Excerpt:

[from the first chapter]

“Be careful, Iris. Changes are coming for you too… maybe not this year, but certainly in two years at most. Suddenly these things that don’t make sense will start to take up your attention too.” Iris asked if it was permanent. Aunt Delia smiled, and cocked her head to the side… as she did when she was thinking.

“Well,” she said slowly, “I suppose that for some people it is permanent, and other people have managed to come out ok.”

Iris knew at once what Aunt Delia had meant. Her mother had not made it out of The Change, while Aunt Delia had come out ok.

Suddenly, it dawned on Iris that it might be genetic. Perhaps living with Aunt Delia would not protect her… perhaps she was doomed to the fate of her mother. She would become quite dumb, and would stay that way.

“How much time do I have left?” she asked Aunt Delia. She realized she sounded a little desperate, so she added, “I mean, will it come on quickly, or will I see it coming? When will the change come?”

Aunt Delia looked thoughtful again. “I suppose it is different with everyone. Your mother started to change around twelve… but she was hoping and waiting for it.”

She looked Iris over.

“You haven’t started developing yet, and you seem to have no interest in the whole affair. I’d guess you have at least a year… maybe a little longer than that. But it is coming for you. I don’t know anyone who completely escaped it.”

“You mean I will LOSE my mind?”

Aunt Delia laughed. “Well, yes, I suppose that it what it is like.” She smiled. “Probably, once it comes, you’ll forget you ever wanted to avoid it.”

Iris understood the seriousness of this accusation. She was going to LOSE HER MIND and she wouldn’t even remember who she was before. Annalisa clearly didn’t. If this was true, Iris might not have much time left. Aunt Delia seemed to know a lot of things… and in general she was an optimist. She tried to see the bright side of things, and never exaggerated in order to be impressive or dramatic. So if she said that this Change was coming for Iris, she knew she had better prepare. It was on that day that she made The Plan.