An exert from an essay I wrote recently titled: An Encounter with Nature. This is my story, or dancing in the rain.

As we approached the bus stop there on the corner, there seemed to be screech on the wind. It started faint, and grew louder and louder until a rush of rain engulfed us suddenly. We sprinted for the shelter of the bus stop, and while the others ducked for cover, I gave my friend my phone and aimlessly wandered into the four way stop in the road.

All around me water was pouring down, cascading over my body and drenching my soul. I held my hands outstretched to the sky, as I slowly pivoted on the spot. I wanted to scream out of pure joy and bliss, but no sound left my mouth when I opened it. The only sound around me was the waterfall around me. I was no longer on earth, for I had been transported to another dimension. The world around me was not still. No. It moved as I did. Everything danced in the rain. The rain itself was dancing with me. The road beneath my feet swirled with me, twisting and turning as if in a ballet. The rain, falling from every angle, was my partner in the dance. It held me close and lifted me in the jumps, spinning me around peacefully.

I breathed heavily, the air so light despite the rain coming down in such a powerful form. I stood still and watched as the rain around me changed the world. The once still roads now rushed with new rivers. The sidewalks bounced as the raindrops fell and rebounded off the ground, causing consecutive splashes going off like firecrackers. Small ponds that didn't even know they were about to form now overran the low parts of the ground. The plants seemed to reach out to the rain, longing for the water to give them life. Nothing was still, and everything danced in a chaotic unison. Everything danced a separate number but each part was so gracefully performed it synced together in perfect harmony. I continued my part of the dance, and I only returned to earth when I heard my friend calling out to me, and I ran back to the bus stop where the others had been watching.

As the night ended, I remembered a story I read years ago. It was a Japanese Manga book, called Pita Ten, and I recalled coming across a character who ran out from the safety of the school and into a torrential downpour. Another student asked her why on earth she thought that was a good idea and her response was "They say if you stand under a waterfall and make a wish, your wish will come true. This is kinda like a waterfall, isn't it?". I fell asleep in still soaked clothes and smiled to myself, for I had danced in my own waterfall.