Dandelion Sky

sizable software company founded by yet another college dropout, had bought Ethan's eighth startup, and only true success. On the face of it, it was nothing to get excited about. Until you got

ller deals" knew something exceptional had happened, and talked of the acquisition with a sense of awe approaching rever

ny, and that had made a world of difference. He'd had very few investors, and even fewer employees w

aving the mother of all lucid dreams. He was living the Silicon Valley pi

the age of thirty-- a promise he'd quietly made to himself before entering community college fifteen yea

wasn't h

ver wo

*

rable; the remaining letters seemed so unnecessary, like an appe

ladies' room at the grubby gas station just now, but if they had, her large camo backpack would've been the first thing they spotted. It was a bulky beast, the way it dragged one shoulder lower than the other. She had a lot to carry. Her pack was jammed with

randpa called her his wise child for furthering her education, but he was always saying things like that, things to make he

appened so fast. His stroke had been sudden and raw and recent

ced Jo back t

to classes, she was presently without a home. Jo hadn't been "without a home" for long, but she already despised the word homeless. As thou

the truest sense of the

had issues though, bigger than the filthiness of his apartment, and Jo knew she'd have to be crawling the sidewalks before she e

here, so she had to depend on her own strength even more, and not on someone else's. She'd been lucky so far.

at her, breaking t

o what hurt, and grinned. Oh, that felt

eal place to sleep, that van had been her refuge. Maybe its owner kept it unlocked all the time-- Jo had no idea-- all she knew was that she kept finding its doors unlocked at night. It'd been

semester, and she'd be able to use the coming summer

as her

g it in any way. She always left it as she had found it. No one cared. Not wanting to test her theory, Jo tried not to attract attention as she rounded the hangar, and spotted the van parked beside the stru

e back, she made

ed before takeoff. She loved the sounds of the airport, the rush of engines as aircraft lifted into the sky. The controlled power, the freedom of flight was something

t herself relax and