Title: Rain

 

It rattles the windows, trying to get in. She runs, through to the back of the house. But it rattles the windows there too. The house is surrounded. Rose whimpers, sinks to the floor, covering her ears with her hands- fingernails digging into flesh.

“It’s okay. It’s just the rain. It won’t hurt you.”

The words make no sense. Why would it be attacking otherwise?

“The clouds are already clearing. It will stop soon.”

It won’t stop. Not until it gets her, why would it? They always win in the end.

“You’re safe now.”

It stops. She stays coiled on the floor, waiting for it to come back. It doesn’t.

*

“It’s weather, like the sun.”  

Rose flinches at the mention of sun, she’ll never get used to the ever-present brightness of Above Ground. It hurts her eyes. And now there’s more, even scarier, weather to go with it.

*

It’s drizzling. It’s the same as the attack: the thing called rain. She doesn’t believe how silent it is this time.

She agrees to go outside, to see it for what it is- apparently this will make her less afraid, she’s doubtful.

Once outside, she sees it’s the same- it hits her, lots of sharp pellets against her skin.

Rose screeches and runs back inside.

*

It can’t get her inside. Rose understands this now. Her heart still beats wildly in time with it.

She blasts music to drown it out.

And stops going outside on cloudy days.

She doesn’t go outside on sunny days either, so she’s just inside all the time.   

It’s like being Below again.

*

For a long time she stays inside, days and weeks and months.

At times Rose reaches a hand out to the rain for a newspaper or a package, snatching it inside quickly- and then slower.

Until one day, it doesn’t feel like such a big deal anymore.

She steps outside, tilts her face to the sky and lets the rain fall on her.