Harlan’s Yard

A Handler’s Inventory Prequel · ~9,000 words

Summer, 1984. Twelve-year-old Tom Salk spends a week with his Uncle Harlan in a small Illinois river town, sorting inventory in a warehouse full of other people’s things. One brass candlestick feels different from the rest, warmer, heavier, present in a way he can’t explain. Harlan notices. He doesn’t explain it either.

“It sat in my hand with a seriousness that the other candlesticks hadn’t had, as if it had opinions about being held and was concentrating on them.”

Coming soon — final edits in progress. Check back shortly.