Every time the character in this story meets someone new, the first thing they say is "There's a cloud passing by." By Carlos del Puente

Every time the character in this story meets someone new, the first thing they say is "There's a cloud passing by." The instructions echoed in my mind as I sat down to begin the absurd tale. It was a peculiar starting point, but the challenge of crafting a surreal narrative was one I welcomed with open arms.

Marcel, a young man with a penchant for the peculiar, stood at the edge of a bustling street corner, his eyes scanning the horizon. He was known for his quirky greetings, which often left the townsfolk scratching their heads in bewilderment. His friends had grown accustomed to his eccentricities, but strangers rarely knew how to respond to his cryptic hellos. "Bonjour," he would say with a tip of his hat, "il y a une nuage qui passe." It was as if he were speaking in riddles, a silent poet whispering secrets of the sky to those who dared to listen.

The sun began to dip below the buildings, casting a warm glow across the cobblestone streets. A soft breeze played with the pages of a newspaper, abandoned by a bench. The aroma of freshly baked bread wafted from a nearby bakery, mingling with the sound of distant laughter and the occasional honk of a car horn. It was a typical evening in the small French town, yet nothing about Marcel's demeanor suggested that he was aware of the world around him. His focus remained fixed on the ever-changing dance of the clouds.

Marcel, a quirky young man, habitually greets people by saying "There's a cloud passing by." His friends are accustomed to this, but strangers are often puzzled. The story unfolds in a small French town during a typical evening, filled with the sights and sounds of everyday life.

As the light grew dimmer, the first stars began to peek through the veil of the night sky. Marcel's eyes lit up as he spotted a lone figure approaching. He took a deep breath and waited for the perfect moment to unleash his peculiar greeting. The stranger, a woman with a crimson scarf fluttering around her neck, grew closer. As their paths crossed, Marcel looked into her eyes and spoke the words that had become his trademark. "Madame," he began with a courteous nod, "il y a une nuage qui passe." The woman paused, her eyes narrowing slightly, and then she smiled. "Ah," she said, her voice filled with understanding, "c'est très poétique." And with that, she continued on her way, leaving Marcel to ponder the mysteries of the clouds once more.

The next day, Marcel found himself in the local park, surrounded by children playing and lovers whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears. An old man sat on a bench, feeding pigeons with a gentle smile etched on his wrinkled face. Marcel strolled over, his hat in hand, and offered the same greeting. The man looked up, squinting against the fading sunlight. "Vous dites?" he asked, not quite believing his ears. Marcel repeated, "Il y a une nuage qui passe." The old man's smile grew wider, and he chuckled. "C'est la vie," he said, tossing more crumbs to the eager birds. "Toujours des nuages." Marcel nodded solemnly, feeling a kinship with this fellow cloud-watcher.

Marcel's unique greeting continues to baffle and occasionally charm the townsfolk. A woman appreciates the poetic nature of his words, while an old man in the park shares his own cloud-watching philosophy with Marcel, emphasizing the inevitability of change in life.

Days turned into weeks, and the phrase "il y a une nuage qui passe" became a silent mantra that resonated through the town. It was whispered in the marketplace, scribbled on the walls of alleyways, and even painted onto the side of a passing train. The townsfolk began to see the clouds differently, as if the words had imbued them with a newfound significance. Some found comfort in the predictability of their passage, while others felt a strange kinship with the ever-changing shapes that floated by.

Marcel's interactions grew more profound with each encounter. A young girl with a kite looked up at him with wonder as he pointed out a cloud shaped like a dragon. To the town drunk, stumbling home from the local pub, he spoke of the cloud's gentle embrace, a metaphor for the fleeting nature of happiness. And to the widow, who sat alone on her porch, he described the cloud's journey as a reminder that life, too, must move on.

Marcel's simple greeting had become a beacon of curiosity and contemplation. The townsfolk had grown to anticipate his words, waiting for the moment when he would impart his cloud-filled wisdom. Yet, as the seasons shifted, and the clouds grew darker and more ominous, the townsfolk began to question the deeper meaning behind his enigmatic phrase. Was it a warning? A prophecy? Or was it just the mad ramblings of a man lost in his own world?

Marcel's cloud greeting has transformed the town's perception of clouds, inspiring various interpretations from comfort and kinship to warnings and prophecy. His interactions with different people reveal the profound impact his words have, prompting the townsfolk to reflect on the nature of life and change.

One fateful afternoon, a storm rolled in, the clouds heavy with the promise of rain. Marcel stood in the town square, his eyes glued to the sky. The townsfolk huddled in doorways, watching the drama unfold above. He looked around, searching for a familiar face, and found it in the form of the woman with the crimson scarf. She approached him, her eyes filled with a mix of curiosity and concern. "Marcel," she said, her voice barely audible over the growing rumble of thunder, "pourquoi les nuages?"

Marcel looked at her, the rain beginning to dampen his hair. He took a moment, letting the drops fall onto his upturned face, before responding. "Parce que les nuages," he said, "sont les seuls à ne pas mentir. Ils viennent, ils partent, et dans les moments les plus sombre, ils apportent la pluie qui nourrit la terre." The woman nodded slowly, the beginnings of understanding dawning in her eyes.

And so, the story of Marcel and his cloudy greetings grew into a legend. Some whispered that he could predict the weather with uncanny accuracy, while others claimed he could read a person's soul based on the clouds they saw. His words became a sort of oracle, a way to interpret the whims of the universe. Yet, through it all, Marcel remained unflappable, his gaze forever fixed on the heavens. For him, the clouds were more than just water vapor and condensation; they were a mirror reflecting the tumultuous emotions and ever-changing landscape of the human condition.

Marcel's greeting becomes a town legend, with some believing he has the power to predict the weather or read souls based on clouds. He explains to the woman with the crimson scarf that clouds are honest, providing rain in dark times and reflecting human emotions. Despite the growing mythos, Marcel remains steadfast in his cloud-gazing.

The rain grew heavier, soaking the square, yet Marcel remained, a solitary figure in the deluge. The townsfolk watched from their windows, their lives forever changed by the absurd poetry of his words. And as the storm raged on, a single beam of sunlight pierced the clouds, casting a rainbow across the sky. It was then that Marcel finally looked down, his eyes meeting those of the woman with the crimson scarf. "Vous voyez?" he said, pointing upwards. "Toujours une beauté dans les moments les plus sombre." The woman nodded, the rain mingling with her tears as she finally understood the profundity behind his simple greeting.

As the storm passed and the clouds gave way to a clear blue sky, the town slowly returned to normal. But the memory of Marcel's cloudy prophecies lingered, a whisper in the air that seemed to follow every conversation. People began to look up more often, seeking solace in the whimsical shapes that floated by. They spoke of the clouds with reverence, sharing their own interpretations of what they saw. Some swore they saw faces, others animals, while a few claimed to glimpse the future.

The legend of Marcel grew with each retelling, his name synonymous with the ever-present sky. Children painted clouds on the pavement with chalk, while the town's artists competed to capture the most fantastical shapes in their work. The local bookstore sold out of every book on cloud formations and weather patterns, as if the secrets of the universe could be found within their pages. And amidst it all, Marcel remained, a silent observer, his eyes forever scanning the horizon for the next cloud to pass.

One day, a group of tourists stumbled upon the town, drawn by the whispers of this cloud-telling prophet. They flocked to the square, eager to meet the man who spoke in riddles of the sky. Marcel, however, had grown weary of his newfound fame. The clouds had become a prison, their constant presence a reminder of the burden he now bore. He yearned for the simplicity of the days when his words were just oddities, not prophecies. Yet, as he looked around at the faces upturned to the heavens, he knew that he had given the town a gift, a new way to find meaning in the mundane.

The character of Marcel, once an enigma, had become the heart of the town's identity. His peculiar greeting had evolved into a shared language, a code that bound the people together in a quest for understanding. And as the clouds continued to pass, so too did the lives of the townsfolk, each moment colored by the ever-changing tapestry above. Yet, amidst the chaos of existence, there was comfort in the predictability of the clouds, a silent reminder that life, like the weather, was a cycle of change and beauty.

Marcel found refuge in the solitude of his small apartment, surrounded by books and paper scraps filled with scribbled notes about the clouds. He had become a reluctant philosopher, his thoughts no longer just his own but a public spectacle to be dissected and discussed. The town had grown so obsessed with his sayings that they had forgotten the simplicity of his original message: that sometimes, the most profound truths could be found in the most mundane of observations.

One quiet evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky with hues of pink and gold, Marcel decided to take a walk. The air was cool, the scent of rain lingering from the morning's shower. The cobblestone streets were slick under his shoes, and the café lights flickered on, casting a warm glow onto the damp cobblestones. He wandered aimlessly, his eyes searching for a break in the clouds, a glimpse of the stars he hadn't seen in weeks.

As he rounded a corner, he heard the faint sound of a violin, the melody haunting and beautiful. Following the sound, he stumbled upon a small alleyway where a young man played, the music echoing off the ancient stones. Marcel approached, his eyes drawn to the way the shadows danced around the musician. The man looked up, and without missing a note, offered a knowing smile. "Il y a une nuage qui passe," Marcel murmured, and the musician nodded, his bow never leaving the strings. The music grew stronger, and the two men stood there, lost in the symphony of the clouds and strings, a silent communion between kindred spirits.

The performance ended as abruptly as it had begun, leaving Marcel with a sense of peace that had eluded him for some time. He thanked the musician, who simply tipped his hat in return and disappeared into the night. The town had changed, but so had he. His words had taken on a life of their own, a legacy that would outlast him. As he continued his walk, the clouds above parted to reveal a solitary star, winking in the velvet sky. He knew then that his place was not in the spotlight but in the quiet moments between the clouds, where the whispers of the universe could be heard.

Marcel's legend grew, not just within the town, but beyond its borders. People traveled from far and wide to seek his wisdom, to share in his silent conversations with the sky. Yet, the more he talked about the clouds, the less he felt he understood. His greeting had become a prison, the very essence of his being reduced to a simple phrase. He yearned for the days when he could speak freely, without the weight of expectation.

Marcel's interactions grew more infrequent, his cloud-filled soliloquies reserved for those who truly sought them. The town, too, began to move on, the excitement of the cloud prophecies fading into the background of their everyday lives. Yet, the spirit of his words remained, a gentle nudge to look upwards and find beauty in the ephemeral. The crimson-scarfed woman, whose name was Claude, became a confidant of sorts. They would often sit in the park, their eyes on the sky, sharing silent moments of understanding that transcended the need for words.

One day, as the first snowflakes of winter began to fall, Marcel looked up to see a cloud that was unlike any other. It was vast, shaped-shifting, and filled with a luminescence that seemed to come from within. The town gathered around him, their eyes reflecting the awe he felt. "C'est le plus beau nuage que j'ai jamais vu," he murmured, his voice filled with wonder. It was a moment that would be etched into their memories, a reminder of the magic that could be found in the simplest of things.

But with the passing of time, the clouds grew sparse, and the town's interest waned. Marcel watched as the children grew up, the lovers grew old, and the artists moved on to new muses. The tourists dwindled, and the bookstore's once-bustling cloud section grew dusty and forgotten. Yet, in the quiet moments, when the sky was a canvas of cerulean blue, he knew that the clouds were still there, watching, waiting for the moment when the world would need them again.

The story of Marcel and his clouds became a fable, a tale told to wide-eyed children who dreamed of seeing the world through his eyes. Yet, as the seasons cycled through, the clouds grew scarcer, their whispers to him more infrequent. The townsfolk, once eager for his every cloud-laden greeting, had returned to their lives, the enigma of his words now just a quaint memory. Marcel found himself yearning for the simplicity of his past, before his words had been weighted with meaning.

One crisp morning, as the sun climbed the sky, a peculiar silence fell over the town. The birds had ceased their chirping, the usual bustle of the market was absent, and the air was thick with anticipation. Marcel felt a tug at his heart, a premonition that something momentous was approaching. He made his way to the square, where a crowd had gathered, their eyes trained on the heavens. There, in the distance, was a cloud, unlike any other. It grew larger with each passing second, its edges tinged with the fiery hue of a thousand setting suns.

The cloud grew, enveloping the town in shadow, and the people gasped as it took the shape of a great beast, its eyes piercing the very soul of each observer. The creature roared, a sound that seemed to come from the very heart of the universe, and the earth trembled beneath them. Yet, amidst the fear, Marcel felt a strange comfort, a familiarity that he hadn't felt in years. The cloud spoke to him, not in riddles or metaphors, but in a language as old as time itself, a language of shapes and shadows.

The beast began to dissipate, its form melting away like ice in spring. Marcel stood, his heart racing, as the last of the fiery tendrils disappeared. The townsfolk looked to him for guidance, for an explanation of what they had witnessed. But all he could offer was a soft smile and a nod to the now-clear sky. "Il y a une nuage qui est passé," he murmured, his voice filled with the quiet strength of one who had seen the face of the divine. The crowd dispersed, their whispers carrying the tale of the fiery cloud to the farthest corners of the town.

Marcel knew that this was not the end of his story, but a new beginning. The cloud had reminded him of the vastness of the universe, the infinite possibilities that lay just beyond the edge of their understanding. His words had once been a greeting, a declaration of the mundane made extraordinary. Now, they were a call to arms, a reminder that life was fleeting and that beauty could be found in every moment, if only they knew where to look.

Marcel took to the streets once more, his eyes searching the sky with renewed vigor. The townsfolk watched him with a mix of admiration and trepidation, unsure what to make of the man who had been touched by the heavens. Yet, as they went about their lives, they found themselves pausing more often, looking upward, seeking the silent whispers of the clouds. The world had become a canvas of wonder, and every person a painter in the grand scheme of existence.

The days grew shorter, and the nights grew colder. The town prepared for the winter, stocking their fires and bracing themselves for the months of solitude ahead. Marcel, too, felt a change coming. He knew that the cloud had delivered a message, one that he was not yet ready to fully comprehend. But as the first flakes of snow began to fall, he felt a warmth spread through him, a promise of what was to come. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the crisp winter air, and whispered to the sky, "Merci, mon ami."

The snowfall grew heavier, and Marcel found himself once again in the park, the same bench where he had first met Claude. She sat there now, her crimson scarf wrapped tightly around her neck, watching the world go by. He approached, the snowflakes melting on his cheeks, and took a seat beside her. "Il y a une nuage qui est passé," he said, his voice filled with a quiet power. Claude looked at him, her eyes reflecting the understanding that had grown between them. "Oui," she murmured, "et maintenant, il neige."

The snow continued to fall, a silent ballet of ice and air. The townsfolk watched from their windows, the magic of the moment captured in their collective memory. Marcel and Claude sat in companionable silence, their eyes never leaving the sky. The clouds above them had transformed into a tapestry of white, a canvas that told a story of purity and transformation. Each snowflake that fell was a whispered secret, a piece of the cloud's journey from the heavens to the earth below.

Marcel felt a peculiar lightness in his chest, a sensation akin to the feeling of floating. The cloud's visitation had left an indelible mark on his soul, one that could not be captured in mere words. He knew that his greeting had evolved, had grown beyond the simple acknowledgment of the sky's transitory nature. It had become a declaration of his belief in the beauty of the unexpected, a testament to the power of observation.

As the winter progressed, the clouds grew scarcer, their whispers fading into the icy silence. Yet, Marcel's connection to them remained, a bond that was unbreakable. He watched as the snowflakes grew larger, their delicate patterns becoming more intricate with each passing day. It was as if the clouds were sharing their secrets with him, revealing the intricacies of their design in a dance of crystalline wonder. The townsfolk noticed the change in him, the way he moved with a newfound grace, his eyes always alight with a distant gaze.

One night, as the moon cast a silver glow over the town, Marcel found himself unable to sleep. He rose from his bed and made his way to the window, the cold glass against his cheek. There, in the moonlit sky, was a cloud, solitary and serene. It was shaped like a bird, its wings outstretched in silent flight. Marcel felt a warmth in his chest, a knowing that the cloud had come to him, a messenger from a realm beyond. He whispered his greeting to the night, "Il y a une nuage qui est passé," and for the first time in a long while, he felt truly at peace.

The town of Leclair had grown accustomed to the strange ways of Marcel, the cloud-whisperer. His words had become a part of their daily lives, a gentle reminder to look upwards and find beauty in the simplest of things. The snowfall had brought with it a sense of unity, a shared experience that had bridged the gap between the mundane and the profound. As the months passed and the snow gave way to spring, the townsfolk carried with them the memory of the fiery cloud, a symbol of the ever-present mystery that hovered just beyond their reach.

Marcel and Claude watched the first buds of spring unfurl, the world coming back to life around them. The air was thick with the scent of blossoming flowers and the distant chirping of birds. He looked at her, the understanding between them unspoken, and said, "Vous savez, les nuages ne mentent jamais." She nodded, her eyes shining with the light of a thousand reflections. "Oui," she replied, "ils racontent juste une histoire que les humains ont oublié comment entendre." And with that, they continued their vigil, the sky above them a canvas for the most profound narratives of all.

As the days grew longer, the clouds grew more playful, their shapes morphing into whimsical creatures that danced in the breeze. Marcel found joy in pointing them out to the children who would run to him with excitement, eager to hear his tales of the cloud's journey. His legend had grown, but so had his sense of purpose. He had become the town's silent guardian, a keeper of the skies' secrets. His greeting had become a password to a world of wonder, a key to the kingdom of imagination.

One afternoon, as the sun painted the town in shades of gold and the shadows grew long, Marcel encountered a young boy named Émile. He was crying, his eyes red and puffy from the loss of his beloved kite. Marcel crouched beside him, his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Ne pleure pas," he said softly, "il y a une nuage qui est passé, et il emmène ton cerf-volant dans les cieux pour le soigner." The boy looked up, hope sparkling in his eyes, and together they watched as the clouds painted a new story across the sky, the kite soaring once more in their shared imagination.

The town grew quiet again, the clouds retreating to the corners of the heavens. But Marcel knew that they were always there, waiting for the moment when the world would need their whispers. He sat on his bench, the crimson scarf now a familiar sight around his neck, a gift from Claude. They had become inseparable, their silent conversations with the sky a testament to the bond that had formed between them. And as the seasons rolled on, their greeting became a symbol of the eternal cycle of change and rebirth, a reminder that in every ending, there was a new beginning waiting to be discovered.

Marcel's story spread, not just in whispers and murmurs, but in the very fabric of the town's culture. The clouds became a muse for poets and painters, a source of wisdom for philosophers, and a playground for children's dreams. His words had woken a sleeping giant, a collective yearning for the beauty in the everyday. And as the years rolled by, the legend of the man who spoke to the clouds grew, until it was no longer just a tale of a peculiar greeting, but a reminder that life's most profound moments could be found in the simplest of gestures.

Marcel grew old, his eyes never leaving the sky. His hair turned white, and his step grew slower, but the spark of wonder never left him. The town had changed, had grown with him, had become a place where the absurd was revered and the mundane was sacred. And as he sat on his bench, watching the clouds pass by, he knew that his legacy would live on, a silent chant that echoed through the streets whenever someone looked up and whispered, "Il y a une nuage qui est passé."

The day came when Marcel no longer had the strength to leave his bed. Claude sat by his side, her hand in his, her eyes reflecting the love that had blossomed between them. The town gathered outside, their eyes on the heavens, waiting for the final cloud that would carry him away. And as he took his last breath, the sky parted, revealing a single cloud, shaped like a man with outstretched arms. The townsfolk watched as it grew smaller and smaller, until it was just a memory, a whisper in the wind.

The clouds above Leclair mourned the loss of their devoted listener, their shapes growing more dramatic in the days that followed. The townsfolk spoke in hushed tones, their greetings now a solemn nod to the heavens. But as the seasons turned and the clouds returned to their playful dance, so too did the town's spirit. The memory of Marcel lived on in every heart, a beacon of hope that no matter the storm, the beauty of a passing cloud could still be found.

The story of Marcel, the cloud-whisperer, became a beacon of hope for the people of Leclair. His simple greeting had become a way of life, a mantra that reminded them to seek the extraordinary in the ordinary. And as the years rolled into decades, the legend grew, each retelling adding a new layer to the tapestry of his life. The town flourished, a testament to the power of his vision, the beauty of the clouds, and the enduring human spirit.

In the quiet moments, when the world seemed to hold its breath, the townsfolk would gather in the square, their eyes on the ever-changing sky. They spoke of the days when Marcel had been among them, sharing stories of his wisdom and the way he had transformed their lives. The young ones, who had never known a time without his greeting, grew into adults who carried his message with them, whispering "il y a une nuage qui est passé" as they faced the challenges of life.

The town square, once a place of mundane exchanges, had become a sacred space, a shrine to the memory of the man who had taught them to look up. The bench where Marcel had shared his silent communion with Claude was adorned with flowers, notes, and trinkets, each a symbol of the joy he had brought to their lives. The café owner, who had once scoffed at his eccentricities, now recounted tales of his prophetic cloud-spotting with a sense of pride, as if the very air was imbued with his essence.

The town of Leclair grew old with the legend of Marcel, the man who had taught them to see beyond the veil of the everyday. The crimson scarf that Claude had given him was passed from hand to hand, a relic that held the warmth of his spirit. And as the seasons turned, the clouds continued their silent vigil, their shapes forever shifting, forever whispering the secrets of the universe. The town had become a place of pilgrimage, a sanctuary for those seeking a glimpse of the beauty that could only be found in the fleeting moments of a cloud's embrace.

Marcel's story had grown beyond the confines of the town, reaching the ears of scholars and poets, philosophers and dreamers. They came from far and wide to walk the streets that had once been his stage, to sit on the bench where he had found his muse. The town grew, the buildings stretched skyward, but the essence of Marcel remained, a heartbeat that pulsed with every cloud that passed.

And so, the tale of Marcel and his clouds lived on, a fable of beauty in the face of the absurd. The people of Leclair had learned that life, much like the weather, was unpredictable, that joy could be found in the most unlikely of places, and that sometimes, the most profound truths were those spoken by a solitary man to a world that had forgotten how to listen.

As the years passed, the square remained a place of silent reverence, the bench a symbol of the connection between earth and sky. The clouds continued to tell their stories, their shapes ever-changing, their whispers carried on the wind. The children grew, their eyes filled with the wonder that Marcel had shared, and they too began to greet each other with "il y a une nuage qui est passé," the words a gentle nudge to look upwards, to seek the extraordinary in the ordinary.

The tourists came and went, their cameras capturing the essence of the town, the spirit of its people, and the ever-present clouds that seemed to watch over it all. They took with them the whispers of the cloud-whisperer, the legend of a man who had found beauty in the most fleeting of moments. The world had grown colder, more cynical, but in Leclair, there remained a warmth, a belief in the power of the transient.

Marcel's legacy had become the heartbeat of the town, a pulse that could be felt in every conversation, every shared glance at the heavens. The clouds were no longer just clouds, they were emissaries of a deeper truth, a reminder of the beauty that lay just beyond the grasp of human understanding. And in the quiet moments, when the world stood still, the townsfolk knew that he was with them, his words echoing through the ages, a whisper of wisdom that would never fade away.

One summer evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in fiery hues, Claude felt a gentle breeze tug at the scarf around her neck. She looked up, her eyes meeting the cloud that had taken the shape of Marcel's smiling face. The townsfolk gathered around her, their hearts swelling with emotion. They knew that he had sent them a message, a final greeting from the great beyond. They watched as the cloud grew larger, its features more pronounced, until it filled the entire sky, a canvas of love and loss.

The silence was deafening, a testament to the impact one man's words had had on a community. They stood, hand in hand, their eyes on the cloud that had become a part of them, a living reminder of the beauty in the fleeting. And as the first stars began to twinkle through the dissipating cloud, they knew that Marcel had found his peace, that his journey had come full circle. The air was thick with the scent of rain, a promise that life would continue, that the cycle would not end with his passing.

The next morning, the town awoke to a sky devoid of clouds. The sun shone brightly, the absence of the usual whispers a stark contrast to the days before. Yet, as they went about their business, the people of Leclair felt a strange lightness, a sense of freedom that had not been present in their lives for a long time. They had been given a gift, the ability to see the world through Marcel's eyes, to find joy in the simplest of moments. The cloud-whisperer had passed on his gift, leaving behind a town forever changed, forever bound to the sky above.

And so, the story of Marcel and his clouds became a beacon, a guiding light for those who had lost their way. His greeting grew into a movement, a philosophy that spread beyond the borders of Leclair, touching the lives of many. The townsfolk continued to share their silent conversations with the sky, their hearts open to the whispers of the clouds. The world had lost a great soul, but in the quiet moments between the breaths of life, his legacy lived on, a gentle reminder that beauty was always there, waiting to be found.

The townsfolk of Leclair grew old with the legend of Marcel, their hearts filled with the warmth of his memory. The café where he had first shared his greeting with Claude became a place of pilgrimage, a sanctuary for those seeking solace. The walls were adorned with paintings of clouds, each stroke a silent tribute to the man who had taught them to look up. The café owner, once skeptical, now spoke with reverence of the days when Marcel had shared his insights, his words a balm for the weary traveler.

The cloud-whisperer's bench remained a central point of the square, a silent sentinel that bore witness to countless moments of joy and sorrow. Lovers would sit and whisper sweet nothings to the sky, their eyes reflecting the same wonder that Marcel had shared with Claude. Parents brought their children, their eyes filled with the hope that they too would find the beauty in the clouds, the magic in the mundane.

As the decades rolled by, the world outside Leclair grew increasingly tumultuous, but the town remained steadfast in its belief in the power of the clouds. The children grew into adults who carried the greeting with them, sharing it with strangers, friends, and enemies alike. And in the darkest of times, when the sky was a canvas of thunderous anger, they would look up and remember Marcel's words, "Toujours une beauté dans les moments les plus sombre." The clouds, once a source of comfort, had become a symbol of resilience, a promise that even in the most tempestuous of storms, there was something beautiful waiting on the other side.

The story of Marcel had become a balm for the soul, a gentle whisper that reminded the world that there was more to life than the concrete jungles and digital screens that had come to dominate their lives. His greeting had transcended time, a bridge between the past and the present, a reminder that the most profound truths were often found in the most unlikely of places. The townsfolk continued to gather in the square, their eyes on the heavens, their hearts filled with the warmth of his spirit. The clouds continued their dance, their shapes a silent narrative that spoke of love, loss, and the eternal cycle of change.

The town had grown, the square now surrounded by modern buildings that seemed to reach for the very clouds that Marcel had so loved. Yet, amidst the steel and glass, the heart of Leclair remained untouched, a bastion of the absurd and the surreal. The bench, now a monument to his legacy, was a place of quiet reflection, a sanctuary for those who needed to hear the whispers of the sky. And as the years turned into centuries, the legend grew, each retelling adding a new layer of meaning, a new interpretation of his simple, yet profound, greeting.

Marcel's words had become a universal language, a greeting shared by those who understood the beauty of the absurd. The town of Leclair had become a symbol of hope, a reminder that even in the darkest of times, there was always a cloud passing by, offering a glimpse of the beauty that lay just beyond. The world had moved on, but the whispers of the cloud-whisperer remained, a gentle reminder that the universe was vast, and within its folds, there was room for the smallest of miracles.

By Carlos del Puente