I promise not to let you down. I’ll follow your directions precisely. I won’t hesitate. I’m punctual. Together, we can turn our solo music into symphonies. Your work will carry on. I anticipate your response.
In sound,
The Savior
Hailangelo thought to himself, “The Savior?” How humble of him, how eager to “learn.” Give me a break. He crumpled up the paper and shot it into the garbage can across the room.
What the sculptor wouldn’t know until much later was that the “Savior” would act, with or without his correspondence.
THE END
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to Tracy Ertl of Title Town Publishing for her belief in me and this story. To Joel Gotler, for sharing his immense talents, and to Christopher Ming for all his support. To Megan Trank and Michael Short of Beaufort Books for all their support. To J.J. Hollenback, for his brilliant ideas, wit, and efforts to help make this tale worth telling. To Kara Corwin, for her assistance, advice, and steady guidance. To my beta readers: Sandy Keller, Sandra Eugster, Jill Muehrcke, Katherine Perreth, Richard Chamberlin, Dan Bertalan, Michael Roeschlein, and Dinorah Cortes-Velez, for your tireless help and positive outlook. To Michael Roeschlein, for sharing the song he wrote, “Zombie Girl,” and for being the best half of the real Filing Cabinets. To Hilarie Mukavitz, for her cheering, commiseration, and historical perspective. To David Bowman and Caroline DeLuca for their editing talents. To Erika Block for her design work. To Andy Moore and Aaron Popkey, for the opportunities that changed my life for the better. To Professor of Philosophy Patrick Riley, for his wisdom, kindness, and encouragement. To Bob Bendt and Tom Stewart for their insights and anecdotes. You are all talented and terrific people.
To my entire family, especially my parents, for their support and love. To Jaimie, for her sense of humor, support, love, and eternal optimism. To Belle and John for their enthusiasm, belief, and cheering.
To everyone who ever supported this book, you have my affection and gratitude. Thank you. Here’s to more to come.
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