A to Z 2026 Grand Finale - Z - Contessina’s Collection of Human Treasures
Michelangelo spoke. Shelby turned her head, astonished. “You…said something?” “Yes,” he said. “I said she found me in a zoo. In Tampa, Florida.” “I don’t understand,” she said. “There is much to explain,” he said. “You’re talking,” she said. “She didn’t expect this, of course,” he said. “Among her people mine are known as westons. In their culture it’s not even a specific term. It means common. It means we’re easy to take for granted. An irony. “There aren’t really so many of us. But we have often been found in zoos, across the galaxy, very much because of our scarcity. It was the Bith’Mari who began this practice, during the age of the Campaigns. The Puck found us in one of their zoos, and fell in love. It was the beginning of a healing process for them. Again, an irony. “There is so much you need to know. “In another lifetime her name was Llura. Llura had a child, a son. In her life of exile she had previously believed she had found a home on Stringfellow, where many dreams flourish,...