The Poppy Fields

In a southern desert, there is a place where the rocks appear as one, unbroken red patch, but the color is not sand, stone, or soil. It is actually thousands of people, each asleep in a hospital bed in a set of identical red pajamas. They are part of an experiment that places individuals into a medically induced state of sleep in order to escape grief. The hope is that by the time they awake, their brains will have processed their losses, and they will be healed.

Ava Jones wakes up after having fallen asleep while working. She is an illustrator/artist who both draws and crafts ceramics, and half of her face is now coated in charcoal after resting on her drawing. She has anxiety and has not been sleeping well lately, so she is not surprised that she fell asleep at her desk.

She feeds her dog, PJ, his breakfast, makes tea, and prepares to leave for the airport. She is on her way to find her missing sister, Emmy. Emmy is at some sort of medical facility called the “Poppy Fields,” and no one is truly sure what goes on there. Ava is not even sure if she will be able to enter the facility and see her sister.