In the years after the Final War, the Council of Women decide to secede from men. They create a world of their own away from men, where they can raise their children without fear. Once a year men may visit briefly to procreate. Boys are sent to the Land of Men when they reach puberty. At eleven, Bergman was sent across the sea and placed with his fathers, Spencer and Harris. Years later, he meets Hastings at the Beach Festival, an annual event for young men. It’s love at first sight for Bergman. But the course of true love never runs smoothly. In time Hastings desires a son, a subject Bergman paid little thought to. Yet their son Taylor brings great joy to their lives. Life is further complicated when Hastings is chosen to travel to the Land of Women to father children. He wants to accept, but Bergman can’t understand why he would consider going. Isn’t he happy with what he already has? If he goes, what will that do to their relationship? To their future? Is this a betrayal, or is it something else?

In the Land of Men

We stayed in the terminal until we were collected by the man who we’d refer to as ‘Father’. I remember when my name was called.


One of the attendants, a stout man whose belly hung over the top of his sarong, pointed at me, and beckoned me over.


I stood up and said good bye to the two remaining boys.


“I hope we see each other again,” I said, but I wasn’t certain we would.


“Hurry up, boy,” barked the stout attendant.


I had no other possessions aside from a necklace of shells my mother had given me. I still have it somewhere. I touched it, my hand lingering there as I started to walk towards the attendant.


I couldn’t look at the attendant or the man standing beside him.


“This is Spencer, your new father.”


A large hand came into my field of vision. I put my hand out and the man, my father, shook it


Chapter 3