Meet Duck: The Odd One Out
Duck drifts through life at his own pace. Half here, half somewhere else, always humming a tune no one else can hear.
He’s the janitor at the community center (and may or may not live in the basement…nobody’s confirmed exactly).
Shaggy and unhurried, he has a way of loitering charmingly, broom in hand, like someone who wandered in years ago and never quite left.
His family called him “an odd duck” like it was the punchline to a joke, a reminder he didn’t really fit anywhere. Maybe that’s why he just sweeps the floor, keeps to himself, and waits to see who notices he’s already there.
People assume he’s not paying attention—easy to overlook, easy to underestimate—but every so often, he says something that stops you in your tracks. Something more insightful than you’d expect.
Duck isn’t perfect, but he has a quiet kind of wisdom that sneaks up on you. The odd one out, and maybe exactly what the group needs.
***
If this were a movie and I got to pick the cast: Thomas Middleditch would play Duck.
***
This is just one of the people you’ll meet in my upcoming novel, a story about found family and second chances. Come back next week to meet someone new!
I’m still editing and shaping this story, working to bring it into the world. But if you’d like updates, sneak peeks, and behind-the-scenes notes along the way, join my newsletter!
***
“You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”
