I wish I had happier news for you.

He raises his arms. Lifts his head. And begins to dance.
It is courtly, and flowing, and precise. Step, step, turn. Arms held out, swooping to the right, raised above his head, twisting, step, step turn. His eyes are closed, and there is a slight smile on his face. He had danced this dance many times. It is not just a normal dance, there is magic in it. He dances alone, but he acts as if he had a partner. If he performs the steps correctly, if he turns when he is supposed to, in the end his partner will appear in his arms. Normally when he finishes, his arms are empty. Yet he raises his arms, lifts his head, and begins to dance again.
Her face changes from time to time. This time her hair is long and full, there are small piercing in her nose and eyebrow, and she bears an uncanny resemblance to Eliza Dusku. He watches his steps, turns, dips, arms extended to support her, he can feel her weight in his arms, her hair as it touches his cheek, her scent as he leans in close to her to finish the dance... he opens his eyes.

His arms are empty.

He stares into the darkened space around him. For a long time there is no movement.
A sigh finally breaks the silence.

He raises his arms. Lifts his head. And begins to dance. Again.

Grim cloud of gloom...

There is a pall hanging over Boston, touching the lives of many people around me. Aggravation, frustration, anger, despair. Feelings that touch everyone's lives from time to time. Right now, it seems to be striking everyone at once. I'd offer a short prayer that this pall passes over us and soon, so we can better enjoy ourselves, but things tend to work themselves out on their own schedules, w/out any help from me.

The weekend is almost upon us. Hopefully, things will shift as the weekend approaches. This has been a fair week, not as good as last week, but I'm still feeling pretty good about it.

Good luck everyone!