Hinckley, Minnesota, 1894

The people of Hinckley are going about their normal every day lives when a fire rips through.  Some are saved, some perish.  The ones who survive are wondering why they lived and the ones they loved didn’t.  They are also wondering who the black clad figure is in the woods.

Ellie believes the monster in the woods is her mother.  When the black monster is being hurt, Ellie steps in to save it and she is shot for her efforts.

Josef is saved by the monster in the woods.  He wants so much to believe it is his wife, Maggie, who was one of the ones which perished.

Arla wants the monster to be her daughter who died because of what Arla did to her.  She is racked with unbelievable guilt over this.

Whose monster is it?  The surviving people of the fire will come to realize it’s not a monster in the woods but someone who was hurting worse than them before the fire.

What a wonderful story.  There is actually a town named Hinckley.  There is also a museum in this town honoring and remembering the victims and their surviving loved ones.  Highly recommended

June 26, 2007