Chapter Text
Hello, readers! <3
Firstly, I want to thank you for your support and your readership. I am honored by every kudo, every comment, and every read that I get. It inspires me to be better, and this writing hobby of mine is my self-care and my escape, so I also want to thank you for helping me stay healthy, too. You all are the best!
Secondly, I wanted to give a little overview and preface to the story you are about to read, so you can make an informed decision before committing to my story. This tale includes a lot of my personal journey woven within, and while I know many of you know me at varying degrees of familiarity, there are some parts of this story that show a more vulnerable side of myself. I am choosing to move forward–which I know puts me at risk–with some of the themes in this story because I believe it brings meaning and validity to what the characters are experiencing, because I have personally experienced acute grief in my own life and these themes and worldviews have profoundly affected me as a person.
This story will include some violent imagery, personal traumas, and mature themes. This is also set in a small, midwestern town in the 1920’s, so there will be themes referencing Christian faith, and characters who ascribe to the Christian faith as there is a small town community church in Ordon that several of the characters attend. This story explores many different approaches to grieving, and grieving through the eyes of faith is one of them. That part is personal for me, as I am a person of faith, and it was (and still is) a huge part of my grieving process.
16 years ago I lost my brother and only sibling to suicide. Evan and I were very close. Death of a close family member is always a huge impact, but the added complexity of the suddenness and nature of his passing created such complex emotions in myself and in my parents. I have never experienced the death of a spouse, but I have a few close friends who have. Grief changes the way we look at the world. It’s one of those things that you can’t understand until you’ve lived it yourself. Every journey is different–and those differences can play out in immediate families in varied ways. My mother’s grief was different from mine, and sometimes it was hard to understand the way she processed it. My father’s grief was different still. I highly recommend the book, “Tear Soup” by Pat Schwiebert and Chuck DeKlyen. For anyone who has experienced acute loss, it is such a wonderful book, and it changed me and the way I saw my own grief, as well as my parents’. It helped us understand one another better!
In this story, Lincoln (Link) Shepherd is the widowed father of Colin, who has just turned 8 years old. They have been grieving the loss of Midna, Link’s wife of 10 years, and Colin’s momma. The story centers mainly around these two and their grief journeys, which the prologue will address initially, but they’re only 3 years into their journey, and for Link, it’s as if it happened yesterday. Grief is funny like that–some days it feels distant, and then something triggers and you’re right back to where you first started. Again, difficult to explain until you’ve actually lived it.
Zelda is in an abusive and controlling relationship and flees from that relationship at the beginning of the book. Again, the prologue will set that up a bit. She has her own trauma and grief that she needs to process too, and when someone is in active trauma, that affects how they interact with others.
All that said, this story is meant to be honest, real, and raw. It’s my first big attempt at some angst, and I also wanted to be up front with you all about the themes you will see in this story so you can decide for yourself whether or not it is appropriate for you. It is rated M for mature themes such as trauma, violence, and sexual content. I won’t go too crazy, I promise!
Thank you again for trusting me with your time. And for supporting me. I’m excited to share my story with you! I wanted to post this chapter so you could begin following the story before I post the first official chapter!
Also, a HUGE thank you to my beta, @spices28 for keeping me on the straight and narrow with grammar, period references, and being an awesome sounding board and cheerleader!
Sincerely,
Erin (Flute)
Don’t miss any art content or other fun stuff associated with this story! Follow me on:
Instagram: @/flutefemmeart
Tumblr: @/flutefemme
X: @/flutefemme