"The Good Left Undone"

(All characters copyright to JCV, yet Todd 2.0 to me and IrkenVampyer777)

Todd was growing weary of his town. Everyone was the same, dull, annoying wastes of flesh. The sky looked gray, and the bustle had died to a silent murmur. How he prayed for someone to come and make things bright again. Someone he missed for so long

In fields where nothing grew but weeds,
I found a flower at my feet,
bending there in my direction,
I wrapped a hand around its stem,
and pulled until the roots gave in,
finding there what I've been missing, and I know...

Todd stood on the park grounds, holding a small delicate flower in his hands. Something bright, that bloomed that day. Something good was on its way.

So I tell myself, (tell myself) it's wrong,
there's a point we pass from which we can't return,
I felt the cold rain of the coming storm,

He sat on the ground and thought to himself. It had been so long since that face had appeared in his window. If only he would come back. Todd reclined back on his right elbow, gracefully cupping the bloom in his left palm. Could this red delight be a sign?

All because of you,
I haven't slept in so long,
when I do I dream,
of drowning in the ocean,
longing for the shore,
where I can lay my head down,
I'll follow your voice,
all you have to do is,
shout it out!

He never really brushed this hope from his mind. Todd had dreams about it. They were increasing rapidly in the past few weeks. Nightmares, however, they were. Once he felt as if he was laying on a sandy shore, spouting up water. He had drowned. Something had saved him. He saw a shadow smile above him, whispering that it was okay. That shadow was so familiar. But he sadly awoke in a dark quiet bedroom.

Inside my hands these petals browned,
dried up fallen to the ground,
but it was already too late now,
I pushed my fingers through the earth,
returned this flower to the dirt,
so it could live, I walked away now,
(but) I know...

Todd walked back to his house slowly on the crisp spring morning. He looked down at the flower he had picked from the earth. Slowly, with each passing second, the petals were dying, drooping. This couldn't be a sign, now. If it were, they would never come back. The shadow man would be dead. Todd sighed, hoping it would help, stooping into the dirt of his garden and replanting the flower.

Not a day goes by when I don't feel this burn,
there's a point we pass from which we can't return,
I felt the cold rain of the coming storm...

That night, the first good rain in what felt like eternity visited the town. The morning after, Todd awoke and looked out his window. Everything looked so alive. The sky was blue, the grasses green, and the foliage to its fullest. He stepped outside to the flowerbed and saw his little bloom. It was its brightest shade yet. He couldn't understand. He turned to see that a car was parked in the neighbor's driveway. A sight for sore eyes.

All because of you,
I believe in angels,
not the kind with wings,
no, not the kind with halos,
the kind that bring you home,
when home becomes a strange place,
I'll follow your voice,
all you have to do is,
SHOUT IT OUT!

A figure stood before him, reminiscent of a holy messenger. The bright light behind him, the figure was merely a smiling shadow, but Todd felt it an angel. The man wrapped his arms around Todd, who was now weeping.

"Johnny…. You're back…"