Published Today: The Assured Expectation of Things Hoped For, a novella by Shawn Mihalik
Shawn MihalikFrom the Back Cover
When the beliefs of your parents are thrust upon you, where exists the line between self-discovery and betrayal? What does it mean to have faith? And is faith ever worth abandoning?
In this novella from the author of Brand-Changing Day and Particles, young Kristy Kelly is forced to confront these questions. But like all answers, the ones Kristy finds come with consequences. And while watching the events of Kristy’s life unfold, a young man in her community wonders if asking questions just isn’t worth it after all.
Excerpt (Chapter One)
I remember Kristy Kelly.
I think everyone else remembers her too, even if they pretend they don’t. Even if they pretend, like we’re supposed to, that she never existed, that she wasn’t one of us and that she didn’t talk to us and try to smile at us even though she was never really feeling it.
I always had a sort of crush on her, from the time we were very small—I was six and she eight, and I wonder sometimes if my fondness for her at that age was stoked by the years she had on me, by the experience that came from having braces (when I saw her braces I wanted braces so she could see that I was mature like she was, mature enough for braces), by the experience that came from having an Elder as a father, the experience that came from having a father, from having a mother and from having, at one point, a whole family.
The last time I saw Kristy Kelly was a few years ago, at the wedding. Most people who attended that wedding pretended she wasn’t there. They pretended they didn’t see her in the back corner of the hotel ballroom, looking cold and uncomfortable, knowing she didn’t belong there. They pretended she didn’t come for the ceremony and then leave after not even a hug from the bride or groom.
I pretend, too, because I’m supposed to. We all pretend so that we might bring them back. It’s a kindness. An act of love. We do not speak of those who are like the dead. And we do not act as if we remember.
But I remember Kristy Kelly. I remember her.
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