Mom and I had been living in an isolated farm in West Virginia for a couple of years. She had got a divorce from my father and had decided to quit her job as a nurse in a hospital in Richmond, Virginia. She had said she needed a break from civilization and we had headed for the wild Appalachians, a few miles from the nearest town. It was a quiet place, indeed, and the few neighbors we had were easygoing people who were always willing to help. But most of them remained at a distance if they were not asked to get close to our house. That was a blessing.

I was fifteen at the time and had quit school two years before, when we moved to W. Virginia. My mother took over my education and I must say that would prove more than beneficial in the long term, as I had done pretty badly at school up to the moment we left Richmond. With her help I gained access to a prestigious university and became a lawyer.

Thanks to the peaceful environment in our farm, my mother finished a novel she had been writing for three years and became quite popular among middle-aged women. She had made a lot of money and we could lead a considerably carefree life. ......(cont)