Character Spotlight: Mitchell Felding (photographer)

You can’t always tell, but dependable Mitchell has bucketloads of amiability. A joke accompanies most conversations. A warm smile often melts the ice. There’s a wonderful sense of calmness surrounding our likable protagonist.

Mitchell Felding.

• Thirty-something
• Married to Samantha Felding
• Professional Photographer and Photography Teacher
• Self Employed
• Practical
• Good sense of humour

His light-hearted character is welcome when it’s placed against that of his wife, Sam, who spends her time worrying about everything. She’s extremely officiant but anxious too, continually checking her watch to see if she’s running late for something.

This kind of match should be ideal, but it isn’t. Equitable work/life balances in the Felding home aren’t easy to find. Mitchell is dedicated to his wife, but his efforts to settle her worries fail. Whatever he does is never enough. There’s always an obstruction blocking the path to happiness.

A long-term celibate relationship began its journey. Abstinence was meant to be a gift — a well-intended show of devotion to each other. Unfortunately, it backfired. By the time they married, sex had become something to fear. They tried it, but staying away from sex was easier than crossing over. They’d become so good at abstinence that anything else was foreign and dangerous. Their devotion to sexual avoidance in their dating years had taken root in their marriage.

Counsellor Tony Brindell is helping the couple work on their marriage. He believes the issues plaguing it are only minor, but he isn’t aware of their depth. Despite Tony’s best efforts, neither of his clients is benefiting from therapy. Both are ill-equipped to move forward. The marriage is bound by routine.

It’s Mitchell who’ll be the first to let go of conformity and make a vital breakthrough. It’s a discovery that, at first, overwhelms him. He’d like to tell Sam all about it, but he can’t. She’s not the right person to talk to.

And he’ll also fail to mention the murders reported in the media. He thinks he knows one of the victims.

You can’t blame him for not speaking up. Samantha dismisses him at every turn. She’s busy organising things and checking her watch. She doesn’t have the time for his nonsense. Things must be orderly and stable and under her absolute control.

Keeping their counselling appointments with Tony takes priority. They need to know what’s been going wrong in their marriage and how to fix it. Finding out what happened to those strangers will have to be left up to others to sort out.

Mitchell Felding isn’t just a character—he’s a fracture point where intimacy, secrecy, and violence collide. Explore more in my ongoing psychological fiction series, SEETHINGS.

–Michael (Dark fiction. Author of SEETHINGS (the first book), free for a limited time)

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