the angel; fillie .

the rain.

before i fell asleep that same night joe got the job at the local supermarket, i made sure to tell myself four times over: wake up at six. my mind works in mysterious ways, if i tell myself a time before i sleep, i'll wake up then.

the minute i woke up i got out of my car so i didn't have the urge to fall asleep again. it was still dark out and the breeze made me shiver. i set out the twelve large empty jugs we had collected and waited for the rain to come. in the meantime, i worked on a different bike than the one that jack was fixing yesterday. before the sun rose, joe came out of his car, dressed in his work attire,"what do you think, finn?"
i looked up from my bike,"new clothes are good clothes, always."
joe smiled,"you're right. you gonna apply today?"
"maybe, i wanna go into town today and try out this bike. but i need to wait until jack and sadie are up so the water jugs don't tip over."
joe seemed relieved,"you know, finn, you are the smartest kid i've ever known. don't ever lose that, you hear me? now i've gotta head to work, wish me luck."
"thanks joe, have a great day."

i settled my eyes on the bike again and the next time i looked up, joe was gone. it was a long walk from town, i don't know how he's gonna do it everyday. maybe he'll get some spare time on his hands and he can fix himself a bike.

i felt like the bike was almost ready for riding when it started to drizzle. i smiled as the rain started to get heavier, i looked up into the sky and there was not a patch of sunlight. this would last all day.
i called out sadie and jack's names and they ran out to me as their hair became wet. jack took off his shirt and threw it on the hood of his car. he asked me for soap and i gave him a bar. i did the same and so did sadie. we washed our clothes by hand as the rain poured on us. when we were done and we only had on undergarments, jack and i laughed as we skipped around the field of unwanted stuff. sadie sat on the hood of her car with a smirk. jack laughed,"sadie, join us! i know you want to!"
we were used to seeing her body and she was used to seeing ours by now. three months of rain showers and dancing to no music but the rain hitting metal. through all the strife in our lives, this was one of our most enjoyable times. thirty minutes of fun started to die down. the rain still hit hard but now we were clothed and i continued on my bike and jack continued on his. another thirty minutes passed, the rain still poured, i turned the pedal, the gears spun. i laughed,"jack, i did it!"
jack exclaimed,"go to town, have fun, i'll stay here and watch the jugs. it would help if you'd look for more jugs too."
"i'll be back in an hour and a half, see you later!" i waved goodbye and i was off. happiness has never struck me so hard. bike rides in the rain was officially my favorite thing from there on out. i was clean, free, and happy. on my way to town, a hat lay on the ground. it was a hard brimmed bucket hat colored grey. i put in on and smiled once again. i finally got to town, the streets were mine since they were empty. and then i saw someone in the distance, why would someone sit outside their house in the rain?
i stopped in front of the townhouse and i couldn't believe my eyes. could it be? her head was in her hands and i called,"millie?" she lifted her head and she sniffed and wiped her eyes,"finn!" she got up and ran to me,"you're just the one i needed to see now. my best friend just died, i can't bare it."
she stayed hugging me,"you barely know me, why are you telling me this?"
"i don't have anyone now but my father," she let go of me and became confused,"you don't have a jacket."
i laughed,"that's because i don't own one. i don't need one either, it's a beautiful day."
millie laughed back,"you must be crazy, come inside."
i hesitated,"i-i don't know—"
"please, i need someone right now."
i gave in and followed her inside.