Fiction | December 18, 2023

Wilderness Survival 

Genevieve Abravanel  

1. Water is Life

I had mostly tuned out the noise of YouTube in the living room when Candy asked me for a condom. I stared at her. She’s ten. 

“I’ll just look in your bathroom,” she said.  

I sat still for a moment. On the Internet, someone laughed. Then I took a deep breath and walked to the bathroom. I didn’t hurry. There were no condoms in the bathroom. There were a few left in the nightstand, and they weren’t likely to be used.  

But when I reached the bathroom, Candy wasn’t there. She was already in the bedroom, sitting on her father’s side of the bed, a frown of concentration as she tried to tear open the orange foil square.  

“Let me help you,” I said and caught myself. “Why do you need a condom?”  

“I don’t need it.”  

“Is this for school?”  

Candy shook her head, fitted the foil zigzags between her teeth, and delicately ripped the package open. She grinned as she wiggled the little latex sleeve out, like unwrapping a long-awaited Christmas present.  

“What for, then?”  

“You’ll see.”  

It had only been six months since her father died, leaving us both adrift. My sister kept reminding me that Candy needed time. She would open up, and it didn’t mean anything that we never talked about it.