Stay Strong, For Me

Chapter 8: The Beauty Of Nature

I could feel the energy of electricity under me in the soil. My hair prickled. I breathed in the beautiful smell of rain. It ran through my veins. The wind blew and spoke to me. It was calming. The leaves of the trees rustled in the wind.

"Meow."

A little kitten mewed, looking for shelter. The kitten was black as night. Her eyes were blue as the sky on a perfect summer day. "Meow." She mewed again. I patted my hand on the ground, just like I do to get my cat to come to me. The little black cat padded up to me.

I reached my hand out to her, she arched her back while I petted her. The kitten walked over and curled up by my stomach. She looked up at me. Her little blue eyes shined. It was love at first sight. That little kitten is just what I needed right now.

I decided I would keep her. "Merow," she said. "Well, if I'm gonna keep you, I have to give you a name. Hmmm..." I thought for a second, "Black?" The kitten didn't respond and played with the grass. "Uhm... Sky?" She still didn't respond. "Hmmm.. Oh! I know! Ash." Her little head popped up. "Meow," Ash answered to confirm.

The clouds above rumbled with thunder. Ash cuddled up to me, shaking with fear. "Shhh, don't be afraid, baby. You're safe with me." I said to Ash. It started to sprinkle.

Somehow, Ash got into my shirt to shelter herself from the rain. "How the? Ash!" I said, astonished. I just stayed laying in the spot I've been the whole time. I let the rain fall on me until I was soaked to the bone.

I didn't realize how dark it had gotten. I sat up and looked at Dany's car, head lights on. He waited for me... Ash wiggled around in my shirt. "Oh... I forgot you were in there. Sorry." I took her out and got up. "MERRROOOWWW!" Ash freaked out when the rain hit her. "Oh geez, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

I tried to shelter her as well as I could on my way to Dany's car. The rain started to come down harder. A huge flash of lighting ripped through the sky. A rumble of thunder filled my ears. I started to run, for fear of being struck by lighting. Ash was shaking in my arms.

Suddenly, I ran into Dany's car and feel to the ground. "Owe..." I said while rubbing my leg. Dany rolled down the passenger window, "Rain, you need to stop running into things." I rolled my eyes and got in. "Meow..." Said Ash, in wonder of the stranger named Dany.

"What the? Rain! Where did you find that cat?" Dany asked.

"She just came to me... She's beautiful isn't she?" I said smiling down at Ash.

"Hey there, Black." He said.

I looked at him, confused, "Huh? I already have her a name..."

"Oh.. Then what is it?"

"Ash. Aren't her eyes beautiful?" I asked.

"Woah, ya. What are you going to do with her? Not many cats... Err.. Kittens walk right up to a human in the middle of a field before a storm." Said Dany.

"I think I'm gonna keep her. She is just the thing I needed right now."

Dany nodded his head and U-turned. We headed for home. Suddenly, my stomach made a dying whale noise. "I'm hungry too, I'll stop to get some food." Said Dany. I didn't realize how loud my stomach screamed.

My cheeks burned with embarrassment. Ash had fallen asleep in the back seat, she was so cute. I could hear the wind blow out side the car. The rain threw all its might at the car, thunder rumbled, and lightning flashed. It was so weird how such a good time could have bad weather to go with it.

"Will this storm ever lighten up?" Said Dany, interrupting my thoughts.

"I don't mind the storm. It puts me in a good mood." I said in reply.

"Well, you're weird. I almost got struck by lightning."

I giggled, "That's your fault. Didn't you learn weather safety in like 5th grade?"

He rolled his eyes and continued to drive. "Uhm... Dany?"

"Yea?"

"How far did we drive out of town?" I asked, scared once again.

"About an hour. We already shaved off 30 minuets." He replied.

The rest of the way was silence. Well, it was until Ash fell of the seat while she was sleeping. She couldn't get back up and when she tried to jump, she smashed her face on the seat. After awhile of watching the kitten, I reached back and put her back on the seat. "Merow," Ash said in thanks.

The rain was beautiful. The electrical waves of lightning was magnificent. The rumble of thunder was music to my ears. Ash was a perfect savior. Oh, how I love the beauty of nature.