monsoon morning

here's something for the season. on the first draft. wanted it out raw.

I

The sun breaks through and the tendrils invade his windows. With burning corneas Andy is roused to consciousness and another day of his drab life.

Humming to herself, Cathy finishes up the dishes. It felt so nice to pig out once in a while, and that overdose of eggs and bacon is surely making the morning that much better.

II

The promise of the morning forgotten, Cathy hunches underneath her umbrella, unsuccessfully trying to shield her and her belongings from the downpour. She presses on to the nearby bus stop, awkwardly shuffling her feet in her haste. Goes to show why you cannot trust weathermen. It was supposed to be a lovely day.

"A few more feet, just around the bend."

His circle fondly calls him eccentric. Ditching work at the sight of the first droplets falling at his windshield, he decided to go for a long walk instead. Soaked to the bone and loving it, he rounds the bend.

Right smack into his future.

III

Cathy saw the oddball as she turned the corner. In the split second before he slammed into her, she caught herself wondering what the hell this guy was thinking, walking around in the rain. Then she realized there was no sidestepping, and braced for the impact.

He was chuckling at his good fortune; something about the rain gave him comfort, made him happy, kept him sane. The Big Guy upstairs really knows more than we think. As he looked up, he found himself face to face with a striking woman who looked both puzzled and surprised. And she was on a collision course with him.

"Right after I sing you praises" was his last thought before the inevitable.

IV

She lay sprawled on the curb, her things scattered all over her. She shook her head, dazed from the impact. Droplets clung to her hair and he thought her maddeningly beautiful. He caught her eye, and the burning stare shoved him from his reverie.

Him:" I am so sorry! Are you okay?"

Her: "Do I LOOK like I am OKAY?"

Him:" I really am sorry, let me get that."

Her: "You’re getting my stuff soaked!"

Him: "Look, I said I was –"

Her: "What’s your glitch anyway? Walking around in the rain like some psycho –
Wait. I am sorry too. I’m not usually mean, it just this day –"

Him: "I know what you mean, how about we get out of the rain?"

V

They found shelter in an outdoor deli/resto covered by a makeshift tarpaulin roof. They had coffee and exchanged pleasantries. She called in absent not too long after. She found him arresting, this man in the rain, or Andy as he was known. He wasn’t in the "make you swoon" department in the looks category, but he was definitely interesting. In a weird, off kilter kind of way.

She was not arresting. She was radiant. Looking at her earlier, huffing and puffing while she glared at him, she seemed a goddess. Implacable and destructive. Seeing her now, seated across him in the gloomy morning sky, with her hair damp and tangled, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. And she was here. Now. With him.

VI

The smell of the rain still hung in the air. The sky was slowly turning blue; the sun was still hiding. He had offered to walk her home and she had accepted. They were silent as they walked beside each other. She had noticed, for the first time in her life – the droplets caught in the blades of grass, hanging on the leaves of trees, the smell of the air after the monsoon rain. She felt like the world was renewed; and her along with it. Is this how he felt? She would ask him next time. Next time? That made her smile.

Time felt like it was stretched disproportionately. Then all too soon they were at her front door and he was handing over her stuff which he helped carry. Was this all there was to it? Fighting the fear of rejection, he scratches his head and blurts out:

Him: "Cathy?"

Her: "Yep?"

Him: "Well I was wondering if you were, I mean if I was, what I meant was – "

Her: "I’d like that. You may stop stuttering now."

VII

She peeked at him through her front window and her smile turned to giggles when he jumped with his fists in the air. So like a victor, so like a man, and so like a boy. She stepped into her room, and went into the shower; radiant like the most beautiful woman in the world.
He couldn’t contain his joy. He was exultant. She said yes! He had her number! As soon as he felt he was politely out of sight, he let his feelings engulf him and he shot out into the sky with his fists up, feeling like he could fly.

You never know what’s beyond the bend do you?

-end-