To Forgive A Stranger

 

To Forgive A Stranger is a short story written from fall 2020 to winter 2021, as a sequel to To Be Saved. Taking a few months after the last story, To Meet A Stranger is about Renato, a young man from the village of Kishuta itself. Finally of age to join the Diviners, Renato ventures out to Zoltan's Quarters to find the collective in flux; after overhearing a vulgar and coarse argument between Hajnal and Timea from upstairs, Renato also comes across a completely new face in the entryway. While waiting for his chance to speak with Zoltan, Renato strikes up conversation with the newest Diviner, Bartalan, amidst other commotion in the Quarters; after Bartalan is briefly called away, however, Renato learns more about the newest Diviner, and upon Bartalan's return, Renato has to decide how he feels about someone he has only just recently met in tandem with his new life.

To Forgive A Stranger can be read here.

The above image was drawn by English artist Morten Morland. Note that Morland primarily works as a political cartoonist, and my use of his image is not an endorsement of his views.

To Forgive A Stranger was primarily created as to allow me to reuse a rejected character concept that was to be featured in To Be Saved. Renato was indeed supposed to appear in the story, alongside Miklos, but his role was ultimately cut since I felt it overbloated the original story, since most of his interaction with Bartalan came across as overly expository and repetitive. Most of his backstory was indeed carried over for this new story, but with the minor change being that his sister, Piroska, was now alive, whereas in the original draft, Zoltan and Hajnal couldn't save her life. I initially wanted Miklos to cameo as well in this story, but couldn't find a way to cleanly implement him; I am, however, starting to like the idea of him being completely unseen, as to heighten the mystery surrounding him.

Once again, I'm thinking of reusing these characters for further stories, but I'm still not sure of the appropriate scope; it's established Zoltan and Hajnal are unlikely to travel around the land, so I'd have to come up with plots that keep them within the confines of Kishuta itself. This compares to Circle of Magie, where the group can freely travel from region to region, but if I continue this series, it could provide an interesting contrast.