Tall Tales

- 16 -

S I X T E E N

..... ..... ..... .

Downpour

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Step.

Step.

Step.

I was not prepared for this.

Each step was heavier than the one before. Each step saggier than before. Each step bearing more regrets than the one before.

Wet. Of course it's heavier, I have to carry extra weight now.

Heavy. Of course it's saggier, I've got all these droplets – soaking wet – clinging onto me.

Regrets. Not for jumping headfirst to embrace the waterworks, no. It's more of my previous choices – what I did and didn't do.

You see, the sky was having a fit lately. Yes, it cries a lot. I'd like to see that as a good thing, for I have a company. But at times like this, I'd very much prefer to be sheltered under a roof and cocooned under the bed covers just as much as the next person. No, not like this.

Everybody only wants the good stuffs, safe the bad stuffs for somebody else, notwithstanding the fact that nobody can experience just one and not the other. If you want to have a shoulder to cry on, wouldn't you willingly offer your shoulder to be cried upon? But yeah, enduring another's pain and sadness is not a piece of a cake, isn't it?

The agony is real, but you have to know why it's so hard to get out from the quicksand of pain. You see, when you're submerged, when you're drenched in the pain, you get used to it. The wind pulls at your umbrella, that's fine. The raindrops spray against your face, that's okay. The stream runs deep through your feet, that's actually better than being half-wet.

There. Half.

That's what happens when you get out from the downpour. It's actually worse. It's clammy and itchy and squelchy and an overall far from being an enjoyable experience.

It's tough. To actually get past that phase and get through to that haven, it's a lot. You know you want it, hell, everyone else must've wanted it as well. But! To all of you who's stuck in the storm... I know, I know that it's not that simple. You don't just gain it if you want it. You have to fight to earn it, and you have to fight hard. And when fighting on your own gets too overwhelming, it's better to get help.

The presence of a supporting company helps. Someone to coax you to get out of the rain, to keep and shelter you from it, not to build a fortress around you, but just offer you a helping hand.

Yet, when it comes to me, please, stop promising a rainbow.

Can you see a rainbow now? Dammit.

Cause I don't. It's dark and gloomy and humid and petrichor is in the air everywhere.

So, stop promising for a rainbow. Promises are empty, I have lost my faith in them. I'm still a sucker for it, but I know, there's only a teeny tiny bit percentage of a promise to be fulfilled.

Just be there. Be the comfort in the storm, the shelter in the rain, the helping hand in the downpour.

Well, yeah, that's about it. Now the rain stops. I hope you're feeling better, not just so that I won't get drenched like this again, but also so that you can shine bright again.
🌧⛅️🌤☀️🌈

A/N: You know that feeling when you've finished your piece and it feels like a masterpiece? Then the week after you reread it and you think to yourself, what in the world is this trash? Yeah, that's what happened to me with this chapter. It made me feel like I shouldn't publish this, but it suits the moment: the rainy season and me feeling cloudy. Huft.

If you get it, 'you' here sometimes refer to the sky, the clouds. Then, I relate that to you, as people as well. It's kinda hard to process, isn't it? Well, I'm still on my way to refining my train of thoughts :') cause there are, like 3 different main topics here, and they all just come as they want and so... I just did what I could: I rammed through all of them. Excuses. Apologies. 😭

Post Scriptum

I used to be a huge fan of rainbows... until the disappointment of waiting wins. :/

Love eternally,
Caera Keane