Catharsis by Lada Ray

Before recorded history, before Humanity, since times immemorial, the Earth Keepers have been watching over our planet. Marked at birth and endowed with supreme powers, the nine chosen ones are the Earth’s record keepers and moderators, and when the time comes, the ultimate decision makers. This is the first of their chronicles.
The population of the red planet Catharsis, on the outskirts of the Andromeda Galaxy, is exceedingly beautiful. Women wear exquisite gowns and gorgeous hairdos, men look stately and dignified, and children are adorable angels. Even the old people are beautiful: nice grannies knitting scarves or baking delicious cakes and cheerful grandpas taking morning strolls to discuss the latest news at a nearby café.
But Catharsians harbor a terrible secret, which they are ashamed to admit even to themselves. The thing is, they have to share the planet with another race, which they call the Uglies, although the Uglies themselves prefer to be called Lemurians. Alas, no one on Catharsis cares what the Uglies prefer. Being ugly is considered a contagious disease, and because of that the Uglies are herded into a special reservation, called Camp Ugly, where they live out their drudgery behind an electric fence.
Yet the Uglies don’t seem to fret as they work in the fields, raise children and sing their beautiful songs about Mother of All, the Goddess Mu. And so, both races co-exist without much interaction—one in their large and beautiful homes, the other in their tiny huts behind the electric fence, until the ultimate disaster strikes.
Morf is a seventeen-year-old Ugly who finds himself in the middle of it all. He is thrust fatefully into the leadership position when no one else can fill its shoes.
Will the catastrophe bring to light everyone’s true beauty and true ugliness? Will planet Catharsis survive? What destiny lies in store for the Uglies?
We are about to find out… 

This is Book 1 of the Earth Keepers Chronicles, a new series of visionary/metaphysical fantasy shorts, written as prequel and companion to the upcoming YA fantasy thriller trilogy, The Earth Shifter.”
Catharsis! This book may be only 27 pages, but it wowed me! I’m usually not drawn to short stories at all, I just stay so disconnected. The book gave off a pleasant sense of whimsy, at the same time, it underlined crucial lessons about understanding/bullying/stereotypes/societal norms. I just all-around adored it! It was just so different from everything else I’ve ever read. I loved the background stories, the lessons it expressed.  Several of them closely mirrored my favorite Bible stories. It didn’t leave me empty like other short stories, it filled me up completely. I absolutely recommend this book to people looking for a satisfying read.