a diagnostic on her lock. dana lustery

And somewhere, in the space between the fruit and the peel, Dana Lustery finally lets herself be surprised.

“Dan. I know you hate mess. But I’m not dead. I’m not in Nebraska. I’m here, but ‘here’ isn’t a place you can GPS. I’ve been trying to reach you for 28 years. The oranges are the only things that travel well through the… well, I don’t have a word for it. The Rind. I call it the Rind. The space between the fruit and the peel. I found a door in a bus station bathroom in 1996. I’ve been walking ever since. These oranges are the only proof I can send that I’m still real. Please. I’m not asking you to believe. I’m asking you to remember the summer we tried to build a rocket out of a soda bottle and you cried because the flight path wasn’t straight. You were 9. You told me, ‘If you can’t aim it, don’t launch it.’ I’m launching this anyway. Meet me at the Greyhound station in Omaha. December 21st. 2:17 AM. Bring an orange.” The next morning, a fresh orange sits in the exact same spot

She walks to the women’s restroom. The third stall from the left. At 2:17 AM, the air shimmers.

She does not hesitate. She holds out the orange. Dana is not cold, but she is exacting

On a Tuesday in mid-November, Dana comes home from work. Her condo is immaculate. The air smells of the unscented candle she burns for exactly 45 minutes each evening. She hangs her coat, lines up her shoes, and walks into the kitchen.