Cloud decided to twist the plot. “However, he didn’t love her. He was the darkest kind of wizard and his
latest experiment required the heart of a beautiful woman. When she died, he could easily blame her death on one of his
enemies, thus killing two birds with one stone.”
Coin’s eyes widened. “You’re a dark person, aren’t you?” Following Cloud’s lead, together they wove a tale
of magic and horror, in which Cloud poured out his inner turmoil in a most satisfying way and Coin made chase its tail,
twisting and turning this way and that. With particular relish, Cloud ended the story like this:
“And so, with her blood splattered on the stones of the magnificent Great Wall of China, the farmer’s daughter
died. To this very day, she haunts it, moaning and shrieking her anguish into the wind.”
So caught up in their tale of horror, the two men did not notice the change in the weather. The wind had
picked up and it whistled and screeched about them. A sudden crash of thunder scared Cloud and Coin almost out of
their wits. Screaming in a way that under no circumstances befits grown men, they tore through the wind, racing
straight for the exit.
Of course, after catching their breath, they laughed heartily at their foolishness, both swearing that their
adventure on the Great Wall was a tale to tell. And best of all, the cloudy old man got what he’d hoped for: he was
amazed; amazed at how a day that had started in the most terrible fashion could turn around and end with mirth. How
the sun can peek through the clouds, shining like a newly-minted coin.
* * *
