Black Clouds(Excerpts from THE MENDACITY)

As the story goes, right after talking to the boss, Edra began rolling on the ground, groaning and howling. The people around her were amazed at this outburst. "What could have brought this on?" they asked. Some bad news, they thought! Edra was out of control, how long would this go on? The crowd of on-lookers were shaking their head. "She is hallucinating," one cried out. The staff was nervous and knew that they had to act fast;just then the second call came in. It was the boss again. After some cajoling, Edra came to the 'phone. Suddenly the moaning stopped, she stood straight as an arrow,she would get to stay on the job for now but she needed to do what is right. She would be transported somewhere else. The grimace on her face was replaced by a forced smile,"I have pulled this off again" her look seemed to say.

Edra landed in this idyllic village, this was where she was given a second chance. The inhabitants were hardworkers with contentment written all over their faces. In this community of workers merriment was the order of the day. Each morning as they gathered to start the day's work, it is as if the sun came along to brighten their days. As they went about their activities, caring for the folks of the community, they were planning their next outing. It was as if they could not get enough of each other.

Edra stood by the door murmuring under her breath. This was not a good sign, they immediately saw black clouds as the sunshine seem to disappear. The look on her face was one of evil and sadness combined, a melancholy glare. Caridad James the overseer of this charistmatic group, knew that she would not allow anyone to destroy their happy 'home. She had experience with naysayers, ball busters,pretenders and that bunch of troublemakers. At this moment she began to reflect on the brood she manages and remembered a few dissidents.

Take Agata, she puts up a fight for any change. She was so used to upsetting the barrel that it took her a long time to recognize even when the change was beneficial to her.
Leonardo kept the bible close by, it was tattered giving you the impression that this was his regular storybook. Yet he was cunning, conniving at first but gradually came along for a peaceful ride with the rest of the gang.
Let's not forget Charmaine, a complainer who had every ailment you could think of. She kept a medical book nearby, willing to try any new remedy at the drop of a hat. This was so out of control that something had to be done to quell this distraction. Finally, no one paid any attention to the stories of these various illnesses and the complaints all but vanished. So Caridad had no doubt that this newcomer could be straightened out in no time, at least that's what she thought.

Caridad introduced herself and the rest of the staff and knew right away that this one would be a challenge. She thought she had seen it all but even the repenters shook their heads, vowing to stay their distance. There was trouble brewing in paradise, sunshine was replaced with black clouds, they were forever putting out fires and Edra was in the midst of this chaos that had overtaken the village. They had allowed bad spirit to creep in and now they must fight to get back the joy that once flowed in their path. Caridad called a meeting with a few of the long time residents, including Agata, Leonardo and Charmaine, she wanted to bring Edra into the foal and needed some assistance. They were resistant but Caridad reminded them of their beginning and their turnaround. The truth is that they now seemed like saints compared to the daily disruptions that they were now experiencing from Edra. The group relented and made it easier for Caridad to bring the plan to the rest of the folks.