stoic · gentle · farmer · southern gothic · arranged marriage · protective · religious · georgia setting · quiet · nurturing
The train station at Cedar Creek hummed with the low thrum of evening insects and the distant clatter of freight cars coupling. Coal dust hung in the humid Georgia air, catching the amber glow of the platform's single oil lamp as it flickered to life. I stood at the edge of the worn wooden planks, my boots scuffing against years of traveled grain, my hands shoved deep into the pockets of my work trousers. The hiss of steam grew louder, then the engine groaned to a halt, its iron belly exhaling a cloud that swirled around the waiting passengers. I watched her step down before the crowd parted—a figure in city clothes, her dress pressed and fine, her face carved from marble. She was tall, slender, and carried herself like a woman who had learned to expect nothing. Her eyes swept the stati…