What the Rain Washed In

As raindrops land and explode on surfaces of tiny blades of grass, the front lawn of the property have been filling up with a misty haze, glowing dark orange from the street lamp which sat right in front of the house. The rustic townehome stood at the center of a suburban neighborhood, lined up with a few street lamps. The willow tree on the corner sways back and forth, dancing with the rain and wind. Lightning cracks, followed by the sound of thunder seconds later.

The doorbell rang when members of the Anders family, seated at the table, were quietly having dinner. The children, Willie and Sam, stopped eating, look at each other and then towards their parents. George then looks up curiously, glances at Carrie and then wipes his mouth with a nearby napkin.

“I got it,” he said. “Who the heck could that be at this time?” asked Carrie. The rest of the family continue eating but never took their eyes off of their father heading towards the front door.

George goes over to the front window to see who it would possibly be. With his index and middle fingers separating the blinds, he peaks through. He stared for a few seconds. He then slowly removes his fingers, hestitates and shoots a curious look towards his wife. Carrie shoots back a questioning gesture. The doorbell rings once more just as George was reaching for the lock and doorknob.

George opens the front door as he clears away bits of food between his teeth and gums with his tongue. A man in his late 20s stands there soaking in rain. “Come in, come in!” demands George as splattering rain try to sneak in as well. The man steps in holding a basket of fruit, a bouquet of flowers and a bunch of helium balloons, with graphics of Get Well Soon and We Love You on them. As George grabs the gifts and lays them down on a nearby stand, the man takes off his jacket with a big smile. “Pier! What are you doing here at this time of night? And in the rain!” yells Carrie. “Oh, I just was so happened to be in town and I wanted to stop by to say hi to my sister and her wonderful family and give these to Corey before I leave again in the morning. You know how much he likes balloons. I hope I didn’t interrupt your dinner. I’m sorry!” George, still standing by the front door, is still trying to clear bits of food from his mouth, still paralyzed at the shock of the visit. There is complete silence from everyone.

Pier, while still smiling, looks around and towards George. “How are you, George? Still mucking around with that garden in the back?” George slowly looks at Pier and then nods. “Yes, Pier. It’s coming along quite well. I’ll show it to you sometime… when it’s not raining.” George flashes a smile at Pier as he walks toward the dinner table again. Pier’s eyes follow George, still smiling. He looks around the house as flashes of memories flood his brain. “I like what you did to the place. It looks different in here but still looks the same at the same time, you know?”

Carrie smiles back and stands up. “Welcome Pier. Sit. Eat with us. We’re having my famous meatloaf.” “You mean infamous meatloaf,” mutters Willie as him and Sam chuckle. “Watch it, kids,” scolds George while still making his way back to his seat. Pier shoots an amused look at Carrie. “I’m sure it’s still as delicious.” A silent pause is interrupted with sounds of forks hitting plates and soft chewing. Carrie looks around at the food and then fixates her eyes at George now standing at his seat. “Please, sit with us,” demands George.

Pier swallows and replies, “I’m not hungry. Thanks George. I’m actually here to see Corey.” Another silent pause. George bites his lips with apparent understanding, glances at Carrie and sits down. “Okay.” Carrie follows George and sits down as well, proceeding with dinner. “He’s upstairs in your old room, Pier,” says George. “I’m really sure he will be so happy to see you, buddy. We’re glad you’re here, man!”

Pier looks at Carrie again. She smiles genuinely. Pier smiles back but with a pause. He flutters his shirt a bit to separate his wet shirt from his sweating body. He quickly takes a quick look around the living room, towards the basement door and then the dining room again before heading towards the stairs. “Thanks. I’ll be quick.” Pier can image the low talking from the dinner table as he makes his way upstairs and to his old childhood room.

He can feel his heart thumping, almost jumping out of his chest. If it wasn’t for his wet shirt sticking to his torso, it would have probably left its cavity already. Pier sees his old room with a new door, cracked open just enough to see a greenish glow from inside. A soft beeping sound becomes increasingly louder and louder as he approaches the door. He puts half of his face to the door, one eye peaking inside through the cracked opening. He can only see a silhouette of someone lying in bed next to a ventilator. The beeps become so loud that it took some time before Pier realizes that he can hear the person breathing through the machine. As Pier opens the door wider, the light from the hallway permeates the room, illuminating the person in bed. No movements at all. Pier walks slowly towards the bed. He takes a long look from the foot of the bed before he walks towards the side where the machine sat, beeping away and doing its job in keeping Corey alive.

“He can only see and hear us,” says Carrie, now standing in the doorway with the basket of fruit, flowers and balloons. Pier quickly looks at Carrie, not expecting her to be there. “He can communicate by blinking if you have questions for him.” She sits the gifts down on the night stand next to the doorway. She goes over to Corey and brushes his gray hair with her hand and fingers. “You can call him dad, you know.”

The silence at this time only allows the room to flood itself with the sounds of a low hum and the beeps from the ventilator. Finally, Pier speaks up. “Can I be alone with him?” Carrie shoots a look. “I’m only here to see him before I leave tomorrow,” says Pier. “Where are you going, Pier?” asks Carrie. Ignoring her question, Pier looks back down at Corey. “Please, it will only be a few minutes.”

Carrie slowly gets up, puts both of her hands on Corey’s head and kisses his forehead. She slowly and sadly moves towards the door. She pauses and turns towards Pier. “I’m glad you’re here, baby brother. We all missed you.” She leaves the room and closes the door but leaves a crack small enough that the hallway light still shines through. Carrie stands by the door as if to be a lookout. Pier turns from her direction and leans over Corey and looks directly into his eyes. To his shock, Corey’s eyes are more alive than anything Pier have seen. Pier sits beside Corey and studies his face as his eyes dart back and forth from one eye to the other, from nose to mouth to the scar above Corey's eyebrows and back to the eyes again. “Hello, father. It is me.”

A single tear flows from Corey’s eyes and down his motionless face. His eyes dart back and forth, looking deep into Pier’s eyes. Pier combs back Corey’s hair with his fingers, crying. “It’s really me.” The hum and beeps from the machine seems to be getting louder and louder. As Pier cries, Corey cries more tears. Pier helps to wipe the tears streaming from Corey’s eyes away from his face. “I’m so sorry. I hate to see you like this.” He puts his forehead to his father’s. They both cry some more.

At the door, Carrie wipes away her tears and slowly walks away, giving them their moment alone. Carrie goes downstairs and joins her family again at the dinner table. George and their children ate quietly, intermittently glancing at Carrie who was lost in her thoughts. They chew their food. The silence was unbearable for Carrie until finally, she whispers. “George, honey. The circuit breaker.” “What? Why?” asks George.

In his childhood room where his pink and purple door used to be, Pier wipes away his tears. He sits up on the same bed Corey was lying in. “I need to ask you a question and I need you to be honest with me.” He looks directly into Corey’s wet and red eyes. “Will you do that for me, father?” Will you be honest with me?” Corey slowly blinks his eyes twice. Pier gives him a quick and subtle nod. “Did you ever love me?” Pier looks into Corey’s eye deeper as the hum and beeps seem to get louder. Corey finally blinks his eyes and shut them hard as tears flowed down his face again. Pier cries again.

Meanwhile, downstairs, George goes down the basement steps as he hit the head of a flashlight a few times. The flashlight erupts with a bright light and George walks towards the basement window where the circuit breaker hangs from the wall. The metallic door was wide open. George puts the end of the flashlight in his mouth, holding the light to where the door’s lock was. He swung the door shut and locks the tiny lock. He gives it a little nudge to make sure it securely locked.

With tears flowing from his eyes, Pier is trying to manage a conversation. “I wanted you to know why I left town, dad. Why I left it all behind.” Corey’s eyes swelled up with tears again. “I think you already know why.” Pier tries to calm down and wipes his tears. He looks into Corey’s eyes again but sees deadness in them this time. Corey shuts his eyes as more tears flow. Pier sobs, rubs his eyes and looks up at the ceiling. He rubs his throat and neck. He suddenly looks back down at Corey and clutches his hands into a fist. He then strikes his fists on Corey’s lifeless chest. Corey shuts his eyes in pain and more tears flow.

The lightning strikes outside as the rain rapped on the window pane. Thunder erupts and shakes the house. “I’m sorry, dad!” Pier jumps up on his feet and panics. He takes another frustrated look around and towards the door, fearing that his sister might come in and demand him to leave. Pier nervously paces back and forth before slowly approaching his lifeless father again, looking into his his eyes once more. They are again back to life, free roaming quickly all over Pier’s face. “I love you too, dad.” Pier states calmly.

In the kitchen, Carrie dumps the dirty dishes full of leftover meatloaf into the sink and shovels the food into the garbage disposal. George appears behind her and slowly wraps his arms around her waist. He kisses her cheeks from behind. “It’s locked. Don’t you worry about something this stupid, okay?” Carrie nods slowly and sadly. “Should I go check up on Pier?” “No. As long as we are here, he wouldn’t dare this time.”

Pier once again look deep into his father’s eyes. “Why did you do what you did… to me?” Corey can’t answer but blinks profusely. Pier watches as his father struggles to communicate. “Kenny and Carrie were always the stronger ones.” Corey stops blinking and jumps his eyes from Pier’s eye to the other. Pier starts to sob. “Why me!” he yelled. “Why me, dad!? Was I that weak?” Corey then looks down and away from Pier. “Do you feel guilty about all that power you had over me? Well, no more dad. No more power over me!” Corey stares at Pier. The machine hums and beeps. Pier yells, “do you feel guilty, dad?” Carrie barges in the room. “That’s enough, Pier. Please!”

Pier looks up, eyes swelling at Carrie. He sees George at the door as well. Pier slowly gets up from the bed. He slowly looks into Corey’s eyes yet again, who was still looking away from him. He whispers, “Please, be honest with me, dad. Blink if you ever felt guilty.” Pier gives his father a few seconds to look back up into his eyes. But they would not budge. “Blink, dad, please!” he yells. “Pier, I need you to go,” says Carrie. “He’s about enough.” Corey shuts his eyes and keeps them shut.

Without lifting his eyes off of his dad, Pier walks away from the bed until he reaches the foot of it. With his head down, he faces Carrie who is staring at her father. Without looking at his sister, Pier heads towards the door. From there, George watches as Pier grabs the flowers and slowly walks it over to the nightstand beside his father. Carrie cries as Pier says good-bye to their father. “I love you, dad,” says Pier as he slips away without looking into Corey’s eyes. He walks past his sister, towards the doorway and grabs the basket of fruit and balloons and goes down the stairs.

George meets up and follows behind Pier down the stairs and grabs Pier’s jacket for him. George opens the door to show his guest out, letting in the cold stormy air as splashes of raindrops hit both of their faces. Pier then slowly exits the doorway as George puts his hand on his shoulders. Pier silently offers the basket of fruit to George but George quietly declines. He put the basket under his jacket the best that he can as he looks over at George with sad eyes. There is nothing George can say. George removes his hands from Pier’s shoulders and gives him a nod. Pier looks into the storm and walks towards his car with 4 balloons hovering over him and a bulky jacket.

George watches as Pier opens the car door, lets in the balloons and sits himself in the driver’s seat. The car ignition sounds off and headlights turn on. George watches with sympathy as the car slowly drove away and disappears into the orange haze. George shuts his door and proceeds to tend to his family.

Pier quietly and ever so slowly drives his car down the street. He begins to sob. He starts to cry so much that he could not see, especially with the marble sized rain drops exploding onto this windshield. He stops the car and parks under one of the street lamps. He turns off the ignition while he struggling to stop sobbing as his throat dries up, gasping for air. He looks up at the ceiling of his car, rubs his throat and dries his tears. He couldn’t breathe. He quickly rolls down his window and put his face outside as if the rain can wash away all the sorrow. Through the haze and rain, he takes one last look at his childhood home from a distance until his eyes filled up with water. He slowly put his head back inside the car and rolls down the passenger’s side window. With his head soaked, he turns to look at his right hand which was still holding onto the balloon strings. “I’m sorry, dad. These balloons were for you.”

The car’s engine turns on again. Suddenly, a pair of balloons fly out of the passenger’ side window, floating up and down, fighting against the heavy rain, up and down again and above the car. The car now starts to leave and finally disappears into the dark orange haze as rain steadily drops and explodes all over the pavement it was driving on. The metallic Mylar balloons finally reach the top of the light post and wrap themselves around the power lines extending from the lamp. A surge of electricity shoots from the balloons and power line and immediately the bulbs from the street lamp explode. Houses on the block one by one go dark until the entire area was completely in darkness. All there was were the sounds of raindrops, dogs barking in the distance and the occasional thunder. All else was quiet. No hums, no beeps.