“An extract from the short story Flecks of Gold by Stephen Baird, published in the Cornwall Writers anthology Cornwall: Misfits, Curiosities and Legends.

The sunset was going to be extraordinary and Kitto was almost glad that Ysella was not there to share it. He knew she didn’t deserve it. His flash of perception was mirrored by lightning.

He had seen sunsets hundreds of times before and marvelled at each one. He had seen dozens of thrilling storms but never had he seen the two come together in such a spectacle of sound, speed, and colour.

Raindrops the size of rhododendron buds flattened his hair in moments. He laughed then laughed again. Then he danced his favourite dance on his favourite stone. A wild dance as if his limbs were barely attached. He danced till dark, bathing in the moonlight the lightning and the rain. Above the howling wind he heard another sound. He stopped, rubbing his eyes with the sleeve of his sodden shirt, and pushing away his plastered hair. The sun had long gone. He stared. Far away he thought he saw a light moving over Brown Willy and heading for Rau Tor at an impossible speed. He knew at once what it must be. Who it must be.”