Rain

Where was everybody? He wondered. It seemed like a ghost town.

So desolate and dark. Then he chuckled to himself. It was 10pm. Where would anybody be on this cold winter night.

And where was he?

Ever since she passed away, his life had gone totally haywire. Like a blind bat, stumbling around hopelessly.

Pulling his coat closer to his body to mitigate the cold dampness trying to seep into his core, he clutched onto his briefcase full of files for tomorrow’s meeting, the reason he was wandering so late at night in these lonely streets. Adjusting his hat, he pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose, every breath sending out a puff of smoke right in front of his face, like a tiny nebula of frozen droplets.

His unfocused eyes fell upon the building glowing in the distance, the neon lights flashing on even after the city has fallen asleep. It’s tall enough, he thought to himself, ten storeys should be fatal.

He trudged on, and before he new he was standing on the roof, silhouetted by the neon glow, flashing the advertisement for a new life insurance policy. Curse you, he muttered under his breath, as he slowly made his way towards the edge.

The cold north wind threatened to blow him away, as he threw away the case, preparing for the final drop. He winced under the effect of the strong gust that blew away his hat, his right hand clutching his goodbye note deep inside his pocket.

Suddenly, the wind stopped, and the hellish silence shrouded the earth. Then it began, just as the sign behind him blew a fuse and burned out. Tiny drops at first.

Rain in winter, he frowned, what a bummer!

Soon it really began to pour. He grumbled and cursed the weather god for laying waste to his plans of eternal rest. Then through the pattering he heard a voice.

Her voice. Hazy at first. But it resonated with the rain. “Look up,” the voice said. He did, but there was nothing to see. Yet the rain fell square on his face, reminding him of her monsoon ritual.

It was as if she stood beside him whispering, “When you stand in the rain in the darkness, you feel something different. Something beyond your five senses. You feel the rain enveloping you, cloaking you like a shield. Embrace it and you’ll feel better.”

And true to her words, even the icy winter rain, calmed him down, as her voice whispered before ebbing away, “Be strong and live on. Find your own happiness.”

Tears rolled down his face, cloaked by the rain, as he whispered “Thank you” before stepping down from the edge.

© Auro_30122015