Raining my Happiness
Friday Reflections #2
A clap of thunder echoes through the sky, and the glass pane on the window near me rattles. Almost immediately, there’s a mad scramble to pull the windows shut, but I don’t join. My seat is at the end of the room, and a big tree is outside the window near me. The rain, which begins to pelt down, doesn’t choose my window any day, and today, the wind pushes it away from the building. A bell rings somewhere on the other side, and we get a ten minute breather as the teacher, Mrs. Nair walks out. The next class is English, and our teacher, Mrs. Davis, usually gives us that time to collect our thoughts. Sliding to the edge of the seat, I look out the window and feel a little of the rain spraying on my face.
“The rain makes everything beautiful.”
I see the droplets sliding down the leaves of the tree, the green more beautiful and clear through the transparent drops. There’s a squirrel in a tree-hole looking back at me, surprised at the mad scramble earlier. I wonder if it wants a door on the tree-hole to close, like we did our windows, or if is wondering why we’re afraid of a little rain. The sky is full of dark, black clouds, pregnant with rain and waiting to empty it on our world. But they’re drifting with the wind that enters the room through my open window and weaves through my hair. The road, two floors below us, looks like a river now, the water flowing steadily and quickly into the sewers. I see people playing hopscotch, trying to find the part of the road river that’s not as deep. And a splash of color, the many umbrellas of the smaller children whose school day ends at this time.
“I like people who smile when it’s raining.”
My best friend Divya is standing near me watching the rain as well. She’s a poet too, and I wonder what she’s thinking. We have a competition the next day where we both are representing the school, and I have a feeling she’s hoping we get rain as the topic. We smile looking at each other, knowing we’ve read each other’s thoughts, and knowing such a simple topic for an 8th grade poetry competition would never happen. We hear Mrs. Davis calling our names, and turn to go back to our seats, our faces a little red.
“There’s no need to feel embarrassed, you two. The rain is a wonderful thing to look at. You can be inspired.”
Mrs. Davis has this sixth sense at times. Today’s class, she says, is about storytelling, and she asks us to make up stories in teams of two. Not surprisingly, Divya and I write about a small child’s excitement in the rain. The story is simple, but Mrs. Davis encourages us to write further. Only writing more will help us get better she says.
“Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.” – Bob Marley
When the final bell rings, I find my younger sister waiting outside her classroom and we go out together. The rain is still a little heavy, and some of our friends are waiting inside the school to see if it’ll let up. We don’t wait. The pluviophiles that we are, we put on our jackets and head to the bicycle stand. We smile at each other, feeling the cold drops slide down our faces and hands, and the not-so-deep-now river flowing at our feet. We know there’s a scolding in the not-so-distant future for us when our grandmother sees wet clothes, bags and more importantly, wet grandchildren. But the smile is of understanding, the understanding that we’re taking the long route home, and cycling slowly. We splash every puddle on the way, shouting to each other over the beautiful silence of rain.
When we reach home, the expected scolding comes, and she gives our ears a twist too. But we know she loves us a lot, and it’s a playful one. The aroma of freshly made potato cutlets greets us, and we find it waiting for us on the dining table. We quickly change out of our wet clothes and attack them with gusto. Afterward, we do our assignments sitting on the threshold of our home, feeling the rain with our hearts, singing “I Lay My Love on You” by Westlife.
“Rain is a chance for lonely people to be touched.”
A clap of thunder echoes through the sky, and the glass pane on the window near me rattles. I turn and see the screen of the computer in front of me. The reverie snaps, and I’m back to the present. There’s a smile on my face, but not many will notice. The talk around me is of the rain, but not about how beautiful it looks against the green of the trees. The talk is about how difficult it will be to reach home in the puddles. It’s about the cold one might catch if we get wet. The rain hasn’t changed with time, but we have. It’s no wonder the happiest phase of my life was my childhood, sharing it with best friends who wrote stories at the drop of a topic, sharing it with a sister who loves me as much as I love her, with a grandmother who knew stories of rain and whose cooking still wows us. The rain is not just rain to me. It brings back memories of an old, happier me. In a way, this rain is me.
Friday Reflections had this topic today: Reflect on the happiest stage of your life. Where were you, what were you doing, who were you sharing it with? It’s raining in the city nowadays, and being a pluviophile, I’m feeling happy. But how I looked at rain when I was growing up, that feels more beautiful, happy and worth remembering.
(© 11th September 2015)
Vinay Leo R.
Poetry & writing are to me, a breath of fresh air in a life that is sometimes covered by the smoke of sorrow or self doubt. They also become the sweets I share to celebrate when life offers me a reason to. But most of all, they are to me, my life. For each word I write is a piece of my heart, a thought that just had to find its way into the world.
Thank you so much for linking up, this piece is so beautiful, it really moved me. I felt I was right there with you loving the rain. You are such a talented writer and poet. #Fridayreflections
Glad you could picturize and jump into the memory, Mackenzie. 🙂 Thank you for the inspiration.
I love how random moments bring back such strong memories. It’s raining heavily here (in Australia) at the time being and I’m thinking about how to get my washing dry – maybe I should stop and think about being young and splashing in puddles! Lovely post ~ Leanne
Oh. It’s not wrong to think of what is important to us now. 🙂 Just, I think we spend a lot of time thinking of that and not the beauty around sometimes. 😀
Hope you get your washing dry and and jump in a few puddles too, Leanne.
You totally made me fall in love with rain. Must remember to go out with the kids next time the rains gods drop by.
🙂 Hope you have a fun, happy time in the showers. Be safe though. Thank you for dropping by, Tulika.
This was such a beautiful read, Leo da! And you know, it was raining here in Kolkata this evening ^_^
Nice! 🙂 I hope it rains here too, though it hasn’t as yet today. Glad you felt the read was beautiful, Aniesha. 😀 Thank you.
”Rains hasn’t changed with time, but we have”. Well said.
I remember how much I have enjoyed the chill droplets of rain sitting on a window side seat in the class. You have quoted some the beautiful lines on rain…my favorite is the one by Bob Marley. Be the rain, be the source of happiness for others <3
(Sims recently posted… Be Hopeful!)
Thank you, Sims. The rain is beautiful, so the quotes on it also seem to be. 😀 Have a nice weekend!
I love the rains…every time, I stand in the balcony to feel the drops on my face. I’ve passed on the genes perfectly to my girls, who just have to get wet every time it rains. Being in Chennai means, the rains are all the more precious and every drop from the sky needs to be felt with joy and get drenched thoroughly to cool the soul too 😀
Thank you for writing about my fav thing…I remembered the splashing in the puddles, the refusal to carry an umbrella – getting wet being the sole reason – nostalgic and beautiful !!
Totally loved the way you’ve written here…
(UmaS recently posted… Microblog Mondays: My new love is…)
Thank you so much, Uma. 🙂 It’s a lovely feeling to stand in the balcony and feel the rain, right? I had that at my old home, but here, we stay on the ground floor, so no balcony, sadly.
Good that you are a fellow pluviophile. 😀 Glad you liked the way I’ve written about the rain, and good to have brought back some memories for you as well. Cheers!
Yet another heart warming post this! Being a pluviophile myself, I could connect so well. Loved the way you added those quotes.. 🙂
(Sanjana recently posted… Cataclysmic)
Thank you, Sanjana. I’m glad you liked the post.
I love the rains so much. And I totally agree that our attitude towards Rain has changed totally. I remember as a kid how I would love to play in the rain and now dare S does something like that.
Oh don’t worry, Jb. S will dare soon. Like mom, like kid. 🙂 He’ll have that same old attitude towards rain that you had as a kid!
I love love the rains! 🙂
And your story was beautiful – made me smile!
I have these water shoes – you know ones you can wear in the water – and I wear them when it rains and splash and jump over puddles!! 😀
there is another lady in the next building and invariably I see her jumping over puddles too!
(Pixie recently posted… Monday Musings – its usually always about food)
Water shoes huh? 😀 I’ve to get them too. I usually splash in my normal sports shoes only and Amma gets irritated. 😉
Glad you loved the story, and that it made you smile, fellow pluviophile Pixie. 😀 And also that it made you smile!
How our perception of rain changes as adults, isn’t it? Just like most of the others. IT’s almost like the world hits us on the head with a newspaper and switches on a button saying, ‘Ok, all those things you loved as a child. No, you’re an adult. Don’t enjoy it!’.
Fortunately, for me, everytime society hits me on the head with various things, I get more childish. And the love for the rain remains so.
Nice work, Leo.
(Sid recently posted… Of humans and animals)
Fortunately for me, that newspaper has no effect too. 🙂 Some things are meant to be, and my love for rain is one. Glad you liked the post, Sid. 😀
Sigh, the rain always ALWAYS makes me happy. SO many memories.
(CookieCrumbsInc. recently posted… Only I Can Write A Saga on Doors.)
Ditto. 🙂 Nothing is as happy as the rain, Cookie.
That’s so fabulous and such a lovely happy post. Made me smile Vinay 🙂 Congrats on the pick by Friday Reflections. This post truly deserves the mention.
(Parul recently posted… #MicroblogMondays – Things I am good at)
Glad it made you smile, Parul. 🙂 Thank you for the visit and the wishes!
I am at loss of words to tell you how much I loved this one. Who can not fall in love with rain after reading this? 🙂
Do try with few words, Vinitha. 😀 😉 Glad you liked the post, and felt people will fall in love with the rain after reading this.
Such a beautiful piece of writing. Really loved your description of rain! Nostalgic:)
Imagining and feeling the rain is something that is nostalgic and that I can write from the heart, Dhivya. 🙂 Thank you.
Wow, Leo, I didn’t know you write so beautifully! Such a wonderful piece of writing.
Keep writing and give me more like these. It was a real treat to read.
(Preethi Venugopala recently posted… Newbie Corner: Diptendu Chakraborty)
One year goes by so fast. 😛 2014 AtoZ, you’d come by and read my writing too, Preethi. Ithra petannu maranno? 😀
Glad you felt this was beautiful. Thanks. 🙂
I love looking out through the window when it rains and also driving in one…few months back I drove in heavy downpour for 4 hours ?
I don’t mind looking out windows in the rain, but not driving in a downpour. 😛 😀 Though I do hear it’s fun from many of my friends. Thanks, Alok.