January 4 - "Willa"

Sundays with Uncle Stevie“Willa”
by Stephen King
Just After Sunset (2008)

* * * * * (Excellent) Supernatural

Willa had had enough waiting around for the special from Amtrak to come rescue them from their stranded state on a platform in the open country of Wyoming. Her fiancé David takes off after her, into the gathering darkness, against the repeated recommendations of the other passengers, in face of the wild cries of animals roaming the wide country all around him. She’s his girl, and he will not leave without her. In his search for Willa, David comes across a roadside honky-tonk and stumbles upon an eye-opening truth.

Stephen King is a master of the form. This is an example of a short story done well. The characters are well formed, even those with few lines and little role, are easy to imagine, feel as true as any character in a well-crafted longer tale. The suspense builds, and the atmosphere is just eerie enough to put us - the reader - right there with David as he searches for his missing fiancé. From the start, things feel don’t feel right, and as you read, the revelations and twists feel natural and not forced. Just as David came to recognize that “perception and expectation” together could be a powerful thing, I came to understand that a horror story doesn’t have to terrify, but instead can be something sweetly sad and tragic.