Rain - from Emma's perspective

I watched as she stood there, face raised to the sky. I looked at her dress, soaked already, a slender, pale blue glow in a monochromatic world. Never had she seemed so carefree, so unreserved, as she did then. She must have looked like this as a child. So innocent, so beautiful. She stood there, taking it all in – the droplets splashing against her skin, the rivulets running through her drenched curls, the smell and sound of the rain around her. Slowly, her soft lips curved upward, oh so slowly, into a gentle smile, and I just stared, watching as if afraid to interrupt the moment.

She opened her eyes, glowing inside and out. Her hand reached out as if to take mine, even from where I stood on the porch, and I went to her. The soft, smooth skin of our palms slid together as we laced her dripping fingers with my own dry ones. She smiled at me, that beautiful, untroubled smile, and tugged my hand gently toward the empty street. As I quickly began to look like I had fallen in the pond, we walked, not saying anything, just enjoying each other and the feeling of the puddles we walked through against our bare feet.

Slowly, we walked. Slowly, but soon enough we reached our destination – the pond. There it lay, just across that field, and there beside it was the big willow tree. She turned to me with a grin and a mischievous glimmer shining in her eyes. I nodded, laughing, and we took off, hands still clasped together. Just as we knew it would be, the field was filled with giant puddles. We messed up them all, running through one and jumping in another. She reached for my other hand, spinning us in a whirlwind of color against the grey tinge the world had taken on today.

Together we danced, only stopping when I slipped in the mud and she plopped down beside me. Muddy and soaked, we lay back, her hand still grasping mine, and stared into the rain, up at the sky, until we had caught our breath. When we had, she stood and I followed, gently turning her away from the willow tree to face me. I could see no refusal in her eyes, no hesitation voiced in her actions; I leaned closer and pressed our lips together. My arms encircled her waist and she slipped hers around my neck. We stood there for the world to see, should they indeed choose to see, but it was just the rain, and her, and me. Slowly, we broke the kiss. I wasn't sure how she would react or what she would say, but her smile was enough for me.

Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, we crossed the field of puddles and walked down the road back to home.