Shawn of Skarrow

Shawn is a wiry fourteen‑year‑old who spends his afternoons hauling in catfish from the riverbank, his loyal dog Coaly at his heels. After a brisk exchange with his mother, he carries his catch up the hill to the imposing Alden mansion, where a gentle, silver‑haired woman in a wheelchair waits with a warm smile. The house, with its tidy gardens and shadowed hallways, feels both awe‑inspiring and mysterious to the boy who knows the river’s every secret.

In their quiet meeting, Mrs. Alden learns of Shawn’s restless curiosity, his schoolyard pranks, and his quiet ambition to become a doctor. She offers him books, tuition, and a chance to study—an unexpected lifeline that could lift him from the hard‑laned wharf to a future of healing. The promise is tempting, yet it pulls him between the world he loves and the promise of a new, uncertain path.