Ben Rosenbaum's "House Beyond Your Sky" - CC licensed

By Cory Doctorow at 7:43 pm Tuesday, Jan 9

Ben Rosenbaum sez, "My story 'The House Beyond Your Sky' -- published by Strange Horizons and linked therefrom -- is under a creative commons license. I (hand-wringingly) solicit remixes. (The story has been picked up for three of this years' four Years' Best SF collections.) This is also the first time Strange Horizons, the longest-surviving of all the SF webzines to date, has actually put up creative commons licensing info for a story on their site."

Matthias browses through his library of worlds.

In one of them, a little girl named Sophie is shivering on her bed, her arms wrapped around a teddy bear. It is night. She is six years old. She is crying, as quietly as she can.

The sound of breaking glass comes from the kitchen. Through her window, on the wall of the house next door, she can see the shadows cast by her parents. There is a blow, and one shadow falls; she buries her nose in the teddy bear and inhales its soft smell, and prays.

Matthias knows he should not meddle. But today his heart is troubled. Today, in the world outside the library, a pilgrim is heralded. A pilgrim is coming to visit Matthias, the first in a very long time.

Link (Thanks, Ben!)