Rain

Rain.

Rain, God's gift of life to the dying crop.

Rain, God's wrath on earth with floods and storms.

Rain, the famous Korean artist which has so many fans across the world screaming after?

No......

Rain, something I've never really understood about and realized until...

***

Yesterday evening was an inspiring one.

I had just finished my weekly sports work-out with my group of good-ole' Teddies (they are not OLD, mind you). It was raining heavily, and the wind was blowing hard. We could even hear the rain beating harshly on the roof while we were still in the sports complex.

Around 10 minutes later me and my group of teddies were standing in the lobby of the complex, some of them waiting for their transport to go home. The rain had subsided considerably by then, but it wasn't light enough to be a drizzle, nor was it stormy enough to blow you away.

And then, I made a decision in my life that I never once really did - To voluntarily walk back home in the pouring rain.

I had in the past drenched myself enough times to drown dozens of cats and rats. But it wasn't because I wanted to. It was coincidence, or more like bad luck, to have the skies rain down on me as I slowly trudge my way home from school or anywhere else to my final destination, cursing under my breath, and wiping the drops away from my eyes.

This time though, it wasn't coincidence or anything like that. I just wanted to do it.

Waving goodbye to my friends, I started running towards the exit of the parking lot, the cold rain showering down on me and the wind giving me chills all the way. As I was running, I was wondering what would happen to me if a lightning bolt simply decided to choose me as its dinner (victim) for that evening, and strike me.

Would I die instantly?
Would I feel a sharp, hot, white pain before I die or fall unconscious?
Would a car run over me if I were lying in the middle of the road?
Would I see that 'bright light' at the end of a tunnel?
What would happen to my treasured fantasy book collection?
Why didn't I write a will???
Would it really prove that I can be a little unlucky sometimes?

So anyway, I didn't get stroked by any lightning bolt, for I am still here, healthy and well, and blogging my mind out. Although what may happen tomorrow I can never predict, but that would be another story.

Half-way home, I was already out of breath. So I slowed my running to a brisk walk. I was drenched, with my hair all plastered down on my face, when suddenly I spotted a red flower growing in my neighbour's yard that I'd never noticed before. I'd never in my life, seen something so radiant and beautiful as that flower. I slowed even further to a stride. And, turning my head to look around myself slowly, was a world I've never realized the existence of. A world of striking colour and beauty.

As I looked up into the sky, I could see the small droplets of rain clearly, pausing in the air for just a while before it fell to the earth. The surroundings felt so serene, it was as if everything around me was at peace with each other. And the colours, oh gosh, I can't even start to describe what I saw, everything around me seemed so much more striking, so much more defined, I almost cried at actually missing out on seeing those things around me, those things that had existed all this while, without even me noticing or giving a damn for. I felt quite a fool, gone were the thoughts of hatred and disgust I had felt against certain people for the past week, gone were the feelings of a heavy heart I'd been carrying, gone were all the petty troubles in life.

What was left, was a world that God had meant it to be. A world as pure and beautiful as He had intended it to be, a world like that beautiful red flower.

Walking in to the house as I removed my wet socks, my mum came to the door, and exclaimed in greeting.

"Why didn't you give me a call, I would've come and picked you up. Look at you, you're all wet!"

"It's ok, it was just a little rain, I needed a bath anyway."

"But you should have called me! I was expecting you to. The rain was so heavy! Why did you even..."

Before she could even finish her sentence, my dad who was sitting on the couch with his newspaper interrupted.
"It's just a little rain, it won't hurt now, will it?"

Stepping in with wet feet, I gave him an appreciative smile, which he returned in kind.

I suppose dad who grew up in a village, as compared to mum who was a city girl, would've understood and noticed the beauty of the rain, a long long time ago.