Elder Bright's Arc

Chapter 3 of 10

By morning, the wind had scattered his pages across the lawn. Elder Bright walked through them slowly. Some were trampled. Some bore muddy footprints. His warning had been read and stepped over. On the table sat a folded newspaper someone had left behind. The headline read ELDER BRIGHT — JOKE. A small drawing of him stood beneath it, hunched and small. He smoothed it flat with one hand. So this was what his proof looked like to them. He looked back at the community hall. Its doors were shut tight. No witch had come. No technologist had come. The building stared at him like a stranger. Elder Bright gathered the newspaper into his coat and turned away. The public stage had failed. If no witness would come to him, he would go hunting for the one who had stolen his final page.