The Tempest Within

The rain pounded against the roof like the intrusive thoughts that slammed inside her skull. She was so tired, but her mind refused to let her sleep. She tossed and turned, only for a few minutes later to adjust her seat on the bed, desperately trying to find a comfortable position suitable for sleep, but to no avail.

Nothing could bring the serenity of rest to her eyes, not even her favorite novel; which she conveniently kept on her nightstand.

Giving up any hope of rest, she pulled on her converse and tiptoed across the room. With a loud creak she opened the door and slipped out of her room. Down the hallway she sneaked, silent as a tomb. She creeped down the staircase, narrowly avoiding the loose floorboard on the fourth step.

She grabbed her brown plaid jacket from its peg in the entryway and pulled her umbrella from its holder. Its jet black hue camouflaged in the darkness of the house. With a stealthy, practiced skill she silently unlocked the door and stepped out into the tempest. On the minuscule porch she opened her umbrella and walked onto the street.

The rain was coming down steadily. In the distance she could barely hear an echo of thunder. She passed the streetlamp and stepped off the sidewalk, then carefully walked down a small hill, making her way between the trees.

The raindrops were big and fat as they thudded against her umbrella. Her shoes squished against the west grass. She closed her eyes and stood surrounded by trees. She took a deep breath. She could smell the rain, the dirt, and the trees. It reminded her of spring. A time of new beginnings and a fresh start.

Just not for her.

Everything seemed to have gotten worse since winter. Her parents argued even more, her older sister had left for college leaving her completely alone. Not even her friends where a relief. She doesn’t know what she did, but her friends are gone. They barely acknowledge her in the halls, don’t answer her texts, and refuse to come over and hang out.

The girl stands there in the pouring rain, wondering how it all went wrong.

She slowly makes her way down towards the small river at the bottom of the hill. It’s no longer small, but a raging rushing current barreling through the trees. It was dark, almost black. It seemed to sprint past her angrily, as if desperate to be anywhere but here.

She stared at the rushing water, and imagined building a raft. She would climb into it and take off down the river. Not worried about where it would take her as long as it took her away from here.

The rushing of the river accompanied the drumming of the rain and the steady rhythm of her feet against the grass joined in, a discordant orchestra that seemed to echo her very thoughts. A few steps away, a streetlight glowed ethereally in the dark, smoky fog. She approached it with a quiet sense of serenity, yet it was simply a façade, a mask of the tempest raging within her, consuming her, destroying her.

She stood there for what felt like hours, soaking in the soft glow of the light as though trying to absorb it into her dark and burdened soul.

She stared up into the darkness, the edges of the black ominous clouds barely silhouetted against the even blacker sky. Plink. Plink. Plink. The raindrops hit her face with a steady rhythm. She closed her eyes and let the rain wash over her, slow chipping away at the thoughts that threatened to drown her.

She stood under the streetlamp ignoring the water dripping off her hair and face and down into her clothes. Her shoes were soaking wet from the grass and the droplets of rain coming off her umbrella.

She stood and, as the rain started to lessen, looked back towards the river. A small tree stood across on the other bank. It was being pelted by rain, but it did not break. It stood strong and refused to move.

The girl took a breath, and focused on the tree, ignoring the river. Through the dark she saw how the leaves trembled and shook, how the branches bent just slightly under the weight of the water, but it did not break.

As the rain came to a steady drizzle, the girl found it in her heart. Resolve. She would be like that tree. Firm and steady, not breaking despite the weight of the rain and the push of the wind.

She took another deep breath. The smell of spring coming alive in her nose and mind. She could imagine tomorrow the bright green trees and blooming flowers. Those happy, chirping birds and buzzing insects.

As she climbed the hill back to her home, she felt a peace settle somewhere in her heart and finally found within her a story to write. Even though she was somewhat tired from her venture tonight, she hurried up the hill pushing against the increasing wind and rain. There was a brief flash of lightning and a few seconds later a rumble of thunder.

She hurried down the rain soaked road, her heart pounding like the crescendo of the storm around her. She walked down the battered lane, her heart and mind much lighter. With a new purpose, a new dream, she stepped up onto her tiny stoop and gently nudged open the door. Once inside she nudged it shut, and locked it as it was before.

She closed her umbrella carefully, replacing it in its place with care. She hung her jacket on its peg once again, exactly as if it had never been amiss. Taking great care not to wake her family, she cautiously ascended the staircase, once again narrowly avoiding the loose floorboard of the fourth step.

Back down the hallway she sneaked, silent as a tomb. Gently she opened the door, and slipped back into her room.

She tiptoed across the room over to a small mahogany desk in the back left corner. She quickly kicked off her shoes and settled down to rest, and picked up the pen and parchment that lay upon the desk.

As the tempest calmed outside, so did her thoughts. Her mind became quite clear, for though her heart was lighter now, she knew the storm would soon reappear.

But just like the tree on the bank or the streetlight’s golden glow, she aimed to share her newfound hope to the world beyond her window. Armed with her pen and paper, her thoughts began to flow, and she put those thoughts to paper, and this is what she wrote.

It was only 10 minutes past midnight, but to the girl in the green converse, it felt like an eternity had passed. She stared out the window into the stormy night, into the dark forest across the street. The only sign of life was the glow of the hazy streetlight at the end of her driveway. She watched the small, shining raindrops as they patterned against the glass, each one a tiny mirror reflecting flashes of lightning that streaked across the sky.