Let the Music Move You

A Silent Storm (Pistachio Eagle)

Song Title: *Live Thuderstorm - 10 Hour Thunder and Rain Sounds (Real Video Footage)/ Artist: GOD

Genre: Realistic Fiction/Religious

Author's Note: Here's the story I wrote whilst a lightning storm was shaking the windows of my house with some rather close lightning strikes. The thing is, I originally started to write this as a response to another prompt, which was to describe a thunder storm without using the sense of sound, but after writing the first page, an actual storm moved in and the booming cacophony of thunder drove my imagination through the roof. I hope you like it!

A Silent Storm

Loraine woke to a hot, humid wind blowing through her window screen, the water in the air seeping into her nightclothes and plastering them to her tan skin. As she drew in a breath to cool herself, the sultry summer air settled in her chest, filling her body with even more heat. Slowly, the young woman sat herself up on her bed, tiredly shoving dark brown, sweat-slicked strands of hair from her face. As she dragged her wilted body from the heat-trap of linens, another steaming gust swirled about her room as though a swamp dwelled right next to her home.

Slipping into a casual shirt and jeans, Lorraine shut the window before tromping down the stairs to the first floor of her home, the temperature difference helping alleviate the roasting sensation that engulfed her body. Seeing the fridge in her kitchen, Lorraine raced over to the freezer, sticking her head into the cold space and inhaling several lung-fulls of crisp arctic air. After a half minute of doing so, Lorraine reluctantly withdrew herself and grabbed a yogurt from the fridge, all-the-while wishing that she had purchased an air-conditioner despite what her seedy realtor had said about never needing the device. Grabbing a spoon from the utensils drawer, Lorraine sat herself down at her kitchen table before giving a prayer of thanks and digging in to the creamy blissful treat. When her yogurt had reached the half-way mark of the container, the sunlight glaring through the kitchen windows blinds suddenly darkened, plunging the entire house into a dimmer environment. Cautiously, Loraine crept to the window, opening the blinds to view the mysterious sight.

A dove outside flinched in response before beginning a scolding warble that never reached Loraine's ears. The woman sadly shook her head at the creature and the feathered animal flew off, completely put out by the human's strange behavior. As Loraine watched the bird glide over the small herb garden that grew just behind the kitchen, she noticed that the golden fields of maize that grew all around her farmhouse were rippling and dancing in time with the invisible music of the wind. Dark clouds sat heavily in the sky just in front of the rising sun, their massive dark green and purple forms swollen with rain and hail.

A thrilling sensation of curiosity and wonder shot through her chest despite the fact that she had not been able to hear the fierce roar of thunder, the shrieking symphony of the wind, or even the relaxing patter of rain for over a year, no matter how many storms had blown through the great prairie lands she called home. Quickly, Loraine shut the blinds and raced out to her front porch, neglecting to use the wooden rocking chairs in favor of watching the show on her own two feet.

As the foreboding wall of condensation raced towards her home, the clouds swirled and roiled like foam caught in a wild wave, endlessly tumbling in and on itself. A sudden flash of bright blue electricity jumped out from the clouds and touched the ground miles away, casting its harsh light upon the world for second before fizzling off into nothing. Several more strikes hit the ground, each growing closer to Loraine's viewing point. The area beneath the clouds began to take on a hazy dark purple tinge as sheets of rain tumbled from the sky, and the sky seemed to turn back time as it darkened to the hue of night.