R.F. Kuang's “Making Space” Is an Ominous Ode to Parenthood, Sacrifice and the Future — Read an Excerpt! (Exclusive)

Jess is moving successful nan woods adjacent her location erstwhile she sees nan child. He’s lying successful a fetal position successful a small copse of trees, hands tucked neatly nether his chin, arsenic if he is sleeping. She thinks, astatine first, that he is lying connected a achromatic mat. But past she draws nearer and sees that nan crushed astir him is burned. All nan writer turned to ash successful a perfect, still-smoking circle.

“Hello?”

He can’t beryllium older than 8, 9. He’s terribly thin. Standing supra him, she tin spot his pronounced clavicles, his delicate wrists. There are patches of scorch marks crossed his exposed skin, arsenic if someone’s been putting cigars retired connected his arms. He’s wearing nan strangest point crossed his mouth, immoderate achromatic contraption that resembles a mid-century state mask. His eyes are closed. She feels a stab of dread, but past she crouches down, and she sees he is still breathing. That mini thorax rises and falls, ever truthful slightly.

Jess doesn’t cognize overmuch astir caring for children, but she tin show this was nary game, nary guiltless accident. This kid needs help.

She cups her hands astir her rima and shouts. “Hello?”

She shouts again and again. The woods are silent.

She reaches down to touch nan child, past hesitates. There are rules astir this. You can’t conscionable spell astir rubbing different people’s children, fto unsocial prime them up. But her location is little than half a mile from here, she doesn’t person her telephone connected her, and she doesn’t want to time off nan boy unsocial successful nan woods.

She didn’t cognize children could beryllium truthful light. She’s thought plentifulness astir this moment, watching different parents swinging their children astir astatine nan park. It’s ever seemed effortless. But she learns, arsenic she slides her arms nether his bladed frame, what vulnerable creatures children are. It’s for illustration he weighs thing astatine all.

They’ve laid nan kid retired connected their surviving room couch. He woke concisely up erstwhile Jess brought him home, but he’s fallen dormant again. She’s tucked a broad astir him, and his arms person crept beneath it, hugging it against his chest.

Chris is pissed, but he’s still a master — an ER doctor, successful fact, which intends that each day, astir nan clock, he determines whether group are astir to die. This kid is not dying, but he is acold from thriving. His cheeks are hollowed. He is terribly light, his ribs prominent. Chris guesses that humor activity would uncover each sorts of vitamin deficiencies. Regardless of what happened successful nan woods, this kid has been neglected, possibly abused, for months.

The boy seems to understand English. He responds erstwhile Chris asks him to assistance his arms, to move his head. He nods erstwhile they inquire if he’s tired, and shakes his caput erstwhile they inquire if he’d for illustration to eat something. But he will respond to thing else. They inquire him really he sewage there, wherever his parents are, what he was doing successful nan woods. But it’s for illustration he’s gone deaf — he conscionable stares astatine them, blinking, giving nary denotation he’s heard them.

“Should person near him wherever he was,” says Chris.

“What? I couldn’t conscionable time off him retired there,” says Jess.

“What if he was playing?”

“He wasn’t retired playing. He was near there,” she says.

“Well, that’s conscionable great,” says Chris. “You’ve stolen a child.”

“I didn’t bargain him.”

She’s done nan responsible thing. She’s already called her friend Brianne, a societal worker. She hasn’t stolen a child.

But Chris is stepping retired of nan room, hands thrown dramatically successful nan air. “I don’t person clip for this,” he said. “I’ve sewage an overnight successful an hour. You fig this 1 out.”

Brianne agrees pinch Jess: The kid needs a spot to sleep, astatine slightest for tonight.

“So he should enactment pinch us?” Jess asks. She tries not to sound excessively eager, but she can’t thief herself. “At slightest for now?”

Brianne hesitates. “Honestly, I’ve sewage kids sleeping connected nan agency floor. If you tin watch him, much powerfulness to you.”

“And past what?”

“Well, we’ll support searching for him successful nan system. There aren’t immoderate unfastened cases of children from this area that lucifer that description, but I’ve only done a cursory cheque truthful far.”

“And past if you find him — you’ll springiness him backmost to his parents?”

“Well.” Brianne gives Jess a agelong look. “Yes.”

“But why?”

“Because he’s someone’s son,” says Brianne. “There’s procedures for things for illustration this. Ideally, we’ll beryllium capable to find his family successful short order—”

“But they did this to him!”

“We don’t cognize really that happened,” says Brianne. “It mightiness not beryllium their fault.”

“Then wherever were they?” asks Jess. “Where are they now?”

“We really can’t say—”

“I’m telling you.” Jess’s sound hitches, and she regrets it — really panic she sounds. But she needs Brianne to understand she isn’t lying, isn’t playing up nan severity. “That circle, nan burns. I cognize what I saw. This wasn’t an accident. The people, whoever he was pinch — they did that to him. On purpose.”

Text copyright © 2025 by Rebecca Kuang All authorities reserved. No portion of this book whitethorn beryllium reproduced, aliases stored successful a retrieval system, aliases transmitted successful immoderate shape aliases by immoderate means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, aliases otherwise, without definitive written support of nan publisher. Published by Amazon Original Stories, Seattle, www.apub.com

Making Space and nan remainder of nan stories successful The Time Traveler's Passport travel retired Nov. 3 and is now disposable for preorder.