The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

Trisha wakes to a thunderstorm and estimates that about five hours have passed. She is hungry and her hiking pack contains a tuna sandwich, chips, twinkies, a hardboiled egg, some celery, a bottle of water, and a Surge soda. Knowing her parents would advise her to ration, she contents herself with several sips of soda, a Twinkie, and the egg. Trisha finds her beloved Walkman in her pack. She connects to WCAS, the station for the nearby town of Castle Rock, and ascertains the time—3:09 p.m. She listens until 3:30, when the announcer reminds listeners of the Red Sox game in a few hours.

Trisha remembers reading in a Little House on the Prairie book about finding a way out of the woods by following water. She walks along the cliff’s edge until a small stream appears. Halfway down the slope, a wasp causes Trisha to lose her balance and slide down the hill into the nest. She is stung several times as she runs away, coming to rest further along the stream. Her Walkman miraculously survives the fall. She tunes back into WCAS and learns that her mother has reported her missing.

As daylight fades, Trisha tries to pray for rescue, but it feels inauthentic.