A Small Silent Ordeal

by Larry Kimmel

"And at the word tragedy, Michael wondered how Daniel was doing in the Pittsburgh hospital. His mind adverted from the day of the accident, itself, and skipped to a day, two weeks ago, when he had run out of the house and up the field to the woods above the house, headed for his secret hideout in the Enchanted Forest, way up on Schaffer's Hill. He was headed there to think things out, but once there, he had found out things he had never thought to know." This is the story of a boy's anguished guilt for which there seemed no remedy, until he chances on a mysterious stranger high in the woodland above Niche Hollow, who talks a down-to-earth philosophy. This meeting is followed by a series of unexpected, and even more unlikely, encounters and events. At last, Michael not only finds himself free of guilt, but has proved himself to himself, and triumphed over his old rival, Alfie. He realizes that living is either a hardship or an adventure, all depending on how you view it - an adventure you don't want to miss.

101 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1993