Lumen and the Thistle (Book 1)

It was an early morning, mid-week most likely. The sky was cloudy, and it was breezy. The clouds overhead looked ominous, almost threatening. Winter was on the horizon. The men and women walking to work were bundled up with their scarves and trench coats to protect themselves from cold gusts of wind. Many of the people in this small town cut through the park to avoid the crowded morning streets. There were fresh brewed coffee stands sprinkled throughout the park. The men and women would quickly stop by a cart for a cup of coffee and walk back in the direction they were headed. Most everyone had their briefcase or purse in one hand, and an unopened umbrella and a coffee in the other. There was even one man wearing a full suit with a plastic poncho over it as he scurried to work.

Everyone was in a hurry. No one here seemed to be happy to be walking to work on a day like this. Men and women alike had a grim look on their face as they strode through the park. Some would look up to the clouds as if they could read them, as if they could tell when the rain would start.

One man walking through the park was not in a hurry at all. He did not have a briefcase or an umbrella. He had thick black-brimmed glasses, a freshly shaven face, a rather thick nose, bushy salt and pepper eyebrows, and a black homburg hat. The man also had a grey trench coat like most the others, but he seemed a bit uncomfortable in it as he scavenged for money in the pockets to pay for a cup of coffee. He was finally able to muster up some change and took his steamy cup of coffee to a nearby bench with a smile. The aroma of coffee filled this park as almost everyone here had one in the morning. One lady passed by the man with the thick black-rimmed glasses and gave him an odd look, a look that said, “Why are you so happy on a day like this?” The man had been carrying a newspaper under his arm. When he took a seat on an old wooden bench, he crossed a leg over the other and opened the newspaper. He skimmed over the stories on the front page, but not one of them caught his eye, nothing except the excerpt on the top right of the newspaper.

Today’s Forecast, Page 5.

The man quickly turned to page five and found the weather portion toward the bottom.

Today’s Forecast: 100% chance of rain. Bring an umbrella!

The man grinned widely. He picked up his coffee and folded up his newspaper. He smiled as he took a deep breath. He could smell it coming now; the dew aroma just before a big rain. He looked up to the sky. A single raindrop fell onto his glasses and slid down the lens, leaving a small trail of water droplets.

The man looked back down.

“Job well done, J, job well done,” he said to himself. He buttoned up his coat and tucked a black bead necklace he had been wearing inside of the coat.

The man took off from the park, not to be seen again. Nobody knew who he was there, so nobody noticed one less man coming through the park in the mornings.

It rained heavily for the next three days.