Sila, a young child, watches with her mother and two sisters, Varyl and Lillit, as weathermen fight a storm. Thinking of her own aunt, who had turned to lighting after becoming the town’s first weatherman, her mother warns them not to be wayward so the weather doesn’t take them, too. Sila sees the Cliffwatch, an old mansion by the sea, where the weathermen go when they first take on the role before they give up their human forms to become a piece of the elements, as rain, wind, or lightning. In an argument with Varyl, Lillit reveals that she has spoken to a weatherman once, which infuriates their mother. She drags the children home and finds a catalog of storms written by Lillit. When the time comes for Lillit to decide whether she wants to be a weatherman, she volunteers. The town supplies their family with extra milk every Tuesday as a way of repayment for Lillit’s service. The history of how the storms came to be intelligent and malicious forces is shrouded in mystery, mostly lost to the memory of the current population. The weather was rumored to have turned a whole family into a thick grey mist within their home; Sila’s mother’s aunt was rumored to have turned to lighting so she could strike the clouds and scatter them. The town Sila lives in is safer from the storms than most places, as it is surrounded by cliffs on all sides. Sila, missing her sister, attempts to name storms as well. When the family walks near the Cliffwatch, they sometimes see Lillit in the window of the building, and they wave at each other.  On one of their visits, the biggest storm in recent memory hits the town. Looking for shelter, Sila, her mother, and Varyl shelter in the Cliffwatch. All the weathermen at the Cliffwatch team up to fight the storm. Sila and her mother see Lillit give up her corporeal form to do so, and they know they will not see her again. After the storm, the weather seems to return to a more peaceful state. Small pieces of storms can still be found in the corners of the Cliffwatch, which people bottle and keep for fun. Spots of blue sky open up. The town no longer needs weathermen as they did before, and people mourn their loss. Sila, Varyl, and their mother visit the cliffs afterwards, where they meet Lillit, who they can still feel as a part of the wind.