The Orchard Under Ice

Nora had spent three months at the polar research station. From its windows, it was sometimes hard to tell where the ground ended and the horizon began. Inside, the drill’s hum never left the walls. That morning, the team thought they had reached a new layer of rock beneath the ice. When the drill suddenly stopped, Nora leaned over the borehole. “Stuck again?” Elias asked. Nora didn’t answer. She carefully pulled a thin branch from the ice. A small red fruit hung from it. Elias stepped closer. “It isn’t frozen.” Nora touched the fruit. “No,” she said. “It looks freshly picked.”