The Smallest of Mercies

Luis Prieto

A guilt struck woman in Indiana, a mistreated boy in Texas. Two lives with almost nothing in common…except for one small connection. In Indiana: Following the discovery of her infidelity, Marissa’s boyfriend Lee takes his own life. As she spends time mourning with his unaware family and reflecting on her traumatic childhood, Lee’s brother Theodore begins to pull her into his own web of guilt, one she is more involved in than it first appears. In Texas: Ambrose Armendáriz is dead but before he goes he wants to tell you a story. A story of a mistreated boy forming a bond with a librarian and the unexpected chain of violence that erupted and burned everything to the ground. On the surface these stories have nothing in common…except for one person. One minor character in the grand scheme of life that connects them. Life is cruelest to its most innocent creatures.