Takoda’s nightly visits became somewhat of a routine for Ophelia. She would go to work, come home, go to bed, wake up in the late afternoon, and do whatever she had to do for the day before sitting on her back porch and watching as night fell. And each night, like clockwork, never more than ten minutes after the sun had completely set, Takoda would appear in the sky.

His shadowy form blended into the dark well but she had grown accustomed to searching it out. She played a bit ...