My Mothers Deadly Glass Cage

Since the age of two, Maddie has never stepped outside. Her mother insists she has severe environmental allergies, so their home is a sealed, sterile fortress: windows permanently shut, air conditioning forbidden, everyone masked. To keep Maddie company, her older sister Paige was pulled from school and homeschooled alongside her.

One suffocating summer day, Paige tears off her mask, opens a window, and locks Maddie in, hoping the air will kill her. Maddie lies down and waits to die, wanting her sister free. But morning comes with no swelling, no sneezing, no reaction at all.

When Paige sneezes and her eyes turn bloodshot, their mother panics and rushes her away with a bottle of "Vitamin C." Maddie removes her own mask and breathes the unfiltered air. Her airway is clear. Piece by piece, the past decade stops making sense.