“You’re sure you want to do this?”
“I’m tired of always being the shortest person in the room,” I reply.
“The consequences–”
“It’s safe, right?”
“Yes.” Dr. Morton sighs. “The risks associated with this procedure are minimal.”
“That’s all I need to know.”
I sign the paperwork and prepare for surgery.
The bone modification is a success. Months later, I’m an incredible six-foot-two–with a trade-off.
“Excuse me,” I ask a shorter customer in the grocery store aisle. “Could you hand me that box on the top shelf?”
My arms don’t have quite the same reach that they used to.
C.L. Sidell grew up playing with toads in the rain and indulging in speculative fiction. Her work has appeared in Apparition Lit, Dark Moments, F&SF, Martian Magazine, Medusa Tales Magazine, Orion’s Belt, Strange Horizons, and others. You can find her on Twitter @sidellwrites
themartianmagazine.com 