Clark sniffed the chill air, frowned. He had to be careful.
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Transitions are delicate times.
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Fraught with danger. Springtime is one—a green siren song of possibility. Very tempting. But especially autumn. Not the harlequin first flush, but deep autumn—the shortening days, draining colors.
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That’s when things can go awry.
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Shifts excite mania. Things unhinge, doors fly open, wind gusts into the kitchen, strips off the fridge photos, memories fluttering like leaves. Clark had once succumbed, a blown oak leaf, clattered westward in his stuffed jalopy.
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He rubbed his white-whiskered, leathery chin, gauged the risk.
‍
It could happen.

Ben Gorman is a wearer of many hats presently living far from the madding crowd in rural Minnesota. He has served as a publisher, poet, actor, solar electricity installer, graphic designer, wedding minister and a maker of humorous videos, to name but a few pursuits. He appreciates good craft and a garlicky pesto.