A Forever Kind of Thing

Growing up on the proverbial "wrong side of the tracks" gave me a long list of bullies and a short list of friends. I spent most of my childhood days thinking of creative ways to escape the dirty pit that was Palmer, Georgia, until a new kid showed up on the first day of fifth grade and gave me every reason to stay.

But as my rotten luck would have it, he disappeared two years later without a word, leaving me with a million unanswered questions and an irreparable hole in my thirteen year-ol...