The weather reports were not favorable. In fact, not only had the tropical depression developed into a full-blown cyclone, but the Sunshine Archipelago was directly in its projected path. The governor of the neighboring mainland urged the islanders to evacuate, but only Regis and Sabrina took his advice. Everyone else decided to stay and accept whatever fate handed them, and they all worked together to prepare as best they could, reinforcing everyone's homes and putting up makeshift seawalls. Meanwhile, the only sign so far of a change in weather was an increase in both size and frequency of the waves breaking against the southwestern shores.

Thursday morning, when Colette went to see to her livestock, she saw a large mass of clouds gathering in the distance. The sky overhead was overcast, too, and a fresh breeze was blowing. She wondered if it would be safe to bring her animals out today, and finally decided that she should be able to leave the livestock out for a few hours—better than not at all. Her chickens she'd leave indoors, though, as the wind was increasing.

However, when she got to her barn, the cattle and sheep were too uneasy to turn out. So instead she cleaned out the cow's stalls as best she could, and did the same with the sheep pen. She put down new straw all around—a good, thick layer, since once the storm hit, she'd very likely be housebound—and set out plenty of feed and water for them. Kep stayed in the barn, too, so she let him out while she took care of the sheep and cattle, filled his food dish quite full, and then let him back in when she left.

Her chickens were in quite a state, but there was little she could do to calm them. There were no eggs that morning, so she filled their grain dispenser and topped off their water, all the while talking and singing to them in a lulling voice and petting them to soothe them. They had quieted a little by the time she left, but she doubted it would last.

Finally, she looked in on Arthur in the stable. He was a little nervous, too, and she hoped Will would come spend some time with him today. She led him out to the paddock, accompanied by Sadie, who slept in the stable. Then she cleaned out his stall, replenished his water, and put out hay and grain for him. When she checked on him afterwards, he seemed to be doing fine, so she decided to leave him out for a little longer. She went back in and filled Sadie's food and water dishes, too, and then went to see to her crops.

The wind was already stiff enough to ripple through her corn, so she gathered a big armful of tall stakes and started to go through her field, pounding a stake deep into the center of each hill and loosely binding the surrounding stalks to it, for support. Her tomatoes were already caged and covered with netting, so she could do little more for them. Her melons were low-growing plants and so were less likely to be harmed, but she pulled some lightweight crop cover cloth over and staked it down well as an additional protection. That was all she could do, really, other than pray to the Harvest Goddess to protect her crops and animals, not to mention the other islanders.

She returned Arthur to his stall, then went into the village to see if anyone needed some last minute help with preparations. Most of the village was as prepared as they could be, and had stocked up on supplies to get through the storm. The last ferry had come that morning and returned to the mainland, where it would be sent up the coast, out of reach of the storm. There would be no more ferry service until the storm had passed and the docks at both ends were safe and secure.

However, it had brought with it numerous supplies—canned and dried foods and other staples, canisters of fuel, batteries, blankets, medical supplies, jugs of water—all that they'd need in the short term, anyway. Taro had divided these supplies among the residents, so when she stopped in to check on his family, he gave her portion to her. "You know," he mused as he handed her the bag of goods, "we've weathered many a storm here in these islands. But this is the first time within all of my long memory that we've had an actual cyclone. They've passed close by before, but they've never actually hit the islands. If there really is a Harvest Goddess, I hope she's watching over us."

She smiled at him. "Well, we're as well prepared as we can be, so we can only wait and see. Whatever happens, I know we'll all help each other rebuild whatever is damaged."

He brightened up and returned her smile with a toothy grin. "You've got that right! Well, if you had any doubts before, you're one of us now for certain. You've proved that by deciding to stick it out with us. That's something that Regis fellow will never understand."

"Thanks, Taro. That means a lot. I'd better get this back to the house now. Good luck!"

She took everything back to her cabin, finding it difficult to keep from blowing over with her heavy load. After dropping off the bag of supplies, she staggered back toward the bridge, nearly colliding with Will as he hurried across, a large bundle in his arms.

"Colette! What are you doing outside?" he shouted over the roar of the wind and the waves.

"Going to see if anyone else still needs help!" she yelled. "What are you doing here? I thought you were at the inn!"

"No one is even out—I've already checked around. You and I are the only ones braving the elements! If you won't object, I'd like to bunk down in the stable. I'm worried that Arthur will be afraid if he's all alone during this storm!"

"He was kind of nervous when I put him back in his stall a while ago," she agreed. "It's fine with me, but will you be okay out there? You know you can't have any lanterns or other flames in there with all that straw and hay, right?"

"I'll manage!" he shouted. "You have a washroom in there, and I've got things to eat and some bedding. It'll be no picnic, but I can't abandon him at a time like this."

"Then go ahead," she replied, grabbing some of his burden. "I'll help you get settled, then I'll take cover myself!"

She helped him carry his things to the barn, both of them struggling to stay upright with the powerful winds at their backs. The winds by then were so stiff that the palm trees were bending like grass, and she could see some really tall waves crashing over on Meadow Island. Little wisps of cloud streaked through the grey skies overhead, and the storm clouds on the southeastern horizon were gathering. She got him settled as best she could, making sure he had a good flashlight and a supply of batteries, and returned to her cabin. She had a hard time getting there, though, as she had to fight the wind the whole way back across her fields. When she finally burst through the door, battling the wind one last time to close it tightly, she was exhausted from her struggle. So she took a shower and collapsed into bed, too tired even to eat.

She woke the next morning to the sound of something thudding against the cabin just on the other side of the wall from her. Her clock said that it was already 8 a.m.—she'd slept nearly three hours later than usual. Quickly dressing, she unlocked the back door and peered outside.

It was a good thing she'd stocked all the animals up on food and water the previous day, she thought as she stepped out onto the stoop to look around. The winds had picked up even more speed, and they were blowing nearly-horizontal sheets of rain across her fields. She wondered if she could walk through that, then decided it was worth a shot.

Stepping back inside, she quickly brewed a pot of coffee and cooked up some instant oatmeal with raisins. She filled a Thermos with the coffee, put the oatmeal into a container, and bundled up against the rain before stepping back out.

She hurried as best she could with the wind and driven rain blasting into her side, finally reaching the stable. The wind half-blew her through the door, and she struggled to slide it closed again.

Will was perched on a bale of straw outside of Arthur's stall, looking up at her in surprise. "Colette? What the devil are you doing out in this storm? You should be inside, where you'll be safe!"

Still breathless from her run, she replied, "I brought you some hot cereal and coffee. It's probably the last time I'll be able to get over here, though. It's getting bad out there."

"Well, you should have stayed safe and dry, but I'm very grateful. I realized a while ago that I'd forgotten a can opener," Will replied sheepishly as he stood to take the package from her.

She laughed. "I wondered if you'd thought of that, so I grabbed one for you. Somehow I ended up with three of them in my kitchen, I'm not even sure how."

"You're a lifesaver," he exclaimed, giving her a little kiss.

"I'm heading back now, before the winds get any worse," she said, then hesitated. "If... if you change your mind about weathering the storm here... you probably can't make it all the way back to the inn now, even if Carol could hear you to let you in. But... if you can reach my house, you can come and stay with me. Just in case, you know, if you decide you don't want to stay in the stable."

"Thank you, Colette. I appreciate it, very much. But Arthur has been my companion since he was foaled, when I was ten years old. I'm not going to abandon him for the sake of my own comfort. He's never been in a storm such as this, and he won't understand what's happening—nor can I explain it to him. Since I decided to keep him here instead of attempting to send him to the mainland, it seems only fair that I also share his fate."

"Then thank goddess that Gannon is such a master craftsman, and that this stable is so new. You probably have better odds of survival here than most of us. Except of course for Regis and Sabrina," she added with a grimace.

"Yes... except them," he added in an odd tone of voice. She looked at him questioningly, but he only smiled and gave her another kiss. "A kiss for good luck, then—we'll both need it. I'll see you once the storm has passed. Keep safe, dearest Colette."

"And you, as well," she replied, giving him a slightly more lingering kiss in return before hurrying back out. She struggled back to her cabin, then made herself some breakfast and settled down to wait out the storm. Fortunately, she had a good selection of books, and she read as long as she could.

Shortly after midday, though, the lights flickered wildly off and on and finally stayed out. The wind was howling, and the din of the rain crashing into her house sounded as if she were in the midst of a battlefield. It was too dark to read without a light, so she grabbed a battery-powered lantern from her closet and switched it on, huddling under a cozy blanket for both warmth and comfort as she tried to while away the afternoon with her books. Since she couldn't cook, her dinner was a bowl of cold cereal with milk and a banana. Afterwards, she went to bed.

However, tired as she was, the noise of the storm was too loud, too frightful, and she couldn't sleep. She burrowed down into her blankets, pulling them over her head, and lay there wondering how the others were doing, especially Will, all alone there with his horse and her dog in the stable. She jumped as something banged against the roof of her house, clattering as it bounced across it and flew off.

She was finally starting to doze, falling asleep despite the noise, when there was a subtle change to the wind. Her subconscious noticed it, and she startled fully awake. Outside, the wind was howling even louder than ever, but somehow it sounded different. Then she realized—it was blowing in a different direction.

Pulling on a raincoat and her boots, she stepped out her back door to see if she could see anything. Once outside, she realized that the wind was now blowing from the southeast, not from the southwest. Peering into the night, she saw nothing at first. The clouds blotted out the stars and the moon in the sky overhead, and there were no lights anywhere.

Then, shining in the darkness, she spotted a greenish glow from the direction of Meadow Island to the west. She narrowed her eyes, trying to focus through the rain and salt spray, and took a step forward, then another, crossing her island without even realizing she was moving until her toe bumped into the sandbags along the low bluff overlooking the sea. Stopping and glancing down in surprise, she peered again toward the island.

She saw a figure, a woman dressed all in green, with long green braids whipping and thrashing all around her in the gale, was standing on—no, not standing, more like floating above—the meadow, near the shrine at the far end. She remained unmoved by the force of the wind that seemed to part and blow around her as she raised her hands, as if pushing or propelling something. As her hands moved, Colette realized that the winds followed her movements, changing direction even as she did. Her glow intensified, until she lit up the night like a beacon, and even through the storm, Colette could hear a shout as she gave a final powerful shove. The wind blasted over Colette, over the islands, and through the emerald radiance, she could see the clouds of the cyclone, terrifyingly near, as it gave way and changed its course at last, as if in obedience to this strange woman's command.

Then she turned and smiled at Colette, and all went black.

Birdsong woke her just before the sun rose. She yawned as she sat up in her bed and stretched, then started in surprise. She was still wearing her coat and boots.