The Fallen Lamb

In the quiet solitude of 1960s rural America, Dennis—reserved, stern-faced, and no stranger to silence—takes on a summer job as a shepherd. The work is lonely by nature, but there’s an odd warning attached to it: “Trust nothing but the sheep.” Weeks pass uneventfully, until a stranger steps onto the land. He calls himself Todd—a hunter, or so he says. Dennis is cautious at first. The land isn’t forgiving, and neither is his nature. But Todd is patient. Unbothered by Dennis’s gruff exterior, he lingers, and with each passing day, their awkward exchanges settle into something more familiar. There’s something unspoken between them—something Dennis can’t name. A quiet pull that unnerves him more than it comforts. And just as he begins to lower his guard, a tragedy strikes. A sheep is killed. The culprit: a coyote… or so it seems. Now Dennis must face a choice. In the stillness of the highlands, with suspicion circling like wind through the grass—will he follow instinct, or let himself believe in the one man he never expected to trust?