The whispers of the rain

I am rushing toward my car, when I notice a young woman standing motionless in front of me. The rain is so heavy, that I almost didn’t see her silhouette in the darkness.

I approach her with my umbrella, and ask: “Hi, are you okay?” But she doesn’t even look at me. She’s soaked, her gaze fixed on the pouring sky, and at times, she seems to whisper unintelligible words. Honestly, she doesn’t look fine at all. Luckily, there’s a hospital nearby. Even though I had juts finished my shift, I decide to turn back and rush her to the emergency room. As a psychiatrist intern, I feel both worried yet intrigued by her condition. I’ve never seen anything like this before.

“It looks like you won’t be going home tonight, Derek,” jokes Dr. Klark, the chief psychiatrist, after we completed all the necessary checkups.“She was lucky you found her.”

In the end, we had to sedate her. The girl was in a state of shock and showed signs of PTSD, but aside from dehydration, we didn’t find any other issues. She has no ID, nor an insurance. The only clue we have is the word ‘Blue’ embroidered on her shirt sleeve. Maybe that’s her name.

At the crack of dawn, the rain stops. When I enter her room, she begins to open her eyes. She appears to be disoriented, which is understandable. I tell the nurse to call Dr. Klark, then I slowly approach her.

“Good morning, I’m Derek Wilson, your doctor. You are in a hospital. How are you feeling?”

She blinks a few times, looking around, then turns her gaze to the window.

“It’s not raining anymore…” she murmurs.

“No, it’s not. Do you remember what you were doing last night in the rain?”

Now she shifts her glance toward me. She shakes her head.

“Can you tell me your name?” She shakes her head again. “Could it be Blue?” She tries to concentrate.

“I… I think so.”

“Great. So, you don’t remember anything about yesterday?”

“I don’t know…” she lowers her eyes, puzzled. Even if her condition improved, she’s still shaken and afraid, wearing a gloomy face. Her eyes look so cold and impenetrable.

“It’s okay, take your time. You can tell me if you remember anything or if you feel something,” I try to comfort her.

Dr. Klark arrives and examines her. Afterwards, we let her rest. We needed to include amnesia in her diagnosis, likely caused by a trauma. Apparently, she forgot anything about herself and her past.

Over the next few days, the authorities attempt to identify her, searching for an address or someone who might be looking for her, but without success. Social services will certainly have to get involved. Meanwhile, I keep her under close observation, hoping for some improvement. I don’t mind working overtime. This is the most fascinating case I’ve ever encountered. I manage to get her talk a little more, but despite being in good health, she makes no significant progress.

Another morning comes. As soon as I steps out of my car, a raindrop falls on my cheek. I hurry to the hospital entrance and, after a quick change, head straight to Blue’s room, event though I’m early. Nowadays, this has become my routine.

“Hi Blue, how are you today?” I ask as I walk in. Strangely, this time I don’t receive any reply. She’s standing in front of the window, motionless. This scene immediately takes me back to the night I met her. I walk closer. “Are you all right, Blue?” I repeat. But she doesn’t even notice me, keeping her gaze fixed on the gray sky. I follow her line of sight, trying to figure out what has captured her attention so deeply. However, I don’t see anything but the downpour.

“Do you like the rain?” Unsurprisingly, she ignores my question. The, I notice a single tear rololing down her cheek. Suddenly, a thunderclap startles her. She quickly squeezes her eyes shut and covers her ears with her hands.

“Stop!” she cries. Worried, I gently grab her shoulders to calm her down.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” She doesn’t react, as if she was in a trance once again. I tell a nurse to fetch Dr. Klark immediately.

Blue continues to cry, looking so much in pain. “Blue? Blue? Can you hear me?” My attempts are useless. Another cal pop thunder shakes the sky, and she falls to her knees, whispering “No, no, stop it!”.

Finally, Dr. Klark comes in. I describe what happened, pointing out the apparent connection with the rain. The only logical explanation we can come up with is an advanced form of meteoropathy. But we couldn’t have imagined the truth…

We manage to get her back into bed, but this time we don’t sedate her. We patiently endure the end of the storm. Indeed, when the rain stops, she wakes up. Honestly, Dr. Klark and I are stunned by this behaviour.

“This can’t be coincidence”, I tell him.

“You’re right… but I’ve never seen anything like this in my entire carrier.” And he’s been a psychiatrist for decades.

“How should we proceed?”

“I’m not sure. Let’s keep this between us for now. I’ll do some research.”

“There’s no time…” Blue’s voice interrupts us.

“What is it?” I ask gently.

“It’s going to be bad…” she murmurs, lowering her face as fresh tears begin to fall down. I delicately take her hand. “You can talk to me, Blue.”

Surprisingly, she grips my hand tightly, locking her blue eyes with mine. I can read a genuine fear.

“There’s going to be a serious accident in St. Andrew Square, it will collapse… the scaffolding will collapse… there will be casualties… I think 3 victims and more than 20 injured. You have to help them!”

I cast a glance at my supervisor, who seems speechless as I am. “The scaffolding? How do you know that, Blue?”

She looks at us, frightened. Then, she quickly releases my hand.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does for us. We just want to help in the best way possible,” I insist.

“Just do something for those poor people… even though it’s too late to save them,” at these last words, her voice cracks, as she tries to hold back her tears.

Dr. Klark gestures for me to say while he leaves the room. I remain with Blue, observing her. I know it sounds absurd, but something inside me truly believes her words. I don’t know why, but there’s something different about this girl, something that makes her different from the other patients, as if she’s actually completely sane. Moreover, she’s aware that she’s I the hospital because we consider her as an ill patient.

“Blue, I want to believe you, but you must tell me how do you know about the accident,” I decide to go for a direct approach.

“You cannot believe me, it’s beyond your comprehension.” At least she does’t ignore me anymore.

“I understand how you feel, really. But if you want me to do something for them, I need as many details as possible.”

“It’s too late…”

“There could still be something we can do, right?” She looks up at me, surprised by my sincere interest. A faint glimmer of hope seems to light up her deep eyes.

“You could prepare to treat the injured. Many will be brought to this hospital.”

“I’ll see what I can …”

She doesn’t let me finish. “Derek, they won’t listen to me. I know you think I’m insane, how could you not?”

I don’t know what to say. Once again, she doesn’t seem like the other patients.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do anything.” She continues, expressing her torment.

Before I can add anything, Dr. Klark swings the door open. “Derek,” he says out of breath. “Can you give me a moment?”

I follow him outside and close the door behind me. “What’s going on?” I ask, noticing the shoock on his face.

“The accident… it really happened!” he exclaims. My eyes widen in surprise. I feel a wave of relief wash over me. I’m saddened by the accident, of course, but the fact that Blue was right is… thrilling.

“It was… it was exactly as she described… the A&E is full,” he can’t believe what he’s saying. And honestly, me neither. I cover my mouth, speechless. “She was right. How could she know it?!” He can’t contain himself.

“I… I don’t know,” I finally manage to respond. “But she’s different. Her case has nothing to do with the others.”

“Okay, let’s calm down,” he says, trying to regain control. “It has to be a coincidence. First, I’ll check to make sure she’s not involved, then we’ll conduct more tests to better understand her mental state.” I’ve never seen him like that, he’s always so confident, always able to find a logical, scientific explanation. But right now, it seems like science has no valid theory for us.

Dr. Klark spent the following weeks examining every detail. It turned out that the accident was a real accident, caused by a faulty assembly of the scaffolding. No one could have orchestrated it on purpose. We conducted further verifications on Blue’s condition, but nothing came to light. Fortunately, she’s beginning to remember fragments of her past, especially flashbacks of the place where she probably used to live. And every time it rains, she behaves as the other times, sometimes sharing a new premonition that comes true with uncanny accuracy. Dr. Klark and I keep this secret, but we still haven’t found an explanation yet. To be honest, much of what I studied in psychiatry has been shaken by this mysterious girl. There are times when I have to calm her after violent nightmares. Sadly, I’m afraid social services will have to move her to another facility, if she doesn’t show more improvements. I wish there was something I could do to keep her here at the hospital, that’s so frustrating.

Time passed, and the cold winter arrived. Unexpectedly, the snow doesn’t affect Blue negatively, she just seems more serene. As usual, today I took her for a walk in the hospital courtyard. It’s not that big, but it has a lovely garden that she seems to enjoy.

“I will have to leave this hospital soon, won’t I?” she asks unexpectedly.

“Well… there’s a possibility, yes. But Dr. Klark and I will do our best to keep you here.”

“Why?” She asks me calmly, her gentle eyes fixed on me.

“Because we are the only ones who know your… abilities, and we understand your condition better than any other doctor.”

“I see… then, I hope to regain my memories as soon as possible.”

“That would certainly help.”

“However, I feel like my mind wanted to forget… I’m afraid it’s something painful. That could be the case, right?”

“Yes, it could be… that’s why we need to give your mind the time it needs.”

“I know… I don’t think we have much time left though.” I glance at her, quietly observing the snowflakes falling. In the silent stillness of the snow, the sad reality of letting her go strikes me. I believe I ended up getting too emotionally involved in this case. But what could I do? You don’t meet someone that extraordinary very often. 

After some time, we go back inside. I go to get something warm to drink, leaving her waiting in the hall. When I return, I immediately sense something is wrong. She’s standing in front of the TV, watching the news intently. I switch my gaze to the monitor and read a report about a tragic incident where a child has lost both parents during a family trip. She freezes. All of sudden, she places her hands on her head, visibly in pain. “What’s wrong?!” I rush to her, dropping the tea on the floor. She’s not able to respond. Then, she collapses into my arms.

When she regains consciousness, she finds Dr. Klark and me beside her bed.

“How are you feeling?” he asks gently. She slowly sits up, touching her forehead.

“You still have headache?” I inquire.

After a few seconds, she breaks the silence: “I’m fine… I just felt dizzy…”

“You sure?”

“Yes. I’m going to rest for a bit.” She lies back down, closing her eyes.

“All right then. Call if you need anything,” Dr. Klark Telles her, before we quietly exit the room.

“I don’t know, I’m not convinced,” I mutter, feeling uneasy.

“Something must have deeply shocked her. You told me that she was reading about a family tragedy, right?”

“Yes. It must have triggered something., I’m sure of it.”

“I agree. Let’s keep an eye on her, she may need time to process it.”

I go to the bathroom to splash my face with cold water. Has the time to unveil the truth finally come? Are her memories so unbearable? What could her past be?

While I torment myself with these questions, a nurse rushes toward me.

“Dr. Wilson, Miss. Blue has disappeared!”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s not in her room anymore! I’ve already called security.”

I rush to check, only to sadly confirm the nurse’s words.

“She couldn’t have gone far. We’ll find her.” But despite our thorough search, she’s nowhere to be found. She vanished.

I started to consider where she might have gone. I hurry to my car and drive off.

After about 30 minutes, I stop at a large gate in the middle of the woods. This must be where she used to live. When she began having flashbacks of her house, I did some research on possible locations nearby that fit her descriptions. This was the closest match.

I get out my car. The gate is open. I walk in, surrounded by miles of trees. Finally, I see a house. But when I draw near, I find no one.

“Blue?” I call out. No response. Then, I hear the sound of a stream nearby. I walk toward it, and there, by the bank, I finally see her again. Just like the first time, she’s standing motionless, staring at the water. I approach her slowly.

“I didn’t expect you to find me so soon,” she says, without even turning to face me. She doesn’t seem surprised to see me.

“Are you all right?” I ask her, letting a hint of distress show in my voice.

“No.”

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“My body is fine,” she replies, her voice heavy with sorrow.

“What happened?”

“My memories came back.”

“I figured it out…”

“I was right. It would have been better to forget.”

“It’s about your family, isn’t it?” She finally looks at me. Her eyes are red for crying. She nods.

“It was my fault. I could have saved them, but I didn’t.” She covers her face with her hands, tears flowing again. Instinctively, I pull her into my arms.

“I’m sure it’s not your fault. You didn’t hurt them.” She tightens her grip on me. I feel my heart breaking.

“I heard about the car accident and I did nothing. I could have stopped them from going out that night, but I pretended it was just a nightmare. I was too scared to face it.”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, holding her a little tighter. “It’s not your fault. It was a defence mechanism. Our minds can be tricky sometimes, you know that better than me.”

She lifts her gaze to meet mine. “No matter how I put it, I always feel guilty. I wish I could go back in time so badly.”

“I know. You can let your anger and pain out. I’m here to support you when it gets too much to bear.”

“How can I live with this pain? How can I live without them?”

“It will take time. You will always miss them, but you can learn to live for them and for yourself.”

“I don’t think I can do it…”

“It’s understandable, Blue. But you will learn how to heal somehow, trust me. And you won’t be alone.” It will take time, but she will realise this someday. “Let’s go back now. Everyone’s waiting for you.”

“I threw everyone into a panic, didn’t I?”

“I’m afraid Dr. Klark will have you go through every kind of examinations,” I manage to coax a small smile from her lips.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“How did you get the predictions?” I’ve always wondered.

“It’s the rain,” she answers. “The rain whispers to me.”