A writing experiment


Who He Is: Shelly Winthrop
 

Shelly Winthrop Is a mechanic in the small town of Reno City. He is in his early-forties.

Shelly has a short-list criminal record. It’s not entirely his fault. Being so big and burly in his early days, he was often challenged by thugs who’d had too much to drink. Bar fights had gained him an unwanted reputation. After his third arrest, he stopped going out and turned inward. He became a recluse.

He has a daughter, 19 year old Tilly, but no wife. Tilly helps run the shop—mostly dealing with the customers and office.

They’d lived out west for the past twenty years and recently came back to his hometown to tend to his ailing father who passed three weeks later. He’d inherited his dad’s old shop and had made the decision to keep the auto-repair business going. If it weren’t for the memories…

Plot line: In his early twenties, Shelly had had a rocky relationship with a woman named Maggie. He’d loved her more than anyone before or since. They’d had a daughter together—Tilly. He’d asked her to marry him, and she was still considering it. As time went by, he grew impatient. He’d wanted to have a proper family. One afternoon, he and Maggie had left baby Tilly with her Maggie’s mother to go out for an afternoon drive on his motorbike. They’d stopped at a secluded spot by the river for a romantic lunch but instead had another fight. Things got out of hand, and he hit her—something he’d never done before. She fell and hit her head on the rocks. She died in his arms.
 

In the opening scene, Shelly is lost in thought, remembering his belated father who’d been one of the few people who’d understood him. He’d been there for Shelly when it had happened. He’d also been the only one who’d known why. He’d helped him bury the body so no one would find her. With Shelly’s record, he’d have been locked up for sure. Now his dad was gone, and Shelly was left alone to bear the burden. This is the secret he has kept hidden to this day and the plot-line that will drive his part of the story.


Shelly is working underneath a car when a man/woman walks in for service. Tilly finds her dad lost in thought and catches his attention. He rolls out to talk to the customer and is stopped in his tracks by the familiar face—someone who’d known her.

“Shelly? Is that you? My god, it’s been ages…”