After the rain

It goes on

  My life seemed to be an endless stream of failures. They kept on coming at me, one after another. I wondered if it would ever end. It would surely continue even after my final year of education. The troubles would stream into the workplace, gaining momentum and landing its final blow on me at death.

-—————————————————————————————————————

  Have I ever mentioned how cancerous science is? 

  It could attack you anytime, whether you were good or bad at it. It chose its victims randomly, like cancer. This time, it chose me.

  'Isn't it sad that the entire holiday is over in the blink of an eye?' Daniel grumbled to me. 

  I wished the holiday would go on forever, locked in eternity, without a thing to worry about. However, I knew that someday I would understand why endings were necessary. Some day, but not then.

  The leaves rustled and they brought her to mind again. They complimented the sky perfectly. Terms came and went in cycles, as did seasons. This was the second term, the holidays just ended, they would come again soon.

  I looked at the sheet of paper in front of me. 

  Physics test. 7/15.

  I stole a glance at my neighbor. His paper read 15/15.

  The contrast in our marks was as wide as the space between our desks, and longer than the school term. 

  'What did you get, Len?'

  I showed him my paper. Someone else took a peek. 

  'Hahahaha Len you failed!'

  More people rose, some ignored the comment, others cocked their heads in my direction. The bullies stood up, the man who accused me of dating Skye stood out most of all. He was tall, as tall as Daniel, but dumber and more violent.

  'Loser! You studied so hard! Yet you did so poorly!'

  'That's none of your concern!' Daniel shrieked.

  I can defend myself Daniel. Please don't drag yourself into this. Daniel had lost many admirers since the whole gossip outbreak. These unfounded rumors were like poison, gradually killing his reputation. That reputation was what made him Daniel, he should not lose it. 

  It was the humans who named and discovered the atoms after all, not the atoms naming themselves. Neon was discovered by someone, but who?

  The properties of oxygen wouldn't change even if it changed its name. 

  Don't destroy yourself Daniel.

  'Hey guys, I don't know why you are picking on Len all of a sudden, but he's still our classmate so be nice to him.'

  The sky was a shade of azure blue that day. The sun's rays shot down from space like arrows. The sky minimized the impact of these rays, in order to protect the trees below. It was our guardian, it would always surround us, watch over us, protect us, in the subtlest ways.

  'There's been a crisis since the rumor,' I heard Jenni whisper Skye.

  'What rumor, I was absent for the last-'

  'Len's been dating you.'

  'That's the rumor?'

  Yes. You ignorant girl. You naive girl. You stupid girl. 

  You caused this trouble. Everything was fine in the first year, until you came.

  But somehow I was drawn to her in the same way trees grew closer to the direction of sunlight. It was that aura, that special aura of kindness and warmth that surrounded her wherever she went. We were as far as the sky from the earth, but we were close at the same time. Just as the sky is close enough to interact with the earth.

  I took one last look at her. That pony tail, that fringe, those eyes, those lashes and that beautiful smile. I couldn't take my eyes off her.

  I hated her for causing this mess. Yet I yearned to draw closer to her, to rest in her embrace and find comfort in her solace. The kind of solace I never had.

  My feelings for her were a mess, a sky littered with stars and clouds, but that was what made it beautiful.

  As pretty as her, I think.