Don't You Love When the Sky is a Zebra?

Don’t you love when the sky is a zebra? When it’s striped with soft shades of peach, auburn, fluffy pinks and creamy oranges?

 The way that the world can create and destroy with such ease has always been a mystery to me. It’s unfathomable that in a mere hour, a city that took centuries to build could be turned to dust. A tornado could whip through homes and a hurricane could obliterate everything in its wake. But you can’t forget that the universe does not have a constant angry temperament. In sprinkles throughout the year, I find myself gazing upon a double rainbow, a blood moon, or a shooting star. The beauty of the world has never gone unnoticed by me. 

Once, I saw children smiling up at the sky as the sunrise turned the world into an orange creamsicle. Pale grays swirled through clementine clouds and, not unusually, I found myself unable to believe that sun beams could hit puffy clouds at the perfect angles so that the world was beautiful for a fleeting moment.

Not even my strong fear of bugs could sway my curiosity towards the universe’s moody disposition. With dead, wilted flowers and broken branches around me, I remember seeing fireflies dancing around in front of my house. They made the grass glitter even after harsh winds toppled the trees around them. I was able to clasp my palms gently around a glowing, flitting firefly without fear seizing me like it normally would. Instead, I felt calm.

 It’s quite unfortunate that breathtaking phenomena tend to occur after merciless storms and devastating destruction. This is a subject I used to ponder on when the rare, stripey sunsets would emerge, or when rainbows shone in bright colors after terrible thunderstorms. When these occurrences happened, a sort of calm and peace would settle over me, and I felt the soft energy weaving through the people around me as well. A bright blue world and cotton-ball clouds undoubtedly brought joy to even those who had lost friends and family to the exact same sky.

Sometimes, nature provides the comforting people need.

That is why I do what I do. I may seem like a normal person to you, but I live to feel the power of the universe on the tips of my fingers. I am the one who created Hurricane Katrina, the Chinese earthquakes, and Indian cyclones. 

And it all began when I was a child watching the warm, soothing sunset. I could suddenly move the sky, water, and wind around me. I could send giant waves crashing into cities and dark, menacing clouds to small islands. I could create storms and disasters with ease, but I always failed to summon a beautiful sunrise or vibrant moonbeams. I couldn’t muster up a double rainbow, and when the people around me fell into depressive states due to the lack of cheerful weather, I couldn’t help but shed my tears. They appeared in the form of heavy water droplets falling from the sky. 

Yet, I didn’t stop using my harmful abilities. I striked lightning down on innocent people and blew out expensive lights that people couldn’t afford to repair. Despite what you may think, I am why people are happy. There is no light without darkness, and I did it all for the happiness of the people. 

My uncle, having been wasting away for years because of his alcohol addiction, was only himself again after the horrid disasters I often created. His old countenance would return when a fresh, glowing sun emerged after a violent storm, perhaps giving him a sense of a fresh start. 

My brother, having been teased and hurt at school, found peace and safety in gazing up at the beautiful sky after my creations mauled it. I think he felt an  appreciation for the weather that did not discriminate against who it affected. Unlike the kids at school, the weather treated everybody the same regardless of who they were. Weather united communities.

If I am the reason why Supermans and good Samaritans exist, I will send shards of hail and snow down on the earth for as long as I can. After extreme hardship is when I see the strongest happiness, the most sturdy gratefulness, and  the deepest compassion for others. 

I truly believed people would come to appreciate me. Wouldn’t you? But instead, I gained infamous nicknames like the Boogie Man, Dracula, and werewolf when I simply went on walks after dark to see the joy on peoples’ faces after my disasters ended. Unappreciated, unloved, and feared of, I’m afraid I have become quite bitter. 

My previous intentions of creating darkness to amplify love and happiness quickly transformed into something completely different. My storms grew to become more violent and my temper only angrier. Sweet creamsicle skies began to look like curled fingers reaching down to attack me. Of course, I attack back. What would you do?

… 

You have learned about weather in school your whole life, but it is important to note that there is much more behind water vapor and UV rays. I am not well known and I have no friends, but I, too, am very much an integral part of the weather system. I am a tumbleweed drifting in solitude across a lonely desert, but I have powers and have tried to better the world in my own way. I have tried to become a sort of protagonist. I was one who triggered pain and suffering only to amplify the unity and kindness shared between others. 

But that person no longer exists. I’m afraid I have turned into a villain instead. Who ever said superpowers are always a good thing?

I drop onto my knees, feeling the moisture of the morning dew soaking through my jeans. I close my eyes and smell the sweet scent of grass freshly cut by my particularly ungrateful neighbor. It’s a perfect day to create a life shattering storm. Do you want to help? I’m not sure that you can actually move the clouds or send gusts of wind like me, but I can do it for you. Do you want to send a tornado through that small town or send a flood through that beaten down neighborhood? I can strike lightning down on your enemies if you’d like. So, what are you feeling today?