“The Boy”

A little story I did this year, “The Boy,” is up today on the Belgian site GrandPapier.

It’s a story idea that I’ve had for awhile and actually started a few times and gave up. But in the spirit of the past two years of trying to do anything and everything, I finished a version. It may not be exactly as I envisioned it, but I’ve been placing more emphasis on getting work done than having it match some nebulous idea of how it should look. “Finished” will always be better than “in constant process.”

Anyway, the story is based on my four years living in El Dorado Hills, where I snuck out at night and, during the day, rode my little BMX bike through the hills. Not included are all the cows. All of this is gone now, replaced by houses and strip malls. The sprawl from Folsom to El Dorado Hills along the 50 has completely covered the landscape of my youth.

https://grandpapier.org/nick-mullins/the-boy?lang=en