Rain Water

Nothing was worse than the sight of rain stepping right out of the London Tube. The rain in London showed no mercy. My blonde curls went haywire and my lips froze to the point where it became hard to speak without feeling like I was under a dose of anesthetics after visiting the dentist. 

I pulled a rubber band off my wrist and turned my loose hair into a topknot. It was either a messy bun or hair with a life so much of its own that it would make anyone look twice. I couldn’t let James see that side of my hair, so I completed the final knot to keep my curls in place for the evening.

 My heart fluttered at the thought of James Doe. His dark curls, square spectacles, and jawline that could cut through stone rarely left my mind. There wasn’t a blink in which I didn’t see James’ face. 

I looked at my watch and swallowed hard. I had no choice but to walk out in the rain or be devastatingly late. 

Soaking wet was the look I had to go for on our fifth date. The excitement of this date riddled my mind for the past few days. I could sense something more coming—a chance for us to bind together, to make everything official, and for me to once not show up at an event alone while all the happily married couples would coo and hum about how exciting my single life could be.

I was rounding a corner and my left heel went sideways. I gasped audibly as my heart lurched from my chest.

A few strangers shared glances, which rarely happened in this gloomy city—I urged myself to pinch my tongue. Today was a special day and nasty words would taint it forever. 

My cheap heels were always haywire just like my hair, but soon, as I walked ahead, I rolled my ankle around in the air and confirmed I was fine. I ambled on forward, it was just a few minutes towards Franco Manca—I wouldn’t be late after all. 

When James asked me to come to South Kensington, I swallowed hard at the thought of a one-and-a-half-hour journey on the London Underground, but with James’ apartment just a few minutes away from South Kensington station, I couldn’t resist but see it as a good sign. I replied yes confidently, without hinting at my wavering mind. 

The lights inside Franco Manca were a warm yellow and the heat allowed my frozen lips to normalize from the cold winter rain wreaking havoc outside. 

James looked as pristine as ever in his grey turtleneck and a dimple-full smile plastered across his face. 

“Hey Jayda, you look radiant,” he said with his soothing voice while staying put in his chair. I saw he already had a beer in front of him. 

Our seats were cramped in the corner and the heat was starting to suffocate me. 

“Thank you, I hope I didn’t keep you waiting for too long,” I said while taking my wet coat off and placing it messily on the hook near my chair. 

“Not at all, I just got here a few minutes ago. How was your day?” He asked as I took a seat and looked into his piercing blue eyes.

I could feel the butterflies pushing out of my stomach. Those beautiful blue eyes might just be for me to see every morning from today. I couldn’t help but let a smile form at the corner of my lips. 

“Is everything ok?” He asked. 

“Sorry, yes, everything is fine. Work was fine, I was just at home all day in meetings and answering emails. How was your day?” I asked while letting my chin rest on the palm of my hand with googly eyes. 

“Same old same old.” He smiled back at me with those blue irises and I sighed audibly. “What would you like to get?” He asked. 

“Anything works for me, we can share a pizza perhaps?” I said.

“Yes, sounds good. I don’t think I’m in the mood to eat a whole pizza alone today.” He looked through the menu with pursed lips while I licked over mine. We gave our order and I saw James’ expression darken. 

“Is everything okay?” I asked and in a moment of bravery, I reached my hand out to place it over his—it was a fifth date. But he flinched and drew his arm back. I couldn't help but straighten up as my body stiffened. Something bad was approaching like the sight of lightning before the thunder roared down your spine.  

“Yes, I just wanted to say that you’re lovely and I really enjoyed getting to know you.” He paused while gazing downwards. “I’ve met someone else and I don’t think it would be fair for me to see you again.” James furrowed his eyebrows. 

“Why would you ask me to come all the way here if you didn’t want to see me again?” I say while blinking aggressively. I held myself back from lurching forward. 

“I thought it would be better to do it face to face?” He said that more like a question. He wasn’t even sure himself. “I hope it wasn’t much trouble to come all the way.” 

I cackled out of sheer irritation.

I sat in the hot and humid tube for over an hour for this. My rage soon diminished as my lower lip began to quiver. I stood up and walked quickly towards the exit.

“Wait!” James yelled. 

“Yes.” Hope began to rise inside me before plummeting back to its usual place underground. 

“We already ordered, I thought we were splitting the bill?” 

The audacity was too much to handle. I barged out the door, creating a momentary ruckus, and rushed towards South Kensington station as tears flew off my face from the harsh winds blowing my way. 

***

The gates at the station were drawn shut and it turned out, the bus was my ride back home. 

That would be two hours.

I leaned against the wall and inhaled deeply. I forgot my coat on the hook after bounding out of Franco Manca, clearly distraught and shaken. I just couldn’t get myself to go back, so I stood there, shivering and my teeth chattering like the sound of a hole being drilled. 

Soon, out of the corner of my eye, on top of a red letterbox, something caught my attention. It was a strange-looking lump and as I walked closer, the odd shape took form into a coat. I looked around and no one else was in sight. 

The emerald green coat was soft to the touch. The fabric wasn’t piling like on my usual jacket and when I lifted it, the coat hung beautifully while dancing in the wind.

I couldn’t help but put it on. For something left stranded on the street, the coat smelled so sweet like vanilla and berries. It elegantly fell to my ankles and the oversized sleeves just hit my wrists. I saw my reflection in the opaque glass to my left and nearly gasped.

I looked regal.

 Shortly, I lapsed and snot began to pour from my nose. If only James were here to offer me his coat. The crying didn’t stop once the bus was coming into view and I dreaded boarding on with my splotchy face. I placed a hand in the coat pocket and plastic crunched underneath my fingers. I pulled out the crunchy plastic in fear of finding already chewed gum wrapped up, but to my pleasant surprise, it was a packet with a single tissue. 

I couldn’t help but smile as I pulled one out to wipe my wet face before my arduous journey back home. 

***

It was almost as if I didn’t sleep when I woke up to the pitch-black sky outside. There was still an hour until my morning alarm was meant to buzz and snooze and then buzz again. 

My mind was sore from last night with James. It felt like a complete blind turn, but as I stacked up the events leading up to yesterday, everything fit together like a children’s puzzle: James didn’t respond to messages for days, he never wanted to meet more than once in a couple of weeks, and he always smiled at texts popping up on his phone while we were together. It wasn’t a blind turn, I was too blinded to see what was right in front of my dashboard. 

As I lifted my head off the pillow, it was damp with salty tears from my eyes. My stomach was growling with rage as I rushed to the bathroom with a bladder seconds away from bursting. I wondered if James did end up eating the whole pizza. With no food in my fridge, I’d have to wait a while until my angry stomach could settle down. I brushed my teeth through clenched teeth—my dead-end job was going to feel like a horrid afterlife today. 

As I stepped out of the bathroom with minty fresh breath, bile rose up my throat to dampen the fresh flavour in my mouth. There was a figure standing still by my window. As I inched forward, I remembered the emerald green coat.

It was life-like. 

I timidly approached the coat and today it smelt like cherry blossoms. As I leaned closer, I saw something bulging in the left pocket. I reached inside, afraid of finding a dead mouse, but to my surprise, there was a blueberry muffin wrapped in a cling with a pink-scented strip of paper stuck on the top. As I unwrapped the strip, there was a note in a beautiful cursive font. 

Something sweet to start your day. 

I gasped and dropped the muffin onto the ground. It bounced a few times and landed upright. Is there an intruder? After carefully scanning my congested studio apartment, No one was hiding and none of the windows were unlatched. My alarm buzzed right on time; I began to get dressed for my day ahead and devoured the crumbly blueberry muffin with a mug of peppermint tea. 

***

While on the bus, I found my AirPods in the right pocket of the coat. The same AirPods I distinctly remembered leaving on my side table before rushing out of the house and accusing myself of being a scatterbrain. Mistakes happen—the small note said this time. I smiled and bit my lip before anyone began to judge my untoward happiness on the cramped London bus. 

***

Any thought of James Doe left my mind while I was at work. I only thought of him when I reminded myself I needed to be more upset by everything: he had chosen someone else, he hadn’t messaged to check if I was okay, and once again, I was the only one who was single in this entire dump that people called an office—it was located in Camden on the very road so many people turned into a long streaming urinal.

“Hey Jayda, how did the date go?” Veronika’s nasal voice was like pins in my ears. Her perfect rich husband and two plump children made me feel like something was going wrong in my life. 

“It was fine,” I said. 

“Are you two official now?” Veronika took off her stiff grey coat and draped it over her chair. Her desk was right in front of mine and pretty much everyone sat next to everyone in this tiny one-room office that was far more grey than the winter air in London this time of year. 

“No, we decided it wouldn’t work.” I didn’t know where this confidence came from. The old Jayda Sairs would have cried all day.

“Oh, that’s okay, you’ll find someone, and being single has its perks.” Veronika tried to mean well but the condescension dripping from that nasal voice wasn’t fooling me.

“I know I’ll be okay.” I smiled so wide, that Veronika’s sympathetic expression turned befuddled.  

Instinctively, I reached into the pocket of my magical coat and felt something metallic entertain the tips of my fingers. I pulled it out to find a gold chain with a pendant shaped like an undulating circle. A beautiful soul is a whole. The words were engraved in the middle and even though I’d never heard of such a saying, it all made sense. 

***

Night fell halfway through the work day and while leaving the office, it almost felt as if the clock struck midnight. I caressed my beautiful coat and wondered who left this enchanted object on top of that letterbox last night. I dug my hands inside the pockets, jittery to see what would come out this time. It was just a pink slip, slightly thicker than the others. When I slowly unraveled it, there wasn’t a message but an address:

102 Avenue Close, Avenue Road, St Johns Wood, London

Under the pitch-black sky, I swiveled from Camden station and walked towards St John’s Wood, unsure of what to find—a package or another note or, worst of all, absolutely nothing. I walked through the cold winds blowing my curls away from my face and freezing the tips of my fingers. After a long and tedious journey, I was in front of a door behind which it appeared dark inside. No one was around as I whipped my head back and forth. Just as my feet were about to drag me away, utterly defeated, I felt the ground beneath me rumble. The gravel shifted and I tumbled backwards thinking this was the end of my run. 

My eyes were shut tight and when I opened them, a small staircase led towards a door shining ample light through its slits. 

I looked back and then whipped my head forward, hoping this was all just a trick, but nothing changed. The glowing staircase stood in front, inviting me to descend towards whatever miracle lay below. 

I dusted myself off and took timid steps till I was at the bottom.

“Hi, there you are.” A girl with heterochromatic eyes and straight icy blonde hair opened the door.

“Come on in, you must be cold. I’ve made cocoa for the two of us.” Her voice was gentle and she had one of those indecipherable accents which sounded like the sweet melodies of mockingbirds. 

I stepped inside to be welcomed by the smell of chocolate and caramel. The fluffy carpeting soothed my aching feet and the fuchsia, lilac, and green cushions and flowers filling up the small apartment couldn’t help but uplift my mood.

“Who are you?” I asked. There was no other way to put it as I saw plates and pans hovering in the open kitchen, functioning themselves. 

“Ooo, the cocoa is ready.” She ignored my question and brought a colour-changing mug which shifted from orange to yellow to green before it was placed in my hand. I took the cup wearily and sipped the drink. My tongue melted from the rich chocolate flavour. 

Nothing could ever taste good after a sip of this cocoa. 

“Who are you?” I repeated with awe. I wondered why I wasn’t more flabbergasted by the sight ahead. It all just made sense. 

“I’m Rain Water,” she said with a pleasant smile. 

“You’re name is rainwater?” I was confused. 

“Yes, but as two words. Rain Water. And you are Jayda Sairs, my latest visitor?” She took a sip of her cocoa. 

Of course, she would know my name. 

“Do you have many visitors?” I asked. 

“Oh, yes, I do. I tend to be very forgetful with my emerald coat. Someone always brings it back. It was you this time. Thank you for bringing it.” She looked utterly grateful and my heart pinched at the thought of leaving the coat that seemed to be changing my life. 

“This coat of yours,” I started, “It’s very unique.” I couldn’t quite put it in words. 

“Yes, yes it is.” Her eyes wandered, churning up fond memories from the past. “I’ve had it for a very long time. I always forget it here and there, but it always ends up in the right hands. It was you this time.”

I couldn’t help but smile shyly. I was the ‘right hands’. 

“This emerald coat, is there a spell on the pockets?” I asked, weary of using the word spell. We weren’t in a world with wizards and witches. 

“Spell?” Rain Water’s eyebrows turned upside down. 

“Yes, it has magical pockets,” I told her as a matter-of-factly. 

“Oh.” She laughed with her pristine teeth on display. “This is just an ordinary coat.”

“No, it isn’t.” My voice was urgent. 

“It’s completely ordinary. Maybe you are the one with a little bit of magic within. You see, this coat is whatever you want it to be. That’s its beauty,” Rain said while tilting her cup up to the ceiling with her head. “Ah, I’m all done with my cocoa.” She smacked her lips together as an oven mitt flew over to collect the cup from her hand. 

I could feel my eyelids stretching from opening them too wide. 

“Thank you again for bringing my emerald coat.” Her eyes were teary. “I really can’t bear to be without it.”

“That’s not a problem.” At that moment, I realised I didn’t need to ask Rain Water anything else. “I think I should get going. Thank you for the cocoa.” I got up gently and began to exit the door into the cold night air. 

“Wait!” Rain scurried to her room. “Take this with you, it’s cold outside.” My heart swelled as I wrapped myself up in the sky-blue shawl and began to climb up the glowing staircase. Once I came off the last step, the ground beneath me rumbled and closed as if nothing was there in the first place. 

As I walked forward in the night sky, for the first time, I was content to do it all on my own.