FICTIONAL SAMPLE — ALL PEOPLE AND RECORDS INVENTED

The Summer That Changed Everything

In June, Ellis expected to leave town by September. By August, the plan had changed. A postcard established one visit; the decision itself survived only in Ellis’s account. The chapter moves through the summer without pretending every day anticipated the ending. A photograph of a bench matters because of the conversation Ellis associates with it, though no recording establishes the exact words. The turn in the story remains personal and clearly attributed.