The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere

Brilliant. Ended too soon. This is why I read spec fic short stories - there's a special genre of them which is lively, well-written, and totally different from the sci-fi/fantasy books they're ostensibly related to.

Another thing: this story made me realize how many good spec fic shorts I've read and lost. Like Practicing My Sad Face (which I've since remembered right now), and that one about invading aliens that look like piles of sticks and talk by clacking the sticks around. Or the aliens that invade and take on “comforting” forms like toasters. I think I found those in Apex & Abyss Magazine, but can't find them anymore - a great tragedy!