The Invisible Hour

The story jumps forward 15 years and into Mia’s point of view as she begins to resist the Community’s rules and expectations. Mia has never been farther than the neighboring town, Blackwell, to work at the Saturday farmer’s market selling tomatoes, which are so good that they always sell out. She often works alongside her mother, Ivy, even though they aren’t supposed to acknowledge their familial relationship. Only Joel is acknowledged as the father of the Community and, by extension, the father of all the Community’s children.

As Mia works the stand, she thinks of various moments shared with her mother outside of the Community. When they have stolen moments of private time hunting mushrooms, sneaking off to swim, and now working side-by-side at the stall, Ivy tells Mia forbidden fairy tales and stories about Ivy’s life before the Community. Today, Mia asks about the library and asks if it’s the castle from their stories. Ivy tells Mia about the Athenaeum, a library that she visited regularly as a young girl, and allows Mia to sneak away to see the Blackwell Public Library. Mia finds a nursery