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I despise the rain.
Yes, humans need the rain to live. Yes, plants also need the rain to live. And yes, most living things need the rain.
But it isn't the rain that's useful.
Obviously, it's the water that's useful.
The rain has more negatives than positives.
Mud.
Erosion.
Storm.
Thunder.
Floods.
Tsunamis.
The list goes on...
Until today, I've always hated the rain...
Until today.
It rains a lot in my area.
I'm around 18, and live alone with my biological sister, who is now 24. After our parents passed, I saw no point in being interested in anything. I now lack education, because of their passing.
We live in a barren area, we grew bamboo as a symbol of respect and appreciation for all they've done. Our yard was planted full of bamboo, so much that the soil was barely visible to the human eye.
As per usual, rain began to cascade down. How depressing. My sister wasn't home as of right now.
I walked to the window, leaning against the sill. I began to list the chores I had to do, now that it was raining.
First, to cut the bamboo to a certain length, so that rain wouldn't spill onto our roof...
Second, to scare away the birds roaming around our untouched yard.
Third, which was my least favorite out of all of them, to...
I trailed off. Something, or someone, standing in the distance. The tall bamboo covered the figure, and I had no idea who, or what, that was...
At first, I thought that was my sister's friend, but remembered, she doesn't have any, like me.
After contemplating for 30 seconds, I finally decided to go out to get a better look at the odd occurrence.
I stumbled out the door, with a raincoat on, of course. Me and my purple umbrella immediately got greeted by a strong gust of wind.
Holding my breath, I held my umbrella steady and readjusted my circular glasses, squinting to get a better look.
Unfortunately for me, the image of the figure was still blurry. I could barely make out that the figure was now sitting on the grass.
Who in the world would be outside sitting in the rain, without an umbrella? I thought.
I've decided to get a better look, and now that I was outside, I've made up my mind. I tilted my umbrella toward the direction of the wind, letting the rain splatter freely onto the back of my raincoat.
It was a rough estimate, but luckily, I made it to the area where the person was sitting, a good one to two feet away. Their features were clear to the eye now.
She looked the same age as me, hair tied in a low ponytail, with loose hairs fallen down. Unlike me, she had dark brown, shorter hair. She was looking up at the sky with her glassy brown eyes, a distant look on her face. The rain was pouring down onto her overalls and hair, yet she looked at peace with the world.
The more I examined her, the more she reminded me of bamboo...
So familiar to me, yet vague to the normal world...
I must have been staring for a while now, because she turned her head toward my direction, speaking calmly.
"You've been standing there with an umbrella for a while now."
She paused.
"What's your name?"
Her voice... it's so... soothing.
So soothing that the rain even was a background noise.
She looked approachable, so that's good. I thought to myself, question after question surfing through my head.
Who even is she? Where are her parents? Why is she sitting in the rain? How did she even get here? What happened so that there's a three inch scar across her right cheek? Is she lost? Hm, she's pretty, is she sin—
"Hello? Anyone there?"
I returned from my thoughts, snapping back to reality.
The first thing I noticed was that she's now standing upright. Second thing, now under my umbrella. Third thing, her height. She's taller. I always thought I was tall. Seems like I was wrong.
All things aside, she's pretty. Ideal woman.
"What's your name?" She repeats.
I didn't space out this time. Instead, I responded with a simple answer, not daring myself to speak further. "Uh, Mina."
She nodded, expression thoughtful. "Can I call you Min?"
I felt my neck grow warm at the nickname, but remembered my sister telling me not to be too trusting to strangers you just met. Of course, I threw the thought to the back of my head, asking back in a seemingly calm tone. "What's yours?"
The girl smiled warmly, eyes softening. "Sherlyn. Call me Lyn."
Sherlyn... pretty name...
I repeat the name in my head.
"Okay, Lyn. Nice name..."
What is this feeling? Is it the feeling of having friends? Company? Someone other than sister? Sister...
Wait. Shoot. Sister. I forgot to do my chores!
I scrambled back to my house without saying goodbye to the pretty lady, which was a pretty stupid mistake. In the corner of my eye, I could see Lyn with her hand outstretched slightly, a longing look on her face. At my doorstep, I turned, wanting to call back to say goodbye.
To my surprise, she just stood there with her head tilted, I think she was confused. She saw me turn and held up her arm, as if saying see you next time.
I waved back, only to find that she had vanished into thin air.
Strange. I turned back and headed into the house.
She's pretty though...
So pretty that the rain wasn't even a big deal anymore...
I wonder when I'll see her again.
