Months later, as Milly returned early to the barn, a pickup truck approached from the other direction. Leaving her motorbike on its side, she crept on foot, darting from bush to rock.
The pickup parked.
Crouching, Milly peered through her rifle scope.
Father and a red-haired woman got out. He opened the barn door.
Milly slinked up to the barn, finding a peephole in the siding. Father had left the door ajar. It was light enough to see.
He kissed the woman on her neck. She smiled, closing her eyes, head tilted toward the light. Milly’s half-brother had a red-headed friend; this red-haired woman was that boy’s mother. Father squeezed her chest. She got on her knees in front of him. Then he got behind her, pushing her over a haybale.
Milly watched them in silence.
At first, the woman seemed to enjoy Father — then her face changed. Perhaps she didn’t.
She was pretty. She was young, enough. She was married — to another man. That’s how Father was.
Having seen enough, Milly slid behind the barn, well out of sight.
Inside, Father stopped moving. Then came the unmistakable rattle of a belt buckle.
Milly must’ve heard the truck door shut. But it didn’t pull away. The woman sat within, waiting for Father. Milly also waited, yet couldn’t have known …
Inside the barn, Father’s hand eased towards his pistol. He gripped, then pulled gingerly from its holster.
The cat gawked, unaware of the danger it faced.
His weapon now free, aimed low at the creature, Father looked towards the hay bales, then up to the loft, and then — stamped his foot.
The cat scurried off.
Father holstered his pistol, locked the door, and drove off in the truck with the red-haired woman.
Milly turned her key in the padlock, swung open the door, and rushed to the hay bales. The cat’s bottle cap lay overturned in the dirt near a tiny puddle of water.
[Author’s Note]
tl;dr: I’ve got your back. Hang in there.
The long version: Though Who Will Save Her? may seem disjointed at times, there is a discernible plot and character development pattern following classic lines, based upon many, many of hours of research, writing, professional editing, beta-readers, critiques, and tears galore.
Act 2 was by far the hardest to write: dark yet hopeful, grim but never grotesque. It makes me nervous, too.
With great respect for the reader and for Milly (the powerful and complex protagonist that she is), we must develop, and set the stage, and there is anxiety in darkness before the light arrives—like a roller coaster. But at times, you may ask, “What’s the point? Does this just get worse?”
Hang on, you’re in for a ride. I’ve worked extremely hard to ensure this won’t disappoint, especially the ending. Promise.
If a publisher’s imprint rested upon this paper book, arriving with a friend’s recommendation and/or positive literary review, that would ease the unknowing.
There’s none of that, so I’ve taken an authorial authority, and risk, addressing you, dear reader, pushing this Substack medium to its fullest, offering soothing directly.
I guide you to the About page if you have further content questions, please.
Thank you so very much for being part of this.
Thank you for the reassurance...