There is always something a little magical about stories that invite us to make assumptions only to quietly turn those assumptions on their heads. What seems obvious at the outset proves to be something entirely different by the end, making the emotional payoff all the more poignant. That kind of narrative confidence requires a careful balance of misdirection and honesty, and Wendy Elizabeth Wallace achieves it beautifully in “Help Is on the Way.”
Wendy Elizabeth Wallace’s “Help Is on the Way” begins with a familiar winter disaster: a driver has crashed into the utility pole outside the narrator’s house. As she rushes out to help, she continually measures herself against Ryan, the former partner who always seemed to know exactly what to do when accidents happened on the dangerous curve outside their home.
At first, Wallace encourages readers to assume Ryan is gone because of tragedy. Instead, Wallace gradually reveals a far messier and more human truth. Through a series of increasingly awkward interactions with the injured driver, we learn that the narrator’s loneliness is self-inflicted: Ryan left after she cheated on him, and she is struggling with the consequences of that loss. Her attempts to recreate Ryan’s warmth and competence only expose the gulf between who she wants to be and who she is.
The story’s painful climax arrives when the narrator realizes she never called 911—a basic step Ryan always handled. Even after the accident victim leaves in frustration and emergency responders finally arrive, the narrator clings to Ryan’s reassuring text message despite recognizing its hollowness. Wallace crafts an uncomfortable, compassionate portrait of self-deception, regret, and the desperate hope that next time we might become the person we wish we already were.
Read the story in the Spring 2026 issue of Apple Valley Review.
Recommended Reading, curated by Managing Editor Nicole Foor, is one of the many features included in our weekly newsletter. Subscribe to receive new issues of literary magazines, book releases, bookstore updates, writing prompts, and submission opportunities, all delivered straight to your inbox.
