Rain

(You can’t say that you’ve experienced rain until you’ve danced in it.)

Pit, pat,
The rain drops,
Swimming down the window pane,
Pulling you to join.

Watch the raindrops dance,
As they twirl and pirouette before they fall,
Isn’t it wonderful?
Don’t you want to join?

Dance in the rain, m’dear,
Let yourself go,
Dance until you can’t anymore,
Because then, you’ll be mine.

-original poem-

. .. : Prologue: Clouds : .. :: .

The piano’s bittersweet lament tortured her as she ran. Voices seemed to be screaming at her; insults, names, taunts, the truth.

She clutched the zipper of her jacket, she didn’t even bother to put on the hood when she ran out, but she didn’t care. People seemed to be chasing after her, following her, stalking her; but she was faster then them. Panting, she passed the corner and sped on.

The rain poured down from the sky, as if it was grieving for her. The clouds seemed to pity her, and cried her an ocean from their empathy.

Time passed slowly, she seemed to be running mindlessly until she suddenly halted to a stop. It appeared as if she was about to attack the wall which she almost ran into, until she realized what building it was. It then dawned on her that it was her instinct that brought her here, not a mere coincidence.

Ironic that I’d stop here...

Pushing open the doors, she entered the café. The warm aroma enticed her, and would usually bring a smile to her face, but today was different. Instead of the usual upbeat music, there was a slow, sad requiem on the piano playing.

don't try to fix me i'm not broken
hello i'm the lie living for you so you can hide
don't cry

(“Hello” - Evanescence)

She glared at the stereo, Just great, Cassidi, the radio’s mocking you too!

Cassidi sighed and slumped into a chair at the side.

“Hey, Cassi,” A soft voice whispered to her, “Need a towel or something?”

Cassidi shook her head, “No thanks, Jon,” She answered in a hoarse whisper.

He smiled at her, the same smile that would make most girls pass out, but Cassidi couldn’t even fake one back.

She watched as he walked to the back to the counter and let her thoughts wander. Closing her eyes, she relaxed in the chair. Though on the outside she appeared serene, there was a war waging within her mind.

Her common sense was shouting at her about how stupid she was acting, her pride was yelling back that she was doing just fine, but her heart remained silent.

There was a long silence as Cassidi contemplated, aside from the other customers in the store. She didn’t even look up as people walked in and out and whispered as they passed by her.

it doesn’t matter. They don’t know me. They don’t know me. They don’t know me...

Cassidi continuously muttered “They don’t know me.” to herself until Jon came over and tapped her on the shoulder.

“Hey, Cass, you want to go on my laptop? You can stay here until the café closes.”

Slowly, Cassidi forced a fake smile to her face, “Sure...”

Jon smiled and walked to the back of the counter. After a few moments of shuffling and rearranging, he re-emerged to hand Cassidi a computer.

“Thanks.”

“No prob, what are friends for?”

In a moment, the computer was loaded and waiting for Cassidi’s command.

What am I supposed to do on this? I’m not in the mood to do anything...

Suddenly, something her grandpa said so long ago seemed to have a lot of meaning to her right then, “Whenever you have a story, write it.”

Blinking quickly, Cassidi went to Microsoft Word.

Everybody has a story to tell, but not everybody wants to share it. My life has never been normal, it’s always been a soap opera, but I never felt like I made a mistake as severe as this. I was careless and apathetic, but in the end, I was the one broken.

This all began on the first day of school, Monday, August 29th...