rainplay

Walking in the rain had never felt like this.

She felt the slight drizzle fall onto her hair, and watched silently as the bangs in front of her face slowly get wetter, until they started to drip. Around her, the road was empty, the neighbourhood was silent. She raised her face to the sky, pondering aimlessly at the still beautiful blue sky, wondering why the clouds were not black. The drops of rain that fell to her cheeks, her forehead, her chin, were light, and caressed her soft skin before trailing downwards to her neck.

Breathing in the air that smelt like rain, she closed her eyes momentarily, letting her feet wander on, feeling the soft musky breeze blow past her damp cheeks. She heard the wind pick up, and the sound of the leaves rustling filled the air, even as she walked beneath the heavy treetops. Her umbrella forgotten, still closely bound and trailing from her arm, she started running, her bright eyes opening fleetingly to check that she was in the right direction.

Her sandals gripped the wet road loosely, as she ran down the road. She stopped, bending down to catch her breath, her hair loose from the low knot, and wet from the rain, which was still soft and light. She glanced up again, straining her neck as she opened her mouth and tried to catch the rain on her tongue. Feeling the drops all around her, she giggled, and twirled, her hands outstretched. She was remembering another rainy day, not so long ago. She was remembering the person she had been with.

She stopped twirling, but the smile still clung onto her face. The rain had started to grow heavier, and the drops that came down were stronger, bigger. She held her hand out, and watched through big eyes the plopping of the rain onto her palm. She could feel her school top getting drenched, and she sighed, walking back to her house.

There would be other times to play in the rain.

chiiyo's comments :
I live in a bungalow in a row of bungalows on a slight incline, so the road that runs outside my house is usually pretty deserted and breezy. I walk up that slight incline everyday after school, and the wind always welcomes me back home. This piece was inspired by my love for rain, for all the sensations that come along with it, sight, sound, taste, smell, touch. Perhaps also because I was strolling outside my house in my school uniform and sandals when it began to drizzle. Sometimes when it rains, it's stuffy and humid, and I hate those rains, when you don't feel refreshed at all, just hot and sticky. But that drizzle was different. It was light and breezy and cooling, and it just made me want to run down the road...

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