Sunset Year

By C.J. Ellison

Will Grześkiewicz believes his life is over. Magnolia Castillo knows her sister's is. Feeling that the world is crashing down around them, individually unsure of what else to do, Will and Maggie both retreat to watch the sunset in a place they've previously found

• Language: English
• Publisher: bycjellison
• Release date: Aug 19, 2025
• ISBN: 9798999025210

Book preview

Sunset Year

PRAISE FOR SUNSET YEAR

Poetic, thoughtful, and healing, Sunset Year is a slice of serendipity. Through their chance friendship and purposeful trust, Will and Magnolia show us what can happen when we take a chance on each other—and more importantly, what happens when we take a chance on ourselves. Beautifully written, this novella gave me chills, made me cry, and left me full of real hope. I can't wait to see what CJ Ellison does next.

JEN ST. JUDE, AUTHOR OF IF TOMORROW DOESN'T COME

A poignant debut that feels like the warmth and hope of a slow sunrise, SUNSET YEAR invites readers into the delicate space between endings and beginnings. As Will and Maggie find themselves drawn together by shared silence and sorrow, their evening sunsets become more than routine—they become a promise. Ellison expertly reminds us that even when the sky darkens, light still lingers.

SYDNEY LANGFORD, AUTHOR OF THE LOUDEST SILENCE AND SOMEONE TO DAYDREAM ABOUT

A beautiful, queer debut, Sunset Year is the literary equivalent of watching the sun emerge from a cloud. Soft, but unflinching in the topics covered, it's a must for anyone seeking stories with deep friendships and healthy masculinity.

ROSE BLACK, AUTHOR OF FATED WINDS AND PROMISING SEAS

Sunset Year is a poignant, intimate story of the life-saving power of being seen and understood. In such a short time, Ellison masterfully crafts a friendship that is both heart-wrenching and healing in one, leaving you not just rooting for Will and Magnolia, but also for yourself.

OLIVE J. KELLEY, AUTHOR OF AS THE LIGHT GOES OUT AND AS THE SUN COMES UP

A NOVELLA

By C.J. ELLISON

Copyright © 2025 by C.J. Ellison

Editing by Kal Morgan

Cover Art & Design by Mars Lauderbaugh

Interior formatting by Olive J. Kelley

All rights reserved.

Body font is Baskerville, title font is Mayflores.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. No generative artificial intelligence was used in the writing of this book, and it may not be fed into any machine learning or AI programs.

Print ISBN: 979-8-9990252-0-3

EBook ISBN: 979-8-9990252-1-0

CONTENTS

Author’s Note

Will

Sunday, Oct. 6th

Magnolia

Sunday, Oct. 6th

Will

Monday, Oct. 7th

Magnolia

Tuesday, Oct. 8th

Will

Wednesday, Oct. 9th

Magnolia

Thursday, Oct. 10th

Will

Friday, Oct. 11th

Magnolia

Saturday, Oct. 12th

Will

Saturday, Nov. 16th

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Also by C.J. Ellison

to Emily, for everything

AUTHOR’S NOTE

This novella is about two college students struggling with their mental health—particularly: suicidal depression and ideation, and grief following sibling loss. I have tried my best to write their stories with care, though I do not shy away from the overwhelming nature of their experiences. As the reader, I encourage you to extend that same care to yourself when deciding whether to proceed with reading. For a more specific list of content warnings, please visit: bycjellison.com.

Map

sunset years (noun): the final years of a person’s life.

WILL

SUNDAY, OCT. 6TH

If I died today, my mother and father would not attend my funeral. They would wait until the coroner calls to collect my body, then bury me in a simple grave marked with the wrong name. The call would be brief. No tears would be shed. After all, their daughter died many years ago, they have no reason to grieve their son.

My hockey team would go, pay respects, maybe even shed a tear—whether obligation or intention, I’ll never know. I won’t be around to watch if they lay flowers over my closed casket, I won’t be around to hear if they stumble through stories about me into a wired microphone, speaking to an empty church that never would have welcomed me while living. I won’t be around to care. Everything that I am will be buried with me.

My turned off phone lies face down on the nightstand beside my neatly made bed. Aside from the abundance of university t-shirts gifted to me by athletic boosters, there are little belongings to pack, I only pray that my roommates will forgive me for causing them undue chores. I did as much as I could, but I cannot stay in this house any longer.

The front door’s polished brass knob slips and rattles in my left hand, another struggle I did not expect when losing the function of my right. I have entered this door a thousand times, yet now it’s unfamiliar to me. My home, the first home I truly had, decorated by the brothers the team has given me, is nothing to me anymore. A stranger’s.

My feet carry me away from the house. Though I have not given them direction, they thud against the concrete as I pick up pace into a jog. My left arm swings in rhythm with my legs, my right arm bound against my chest by the complicated sling. The slight flex of my fingers sends a jolt of pain up my arm, overriding the constant ache to simulate the initial impact, the crunch of my bones like a shattered candy cane inside its wrapper.

The multi-colored trees lining the streets grow denser as I stray from campus toward