Stepping out of the door leading to the Four Corner's Clarion, Mary Travis pulled her shawl tighter against the strong wind blowing through the deserted streets. Holding up one hand to shield her eyes from the dust whirling in the air, she glanced up and down the avenue looking for any signs of life. Dropping her hand, she sighed.
It had been so quiet. The local peace keepers had been spending quite a bit of time in Denver lately. And it seemed that many of the residents had followed them up there.
But is wasn't that so many residents were out of town that bothered her. No, it was more of the fact that the seven's absence had left a void in the town. Nothing seemed the same anymore.
Again pulling her wrap tighter, Mary looked longingly across the street, though she really wasn't seeing what was before her. Instead, she was remembering how much she had assumed that they would always be here.
She had taken them for granted. The painful reality of this struck her very quickly when she realized that she missed hearing Buck and JD's banter and the sound of the pounding from Josiah's hammer. It was reinforced every time she walked by the jail and Vin was not there to tip his hat and say "Mornin' Mary" or to know that Ezra wasn't holding court in the saloon. She hadn't even realized how much she had come to depend on Nathan to handle all the little medical crises that spring up on a daily basis until he wasn't around.
And of course, then there was Chris. She missed him most of all. She missed his reassuring presence as he quietly presided over the town to make sure that nothing went wrong. She missed the sound of his voice... the feel of his hand on her back as he escorted her down the street... the smell of him.... his smile.... the way her pulse would race at the very sight of him.
Shaking herself, Mary rubbed her arms to fight off the windy chill. It wasn't that she blamed them for spending so much time in Denver. Oh no, quite the contrary. She too had made a trip or two to the city. It was quite exciting. There were so many things to do up there. Things that a person could never do in Four Corners. With all the gadgets and modernization, there seemed to no limit to the possibilities.
Still....
This was home.
Mary sighed again as the shadows created by the setting sun began to dance in the fading light. Watching them, it seemed that their movements almost mocked the emptiness of the street and her own loneliness.
Turning to go back inside, Mary stopped as she saw the flicker of a candle in one of the windows of the boarding house. A smile crept slowly on her face at the thought that the town wasn't as deserted as it seemed. There were people still here... waiting like she, for their return. Suddenly she didn't feel so lonely.
Opening the door, Mary paused once again to take one more look at the candle in the window. Nodding at it, she straightened her shoulders. If people were here, then they would need something to read. She best get busy.
The end.
1/2000
Sequel: Reflections on a Windy Day II
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