The rain just kept falling

The rain just kept falling. It kept falling while I lie in bed listening to the lightening strike, the thunder roar and the storm rumble and roll. It kept falling when I left my room in an attempt to get closer to the sound of the thunder and lightening making their beautiful noise. I stand in the middle of the hallway in a space between my room and the room next door wearing nothing but my underwear and a blue snuggie I got for my birthday last year. “Boy you you look like a homeless wizard” my sister had told me when she saw me wearing the robe. I told her it really worked and it really kept you warm. She laughed and told me I was crazy. She laughed and told me I was mad for wearing such a silly thing.



As I stand in the middle of the hallway listening to the sounds of thunder and lightening I wonder if I really am crazy. I wonder if I really am mad for wearing such a silly thing at this time of night listening to the sounds of a storm while the rain just keeps falling. Am I crazy? Am I really going mad? These questions run through my mind while the intensity of the storm increases. The rain begins to fall harder, the thunder and lightening begin roaring and striking with a greater frequency than before. I walk down the hallway to the room at the end of the hall. I noticing a toy soldier lying on the floor. It's a toy I play with when I'm lonely, it's a toy I play with when I am alone.



I grab the toy soldier and continue my trek to the room on the other side of the hall. The storm gets stronger as I get closer and closer to the room. The lightening strikes are harder and the roar of the thunder are loud, terrifying yet also pleasurable to my ears. I press my ear to the wall a few feet away from the door holding my toy soldier, playing with my toy. The storm is incredible now, the lightening and thunder are going back and forth, roaring and striking, striking and roaring, and all the while, the rain just keeps falling while I listen. It keeps falling while I play with my toy solider and my solider plays with me, I close my eyes listening to the storm, listening to the thunder, listening to the lightening, listening to the beautiful sounds in europhic bliss. Than something terrible happens something, someone talks to me...



“Hello Wizard” I turn around startled, dropping my toy soldier looking at a man dressed in a black suit wearing sunglasses with a pink tie and gold hair. “What, what is this? Who are you and what are you doing here? I ask. The man in the black suit laughs “Nevermind why I am here my boy, the important question is why are you here standing next to a room that isn't yours listening to a raging storm while playing with your little toy soldier?” “I'm here because I couldn't sleep alright!!!! Now can you just leave me alone and let me be” I exclaim. “You are afraid Ichben” said the man in the black suit. “What are you talking about? Afraid of what?” I ask. “The rain, Ichben, you're afraid of getting wet” said the man in the black suit.



“It's not true!!!” I reply. “But it is true Ichben, it is very true my boy” says the man in the black suit. “You've been afraid of the rain all your life. You've been afraid to face the thunder and lightening yourself because you don't want to get hurt. You hide in the corner, playing with your toys hoping upon hope a storm will come bringing you joy and excasty, hoping it will take away the pain, if just for one night.” “Shut up you monster, shut up!!!” I say. The man in the black suit continues “Ichben, the rain will keep falling weather you like it or not, it is up to you to embrace the storm, embrace your fears Ichben and the lightening and thunder will strike for you.”



Tears streaming from my eyes I reply “Can't you see my toys are all I have? Can't you see that this is the closest thing I'm going to get touching thunder and striking lightening? Oh hell maybe my sister was right, maybe I am crazy, maybe I am mad.” I began to weep.



The man in the black suit puts his hand on my shoulder. His hand has a soothing effect. I feel calm and relaxed, still sad, but relaxed. “Don't feel bad my boy. You are not crazy nor are you a lost cause. You'll find what you are looking for and you'll find a way to stand in the rain, in the middle of the thunder, the storm and the lightening.”



“How will I know if I am ready to face the storm and stand in the rain?” I ask. “You'll know my boy. You'll know” the man in the black suit says. I try to ask another question but the man in the black suit disappears. I awake, lying beside the door of the room next door. The storm is over and the thunder and lightening have subsided. I walk to the window, look out the window. The rain just keeps falling. It falls while I standby waiting for something to happen, waiting for lightening to strike and thunder to roar. “No more” I say to myself, “No more will I hide in the corner with my toy soldier. No more will I allow other people's thunder and lightening brighten my night. “I will make going to make my own rain, strike my own lightening and the thunder will roar for me.