//------------------------------// // Chapter One: A Breeze of Change // Story: A Gentle Breeze of Change // by kwr2k13 //------------------------------// A Gentle Breeze of Change Chapter One: William Weston, Weather Reporter William Weston woke up eager to start his new job as the Channel 25 weather reporter. After checking his calendar, he shaved and showered, combed his short, black hair, and put on his business attire; a light grey suit with matching vest and black tie, over a plain white shirt, and put on his newly polished black dress shoes and black leather belt.  He got some breakfast, and grabbed his grey overcoat.  Today was going to be a great day! William travelled to his workplace on time, his blue-green eyes shining brightly as he greeted his co-workers.  He was not sure if this was a sense of deja vu or nervousness about his new job.  Moving to a new area and finding available work in his field was tough, but Channel 25 provided William with a stable income and a place to showcase his talents.  He also had his own place a few minutes from work.  He could go visit his sister, Jennifer, at her art studio, but she never seemed too happy to see him. This was especially true if she was busy working on a commission for a client. May First was William’s birthday, a day which he shared with his siblings; Aaron, Jennifer, and Charlotte, whom they nicknamed Charlie.  He would be joining his coworkers for lunch at their favorite restaurant, so he made sure he had money before he left. William checked with his supervisor, as was his custom, and examined the weather reports.  Fair skies and sunny weather for the next three days, and a chance of thunderstorms on Thursday and Friday. This concerned William greatly, and talked with his supervisor, Mr. Farwell. "Sir, I am concerned about the big storm everyone's talking about.  If the Jet Stream drops south, we could be in for some real weather." He reported matter-of-factly to his supervisor. It was strange, but somehow, he knew about the way the wind currents worked and the right formulas for powerful thunderstorms that could cause tornadoes.  Ever since William was a child, he could tell when the weather was going to shift just by feeling the wind and watching the cloud patterns.  It was this intimate knowledge of wind currents and how the Jet Stream affected whether or not the Great Plains region would get rain or other severe weather that landed him the job in the first place. The supervisor, Mr. Farwell, looked at the Doppler radar. Somehow, he was not convinced of the growing threat for a storm as William was. "Mr. Weston, that storm is slow in development and will lose momentum over the Rockies before it hits us here." Mr. Farwell explained. William's workplace was located in the heart of Tornado Alley, an area that stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, as far south as Texas and far north as South Dakota and Iowa.  Channel 25 operated out of Omaha, Nebraska.  Monitoring the weather patterns in Tornado Alley became a priority for the News Team 25's Weather Team.  They relied on local weather spotters to show pictures to show storm damage and also other conditions before, during, or after a big storm. William could not shake the feeling something big would be coming sooner than expected, but he went on with his weather report, as was issued by the National Weather Service at the time and confirmed by the radar.  Little did he know the winds of change would be blowing his way. The morning news and weather forecasts went on without any incident, and soon it was time for the Noon News.  William stood at the green screen, where the map showing the local and national weather forecasts would be filmed.  The news anchor directed his segue to William, who began his approach to the map. "This is William Weston, for Channel 25 News Weather Patrol.  We have fair skies today and tomorrow over much of the Lincoln metropolitan area, but we are monitoring this storm that is starting to gather moisture from the Pacific Northwest."  He pointed to the map where Washington State and Oregon were at.  "This storm has the potential for flooding, hail, and dangerous lightning, so until the National Weather Service tells us otherwise, we need your help.  Become a Channel 25 Weather Spotter and be our eyes on the skies.  Send us your photos to our Weather Spotter homepage." The graphic at the bottom of the screen showed several contacts for the news station for viewers on how to get started, including Twitter, Facebook, and other sites.  "Also, check us out on our News 25 website, with links to all your news weather personalities.  This is William Weston, reporting the weather to you, back to you, Heather." After the news report was off-the air, it was time to attend the birthday party for William.  William would be turning 25 that afternoon, and he could not wait to have the delicious steak dinner he was planning to order.  As he exited his vehicle, a gentle breeze of warm air from the west hit William.  Even though he was wearing his work attire, that breeze felt calm and gentle on his skin.  He ignored it and found his table, already prepared for all his coworkers.  A banner with “Happy Birthday, William!” was seen in the private dining area reserved for their party.  William chose not to order any alcohol, but instead ordered a Vanilla Coke.   As the co-workers arrived, William looked at the clock, and counted the seconds to his birthday. Soon, choruses of Happy Birthday had commenced and some presents had been offered, as well as cake.  William took a slice of the marble cake.  "That cake is really good!  Did you make it or buy it from a local bakery shop?"  The cake tasted like nothing like he had before.  As he put the first piece of cake into his mouth, William felt a searing sensation on the outer thighs of his legs.  He tried to mask his pain and ignored it throughout his party. Soon after the party, William arrived home and his legs began to bother him again.  Heading to the restroom, he closed the door and unbuckled his pants to see what was causing the source of the irritation.  When he checked his outer thighs, he noticed a strange mark on either side that appeared to be a symbol of light blue-green wavy lines.  The middle wave had two smaller waves, one on top and the other on the bottom.  William looked perplexed at the symbol.  The same symbol appeared on either side of his thighs. Huh, did my co-workers take me someplace to get a tattoo?  I don't remember.  William muttered to himself as he rubbed the marks to see if they were temporary tattoos. These marks, whatever they were, had indeed become a permanent fixture on William's thighs.  Who could William trust in a time like this when he suspected his co-workers did this to him?  He would have to wait to talk to his co-workers in his off time to find out why these Marks appeared.  Perhaps he should confide in his sister, Jennifer, the local artist, if she knew anything about the strange tattoos.  He adjusted his pants, and went out to clear his head.        William stopped by a jewelry shop on the way to see his sister, Jennifer.  He wanted to buy her a gift for her birthday. He saw a piece of jewelry that caught his eyes; a silver necklace with a paintbrush superimposed over a white snowflake. Somehow, some strange memory of that symbol floated through his mind.  Where had he seen this symbol before? William eventually inquired of the jeweler about the necklace and purchased it.  He hoped that Jennifer would be happy and the two siblings would start to talk to one another, just like when they were kids.  After Jennifer discovered her talent for art, she became more wrapped up in her paintings and pleasing her clientele than wanting to spend quality time with her brother. After purchasing the necklace, he saw three other necklaces; one had a light blue green symbol of the gentle west wind, which resembled the mark he found earlier on his thighs.  Another depicted three leaves in a free fall, darkening the lower they got.  The last necklace centerpiece depicted a very light yellow sun with a transparent flower, a rose, in front of it and to the left side.  William could not shake the feeling he should buy these as well.  So, along with the necklace for his sister, he purchased the three other necklaces.  Pleased with his purchases, but slightly put-off by the expense, for he hoped to find what significance these jewelry pieces held.  Along the way to Jennifer’s studio, he began to worry about how much he paid for all four necklaces.  He would have to probably move in with his sister if he could not afford his apartment on his salary. William arrived at Jennifer’s art studio, occasionally scratching his thigh to relieve the itchy feeling.  He waited for his sister to finish with an art project.  He had the necklaces gift wrapped and brought out the one for Jennifer while scratching his left thigh with his left hand. Jennifer lived in a two story studio apartment townhouse.  The art studio had several winter-themed display artworks available for customers to admire. Jennifer’s living quarters were upstairs, whereas her workstation and art supplies were downstairs.  One of the most intriguing pieces in the collection was Canterlot in Winter.  This piece featured a lone castle on the side of a mountain with snow blowing around it.  The castle itself looked like something out of a children’s fantasy or a cartoon, with its spires, flags, and a balcony.  William was impressed with the detail of the piece.  It looked all too real.   “Wow, Jennifer, that piece with the castle looks all too real!  What inspired you to paint that one?”  William looked around at some of the other works around the studio.  “What are you working on now?”  He asked, seeing his sister at her easel, working diligently on yet another masterpiece. William was taken aback as Jennifer raised her hand in front of him, her finger raised in a “wait a minute” gesture. Returning to her work she took up her brush, a dash of red paint at the tip. “What do you want?” she asked, making small short strokes along the edges of the canvas. William smiled, and handed his sister the necklace with the snowflake on it.  “Happy Birthday, sis!  I thought you could use something nice to wear.”  He handed her the jewelry box containing the silver necklace with the strange symbol of a paintbrush and snowflake.  Then he felt the itching of the mark on his thigh again. Jennifer sighed, putting down her brush and moved a small strain of her brown hair out of her eye. She then turned to William her dark green eyes seemed to look straight through him. Wiping her hands on her smock, she took the jewelry box and popped it open. Inside was a silver chained necklace with a paintbrush superimposed on a snowflake. “This... is beautiful?” Jennifer gently took the necklace out of the case. Undoing the clasp she wrapped the chain around and connected it in the back. Taking a closer look at the pendant Jennifer could feel something in the back of her mind. She had seen this somewhere before, a long time ago.   William smiled, “I am glad you like it.  I found that necklace and three more like it; each with a different… symbol on them. Isn’t that odd? The one with the flower reminds me of Charlie and her thoughts about the key to understanding life. And the fall leaves, Aaron, strange as it may seem.” William remembered Charlie as the sister who went to college to study philosophy. The two of them had never talked much as kids and Charlie never tried to talk to William. She was always deep in thought, even as a child.  He wondered if she would remember him and Jennifer.  He had the three necklaces that he purchased earlier, and one of them was for Charlie.  He had hoped that the gifts would help reconcile his relationship with his siblings. “What do you think about your birthday gift, Jennifer?  I figured since you are an artist, the paintbrush was a nice touch.  Not sure about the snowflake though.”  The itch on his thighs continued to bother him as he talked with his sister about her new necklace. “What I want to know is how much did this cost? I can tell that it wasn’t cheap.” Jennifer said, examining the pendant with a critical eye.   William sighed, “I had to use… most of my paycheck to get the jeweler to sell me all of them.  A four-piece set for a decent price, I figured.”  He hoped his sister would not be mad at him.   “Why--?” Jennifer stood up, and hit William on the head. “You idiot! I can’t believe you did something so irresponsible!”  Jennifer threw up her hands, and stomped upstairs. William winced as he was smacked by his sister, “But, it was a gift! You do like it, right Jennifer?”  William said, rubbing the back of his head.   “Thank you for the gift, but don’t... come... crawl--AGH” There was a loud crash from the top of the stairs.   William heard the crash and rushed up the stairs, still carrying the bag from the jewelry shop.  He stopped at the landing to once again scratch his thighs, and then continued to head upstairs to reach his sister.  “Jennifer?  You okay?  Should I call an ambulance?” He said, concerned for his sister’s welfare. Reaching the top of the stairs he saw his sister, curled up on the floor clutching her thigh. William knelt beside Jennifer, “You okay?  Something wrong with your legs?”  He continued to scratch at his thigh.  I hope this isn’t a contagious skin rash. He thought to himself. “Gah...! what’s happening!” Jennifer tightened her grip on her thigh. She rocked back and forth for a few minutes, tears falling down her cheek. William remembered the burning sensation he felt at the restaurant before his birthday party and the strange tattoo he saw on his thighs when he got home.  The sensation was similar to how Jennifer was feeling.   “I don’t know. Jennifer.  I felt the same thing earlier today.  I ended up with a tattoo on my legs.  I didn’t tell anyone, because I didn’t know how they would react.” The pain was beginning to subside and Jennifer uncurled herself and tried to stand up. Using the kitchen counter for support, she did so.   William helped to steady his sister to her feet, “Easy now.  Come on, let’s have a seat and talk this through.  I have the rest of the day off, so why don’t we use this time to figure out about whatever is making us to have the worst birthday ever.”  He lead Jennifer to a nearby couch to allow her to relax and reflect upon the current state of events.   “I wonder if Charlie knows about this; college has to have taught something,” Jennifer asked her brother.   William sat down on the couch and scratched his thigh. “I don’t know, maybe. But what about Aaron? He’s our brother too. Maybe he knows something. ” He said as he retrieved his cell phone and scrolled through the messages. One of the missed messages was from Charlie, stating she was coming over right away. “Oh! I got a text from Charlie right now,” William realized, “She said she’s coming over.” After hearing that, Jennifer sighed, “Good, and my leg stopped hurting.” “Yeah; mine did too after a while,” William replied. “Do you want to stay here while I wait downstairs for her?” Jennifer just nodded, so downstairs William went. William waited downstairs in Jennifer’s art studio for his sister, where she yelled down the stairs, “Aaron says he’s coming too!”  It had to have taken at least thirty minutes, but he eventually heard the sound of Charlie’s car, and Aaron was close behind. When Charlie came in, William was nearly blown back by surprise. His sister still had the same hair and eye color, but that was not what William had been expecting to see. Her strawberry blond hair was cut shoulder length, yet when they were kids, her hair was way longer, and she never let it get cut.  She had quite a few freckles, and had just a plain white t-shirt with jeans, and a leather purse.  William was expecting a girl in one of those suits they show in movies; he did not expect this person to be his studious little sister. William smiled, “Charlie Weston, I presume? And Aaron?” He asked. She smiled back, but something seemed to be bugging her, “Yes, hello William. Do you know where Jennifer is?” Aaron looked over Charlie’s shoulder and gave a slight wave of his hand and a quiet, “Thank you.” Aaron held up the elegant necklace that William had delivered earlier. William nods, “She is waiting for you guys upstairs.  By the way, Happy Birthday.”  He tossed a jewelry box to Charlie containing the necklace with the sun and roses in the centerpiece. Opening the box, a weird expression fell across Charlie's face, “Where did you get this?” She asked her brother. William nodded, “I went to the jewelry store before I got here.  Jennifer got mad at me for spending my hard-earned pay on them, but I want you to know we are family.”  He then paused, “I’m sorry for not calling you sooner." Charlie took her necklace, and put it on.  There was an “ooooh” of excitement that could be heard from Charlie as she admired her new accessory.  She then turned to her brother and addressed her next concern, a frown on her face. “That’s not what I mean,” Charlie replied, shaking her head, “A mark looking just like the center piece on this necklace appeared on my thigh a few hours ago.” “No way, me too!!” Aaron agreed, holding up his fall-themed necklace he had received earlier. The statements turned William’s face white as ash. He took a deep breath, composed himself, and cleared his throat. “I think you three should come upstairs. I think a family meeting is in order.”