Chapter 1: Dust Summary

A broken ceramic cross has been kept wrapped in paper in a drawer for nearly a year—since the beginning of seventh grade. A fine white dust comes off of the pieces. These broken bits should be thrown away, but parting with it is difficult. The story needs to be told from the beginning—then throwing away the broken cross will be easier and the Man can be put to rest.

The narrator tells about last summer before when the Man came to town. He had been getting ready for him for a long time—maybe even since first grade. He had loved church for as long as he could remember even though his parents never really did. By fifth grade, he considered himself very religious. On Sundays at church, he was always very taken with a picture...