A Story a Day #49: Paul Horgan

“The Huntsmen”

Paul Horgan

A young boy named Madison goes duck hunting with his father. They shoot three ducks and while packing up, the boy accidentally shoots his father. He goes to find help but when he does, his father is already dead. He feels terribly guilty and refuses to go to school. After a while of moping, his older brother takes him out hunting again and makes him shoot some ducks. He feels a sense of relief.

I think what stood out to me the most was the main character having my name. My name became popular just before I was born which means most books don’t have characters with my name yet. It really throws me off. This one was especially odd because the character was a boy and not a girl. While most stories have a sense of putting yourself in a character’s shoes, this takes it to a whole new level. Much like this boy, I don’t think I’d be able to live with myself after accidentally killing some, much less a parent. While I enjoyed the story, I did begin to wonder if this happy ending was actually realistic.