Post 4

It was pouring rain. Again. The man with the eye patch had taken refuge under one of the awnings of the church. The shadow hid the part of his face that his hair had left free. The dog sat next to him, never barking, never trying to run away. A woman and her child ran by in the rain. The child saw the dog and broke away from her mother, wanting to pet her.
“April!! Where do you think you’re going?”
The mother sounded frightened when she saw the man standing next to his dog. His face did not convey a very safe feeling. The man looked down at the child and said something to her. The girl smiled and nodded.
“APRIL!!!!!”
The girl turned back and ran to her mother. The man and the dog both watched her go. At the end of the street, the little girl turned around and waved. Then she shouted:
“Goodbye, Hans!!”
Then they were gone. Hans stared after them and, for a moment, it seemed that tears rose in his eyes. Then he stepped forward into the pouring torrents of rain. And for the first time since he had come to Watershed heights, Hans- Georg threw back his head and laughed. He laughed at the rain, at the sky, at the church, at people who passed by on the other side of the street, and (though no one knew this) he laughed at himself in all his loneliness. Then suddenly he stopped laughing and fell to the ground sobbing. He pounded the ground until his hands bled. Königin began to lick at the blood and Hans struck out, hitting her in the head. Königin fell with a howl. Hans- Georg froze, looking at the dog.
“Nein… Nein, Leibshön. “
The dog looked at him. Then turned and ran away, leaving Hans on his knees, alone.
“Leona…”