in the rain

one.

after finishing a long shift at work, brett walks home at nearly 12am. the pavement is illuminated by streetlights here and there, yet the dark night sky seems to envelop him whole. he turns on the flashlight on his phone to see a little better as he walks to his apartment. 

"hm, no stars today," he observes as he looks up at the night sky. 

he continues to walk down the road closer to his apartment. he walks by a few convenience stores that are still open, he passes by the music university near the coffee shop he works in until—drip, drip, drip.

"ah, shit," he drapes the collar of his jacket over his head as he tries to walk a little faster, but he soon realizes that the rain is falling faster than his steps. he tries to find shelter and runs beneath a tree with thick leaves. 

he decides to keep shelter under the tree until the heavy rain ceases. he keeps his flashlight open as he scrolls through social media to keep him company. the heavy rain doesn't seem to stop nor die down but he decides to wait, as he's not in a rush anyway. 

after a few minutes of waiting, he gets more and more wet and chilly. he wraps his jacket tighter around him. 

"i don't want to get sick, damn it," he starts jumping up and down to keep his warmth. 

"please, just stop raining for two minutes and i'll run back home," he says out loud, as if talking to the sky. he sighs, almost shaky from being cold.

he waits and waits until he realizes there's an umbrella above his head. 

"you need an umbrella?" the stranger says. the stranger's tall, he has a deep voice, and he's kind enough to lend poor brett a hand. 

"yes please." 

"well, i only have one umbrella so we're gonna have to share this. you going the same way?" the stranger points to where brett's going. 

"thank god. yep, around there as well." 

"nice. do you fit in here? you're getting quite wet." 

"no, no, i'm fine. i've been rained on since earlier." 

"okay, but get in here. it wouldn't be nice to get sick, wouldn't it?"

"yeah, thanks. want me to hold it? as a thank you." 

"sure, just don't keep it all to yourself, yeah?" 

"of course,” they both smile.

☂

eddy's spent from searching for reading and searching for books in the library for hours to research for his musicology paper, so he decides to go home. it was nearing midnight, after all, and he didn't want to get caught in the rain.

too bad, because he did. luckily, he brought an umbrella with him. he opens his umbrella and heads out of the library. 

he stops walking when he sees a light under the pouring rain, as well as a dark figure jumping up and down. 

then the figure speaks. 

please, just stop raining for two minutes and i'll run back home.

so of course, what else could he do but help the stranger in the rain? 

☂

the two strangers in the night walk along the road, huddled together under one umbrella, trying not to get wet. 

"sorry if it's a bit uncomfortable, my umbrella's a bit small," the stranger says. 

"it's no big deal, yeah? don't worry. you're not getting wet, are you?"