A young boy has to stand alone at his mother’s funeral, the rest of the family shunning him, as he caused the accident that killed her. At the wake, he hides in the corner until the others have gone before his father throws him out of the house and disowns him. Cast out and running away he starts walking to nowhere, not knowing who or what he is. Surviving by stealing he just keeps walking on and on trying to leave his past, regretting every moment and not knowing what life he has in front of him.

I was very surprised by just how good this short story is. I’m not a usual fan of the genre and had no knowledge of the series it is a prelude to. What remains is a short powerful story giving exactly what is needed to set the scene for the stories. Without naming people, it shows the tragic backstory of the protagonist, both the accident and what led to it as well as the harsh immediate impact for the family. What also works well is staying within the mind of the boy and his knowledge of the world around him, which stays consistent and cleverly lets the reader know what is going on without outright spelling it out. The character’s brief appearances are still enough to get across what they mean to the boy, before he is forced to move away. I didn’t see any spelling or formatting errors while reading, although the story was more than good enough to make me miss them if they were there.

Overall, a stunning short piece of fiction, that surpasses its genre and gives real depth to a tragic tale.