* * *
He could see the Black Cloud locking up to leave from where he parked the vessel’s car just beyond the Black Cloud’s little store in that little spot in the woods he always used that always seemed to be there just for him and always seemed to go away when he was gone. He loved that nature opened up for him and bent to his purpose. It told him that he was doing the work as was meant to be...that his love for the town and all his sacrifices were good and right and he was blessed. He lost track of how long he had been doing this. It wasn’t important really. He knew of time as the seasons passed and days became nights. And he knew when he was needed and when to wait and watch.
He watched the Police Girl go into the Black Cloud’s little store and he watched her leave and he watched the Strange One leave and then he watched the Black Cloud leave.
And there it was. Now the spring was wound up tight and all he had to do was let it uncoil itself.
He got out of the car and opened the trunk and looked at the Teacher Girl and wished she could be as happy as she had been before. He knew that the Counter Girls and now this Teacher girl could never be as happy serving the town as they were before the town called him to them. He thought he understood for a moment and then that moment passed. He told them how they were part of something wonderful and yet they never found the joy in it that they should have. To contribute to the life of the town, it was their last best gift. And now it was the Teacher Girl’s turn.
He looked down at her and smiled.
Lakebridge: Spring (Supernatural Horror Literary Fiction) Page 41