After the rain

Silver skyline

  The cityscape is a single line of light made up of a variety of colors, all of them blending into one shade that is a mixture of colors.

  Under the silvery sky, droplets of rain continue to fall, refracting the light at night.

  Against the dark backdrop, the lights stood out. 

  The music drums on endlessly. The rain continues to fall. The cycle repeats.

  Endlessly. Infinitely. Until the day we die.

  Reaching into the heart of the city. Its dark soul which consumes all achievements. Feeding into our pride. And without it what are we?

  When I was young, I used to score well on every single test. What happened to that? From being one of the top students to becoming a worthless piece of trash destined to be incinerated. Where is the logic to this? Or rather, my line of thought was different.

  If I had known that my brain had turned out like this after that accident, I would have never left the countryside. I would've never enrolled in this school, that pristine institution at such a risky time. If only... if only...

  I could only ponder about the possibilities that were limitless, but only limited by the past. If I could do things again I would've done them differently.

  I am the sky. A mess. A confusion. A body without a soul. 

  My name is Skye. I hope you hear this Len, my silent request. This huge request from a seemingly perfect girl. I hope you fulfill it and my hope lies in that fulfillment.

  Save me from becoming a worthless piece of trash.

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  'Hey Len.'

  'Hey Daniel.'

  'Can I tell you a secret,' Daniel leaned closer and covered my ear with his hand. 

  In the silence of the garden, every whisper was amplified.

  'I'm in love with Jenni, but I don't know if she feels the same way.'

  Daniel blushed slightly. He pulled back and looked away. A sheepish smile crept up his face and he laughed.

  'In a friend, sort of way?'

  He laughed more madly. It was nearly disturbing. Seeing Daniel 'in love' was a strange new experience. It was definitely funny but it was also strange. 

  When he finally stopped, he looked at me with the most serious look I've ever seen on his face.

  The flecks of light in the garden were revealing his brown eyes.

  'It's the same way you see Skye,' he chuckled slightly.

  And I see Skye romantically? Of course not. I see her as a friend. The perfect person. The kindest soul on earth. The sweetest girl I have ever met.

  'Ahhh you're blushing!'

  Daniel went hysterical, I couldn't tell if he was excited, or if he was simply nervous. This topic never seemed to surface in our conversations. That was primarily because neither of us was interested in the opposite gender.

  'I'm blushing because I'm not used to this strange conversation. Also what's so good about Jenni?'

  'That's secret,' he gave me the most mysterious look I'd ever seen. People really change when they are romantically engaged. 

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  School days came and passed. Soon the mid tears were left to rot in the dark. They were left behind in the ashes, forgotten because we were pursuing what really mattered, the national exams. This change in attitude was seen in most of the cohort. Everyone, or at least most people, has realised that there is no alternative but to bite the bullet.

  The harsh sunlight did not fade, neither did it ever show mercy. Cloud did little to intervene and temperatures remained as high as ever, though not as hot as a desert. The trees did provide shade from time to time but we were in the classroom for most of the day. Even when we were studying in the library, we would still feel the sunlight creeping in through the glasss windows. Though the nights were relatively cool and we found some shelter from the heat at night.

  However, there was no escape from the flashy lights of the city. They became brighter at night. That's because the city never sleeps. You can always see a silvery skyline in a metropolis with at least 5 million people. You would Have to close the windows if you want some privacy. But the night is still full of noise. From drunk people shouting to cars running by. It never really stops but somehow I managed to sleep every night. I think I grew accustomed to it.

  In my last year of school, I wanted to study overseas in the best university in the world. To me, my country was a city, and the world was my country. I felt like I could go anywhere, study anywhere, live anywhere, as long as I had air, food, water and money. It was all the same in the end. People, perspectives and exam papers. You'd have to suffer the same anywhere, anytime. But it's worth it, now that I think about it.

  That's how ambitious I was. It wasn't just me. It was everyone. Daniel, Jenni, Skye and even Luke were like this. I don't think I would've survived my final year of education without ambition, because it drove me to work hard. 

  Everyone works hard, but only some succeed. My friends were no exception. They worked hard at everything they wanted, from sports to studies to socializing. Everyone seemed promising at some point.

  By the law of gravity, if you throw something upwards it will come down eventually due to the earth's gravitational field. 

  There is a class for those who couldn't make the cut for promotion. Every year, at least twenty students will be retained in their final year. They sit through class for the whole year and attend a different class the following year, a special remedial class designed to meet their needs. Sometimes no one knew who they were, because no one in the right mind would ever tell their friend that they've been shortlisted for retention after mid-years. It would mean a change in social status. The victims could be ridiculed, or the popular ones are often comforted and give fake sympathy. Their pride wod shattered and the whole school would look down on them. This was the case in my last year of education and it still is the case today. And it will not stop, it will go on forever.

  It would only be a matter of time before I realised that my friend had been retained.