I always found Richmond to be the most beautiful during the rain. I adored the way the city shone majestically through the cascade of water. How the neon lights and the weathered skyline still stood defiant and proud against the downpour. The rain always seem to shroud Richmond in a veil of beautiful sadness that suited the city rather well. When I was younger I used to believe that whenever it rained here in the capitol city that it was the angels weeping over the sad history of the city. In a way this city had always been to my muse. It was an ever present and constant presence in my life, always there to offer a concrete shoulder to cry on or to escape into it’s embrace.
The rain was cold, but my skin had already gone numb so I no longer felt it. I was soaked to the bone. My auburn hair pressed flat against my forehead and my wet clothes clinging tightly off my body. I wasn’t dressed for this weather, but I didn’t care. I walked brisk fully but without purpose, a lonely figure braving the elements wandering the streets of downtown Richmond. I ignored the streaming little rivers of gushing rainwater that cascaded down the sidewalk, focusing solely on forgetting and repression.
I paused at an intersection and waited for the light to change from red to green. A silver Honda civic pulled up beside me and despite the fact the windows were rolled up I could hear the book on audio tape that the driver was enjoying. Listening to the baritone voice recite the novel only made me spiral faster into my depression. My emotions began to well up and threaten to overwhelm me ,and run unchecked like stallions on an open prairie. I tried to ignore the voice but I was frustrated and angry and upon seeing the driver’s content face as he listened I snapped.
I kicked water at the vehicle. The driver didn’t even notice, he continued to patiently wait and enjoy his book on tape. Furious, I reached inside my interior jacket packet and dug out my rejected manuscript. It was a soggy ruined mess at this point but it didn’t matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore! I spent the last eight years of my life steadily pouring blood onto those pages. Countless sacrifices were wasted on this manuscript. I gave everything I had into writing this novel, only to have it rejected numerous times. So many hours I had slaved away on the computer typing that I would never get back Endless sleepless nights wasted chasing an elusive dream, and this prick was listening to a book on audio tape! He should be listening to my novel on audio tape! He should recognize my greatness and be appreciating my talents instead of the generic bullshit he was calling a novel! I threw my rain soaked manuscript at the windshield of his car. He stared at me in bewilderment and shocked, before speeding off hastily leaving me behind to wallow in my despair.
The pages drifted lazily on the night’s breeze. Dancing elegantly among the falling raindrops before the landing on the black asphalt. They simply laid there collecting rainwater, and waiting to be run over by tires and trampled by a stampede of feet. My life for the last eight years laid drowning in the gutter.
I wandered the streets of Richmond lost in my despair. Eventually I found myself in the seedier part of the city. I was surrounded by ramshackle and run down buildings, even the streets were filthy and poorly maintained. Decades ago this part of the city was a bustling manicuring district. Now the only evidence of that glorious past were the ghosts of huge warehouses who had succumbed to the elements and neglect. An occasional car drove by bumping rap music filled of obscene lyrics and thunderous bass. Homeless men loitered on the corners begging for change, as drunken college students stumbled home after a night of self indulgence. This section of the city had gained an unsavory reputation with a scandalous and grimy history. I knew it was dangerous to walk alone at night here but I didn’t care. Nothing mattered to me at this point.
I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going, I was just walking in blind agony. With every step I took I simply proceeded into deeper recesses of darkness. I was startled when I felt something collide into me. I lost my balance and collapsed onto the sidewalk and simply wallowed there in a crumpled and defeated heap. Forceful yet delicate hands shook me, rattling me to my senses. I found myself staring into young woman’s face. She was beautiful, her ink black hair hung in wet clumps on her shoulders, facing a pleasant face strewn with strong feminine features. Her eyes were hazel and burned with a vivid and powerful intensity. The rain seemed only to enhance her beauty, giving her an ethereal appearance like an angel in the depths of the downtown.
