Diamond sutra

by Colin Hester

After a childhood darker than most, Rudyard Gillette has reached a standstill. A forty-year-old former college baseball player, Rud works for a textbook publishing company during the week, plays golf with his haunted yet gentle father on weekends, and sleeps with his girlfriend any day she'll let him - that is, when her other boyfriend isn't around. But one afternoon Rud's routine is interrupted by a tragedy, and his tentative life spins apart. Devastated, tormented by a sense of failure, and utterly alone, Rud moves haltingly through each day until he meets Gale Harmon, the beautiful, enigmatic woman who was his childhood friend and first love. Just as Rud begins to find comfort in renewed friendship, Gale disappears. Rud's choice is clear, and he abandons everything - home, job, girlfriend - to search for her.