Here Comes the Sun

17 | april showers bring may flowers

        ELEANORE IS SITTING ACROSS FROM me under the park's gazebo, in her typical Eleanore Hart manner. The sky is covered in gray clouds, it was drizzling earlier this morning when she offered to give me a ride to school. Her loose curls fell over her shoulders with every movement and she veers forward to take a bite of her sliced Rueben sandwich, that being the very last one.

        The whimsical Wednesday afternoon was filled with meaningless conversations as time passed by. And from how the air smells, it's earthy and unique that feels so much like Arcadia.

        "So, what's the plan for today, Hart?" I ask.

        "Glad you asked, Quinn! You see, the weatherman said that it's supposed to rain," she points out, checking the time on her watch. "Probably in a few minutes or so."

        "Really, and how did you figure that out, Captain Obvious?"

        "Yeah, yeah, the weather is part of the reason why we're out here. It's number seven on the list."

        "And what did you put for number seven exactly?" I furrow my eyebrows.

        Before I can get my answer, thunder shakes the afternoon sky. Slow tapping on the roof gradually gets faster. Like the universe had heard me. Eleanore giggles as she quickly stands up. "Ah, right on cue."

        "A thunderstorm?" I raise an eyebrow.

        "Yeah, you see, I used to watch them when I was a kid. I always felt at peace, they let me forget about all of the troubles in the world and learn to appreciate what's right in front of me," She looks up at me then quickly her eyes are drawn to the floor. "Anyways, thunderstorms may be scary at first but I grew to love them."

         "So, you mean to tell me that you brought me out here to watch a thunderstorm with you?"

         "Well, not only that but—" Eleanore stands up and immediately runs out into the open space, screaming from the top of her lungs, "Woohoo!"

         I don't know what I'm doing except watch her dance like she's completely lost her mind. But now, she's just Eleanore. A girl whose heart seems to be bigger than her body and yet it's so loud. I laugh as she tries to gracefully twirl in the rain like a ballerina.

         "Ellie!" I call out to her.

         Eleanore doesn't seem to mind the fact that she's getting completely wet, her hair cuts through the wind as she spins. She looks so...ethereal here. Come rain or shine, she still looks beautiful. Eleanore runs back to me with flushed cheeks, her hands on her knees as she pants.

         "You know you're going to catch a cold, right?" I remind her.

         "Nonsense! April showers bring May flowers," she denies then holds out her hand in front of me. "So, may I have this dance?"

         "Ellie, in the rain? First off, I'm not a good dancer. Secondly, what if someone sees us?"

         "Both of those are completely okay. I'm not a good dancer either as you just saw and who cares if someone does. Besides, the world has bigger problems than two girls who happen to be best friends dancing in the rain. I promise, it's just you and me here."

         I look up at the sky, water drops from the roof of the gazebo. Then, my eyes find hers. They're pleading—begging me to dance with her. I let out a sigh of defeat.

         "Fine, I'll dance with you only for a minute. But I'm blaming you if I get sick the next day," I warn her, shyly taking her hand and she squeezes it.