Sweet Gums

Homer Ashley Fields has only one living relative, an aging grandfather, who for thirty-two years has lived in self-imposed silence rather than to answer questions about his mysterious past. At age twelve, Homer stopped asking; the scar on his arm a reminder never to ask again. That day, his grandfather sat down with a notebook and a pencil and began to write, over the years filling notebook after notebook and locking them in an old trunk. Homer suspects the answers to all his questions are on the pages, but he will not betray his grandfather’s trust. When a stranger’s appearance terrifies his grandfather into a near heart attack, Homer feels certain the man is linked to his grandfather’s past, and contemplates breaking into the trunk. By chance, he finds two handwritten pages behind the trunk that reveal the horrible truth that took the lives of thousands and drove his grandfather from his home at age eleven to fend for himself. Now he must find his ailing grandfather’s siblings, if they are still alive— before it is too late.