Excerpt from The Bear by Andrew Krivak, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Without you I'd be nothing but alone, he said.

And without you I'd be alone, said the girl.

A hint of moonlight had begun to creep with the summer dusk into the house through the window, and the man could see traces of the woman in the face of the girl.

I know what we'll do, he said. Tomorrow we'll climb to the top of the mountain where your mother is resting. She loved the mountain. She used to say the summit looked like a bear. I want you to see it, too. Would you like that?

Yes, said the girl.

Good, the man whispered, and kissed her on the forehead a second time and tucked her in tight.

Then rest well. Tomorrow we have a big climb.

The girl rolled over and huddled beneath her blanket, and before the moonlight had left the window she was asleep.

Excerpted from The Bear Copyright © 2020 by Andrew Krivak. Published by Bellevue Literary Press: www.blpress.org. Reprinted by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.