For An Hour (Revised)

         Aerin pulled her hat down far over her eyes. She could still see the brightness of the
sun through the thatch pattern of the musty hat. She tucked her bright copper hair into a ponytail and pulled her shirt, which was stuck to her, and it slowly came free. Striding over the bright desert, Aerin's feet slipped and moved in the shifting sand. In one hand she held a wooden bucket that sloshed dangerously with water. The other hand she used to push her hat up so there was a small slit to look through. She walked unusually slow, kicking stones or the sand every couple of steps. "So," she thought to herself, "I guess it's not going to rain after all."

         The scientists back in the big town pin-pointed the exact day the rains would come. Only coming once every 7 years, and lasting only one hour, the rain's expected arrival was wonderful news. It was widely spread and celebrated all over the planet. Rain wasn't essential for life on the planet, as the people mined for ore to support themselves, and got their water from government owned wells. But the rain was special. No one could quite explain it in words, but to be in that rain was the equivalent of heaven on earth.

         That day was three weeks ago. It still hadn't rained over a single city in the world, and the general public was starting to doubt whether or not it would rain at all. Every day since that first day the scientists first predicted the rainfall they continually assured the public that it would be soon. But every day since was like the last 7 years of Aerin's life-- hot, humid and miserable.

         She passed a small scrubby plant, withered and dying. Aerin paused and turned around. The water well sat in the far distance looking like a small pointed house large enough for only 2 land-shrews, if that many. Further back, on the horizon, was a small gray mass. Squinting, Aerin recognized it and caught her breath. She stumbled backward dropping the bucket clumsily. Aerin tripped, regained her balance and sprinted. Behind her the water poured out onto the gnarled stump, and disappeared.

         Aerin ran and tripped, sprawling onto the hot sand, some of it ending up in her mouth, but she spat it out and sat up shakily. Getting to her feet, Aerin jogged, taking care not to trip or slide, towards the small brown house before her. Charging in through the screen door, Aerin ran head on into her mother. To her mother's exclamation Aerin looked up dumbly and then blurted, "Rain!"

. . .

         The clouds moved slowly across the sky, and then seemed to pick up speed. Sitting in the otherwise motionless desert, Aerin watched, her fingers trembling with anticipation.

         The last time it had rained was when she was 10 years old. Sick with rabbit fever--as her family had dubbed it--Aerin was not allowed to go outside. Laying twisted in her bed, she did not even see it. She instead tossed and turned in her sheets with sweat pouring off her face and arms, mumbling about the cold.

         The only thing Aerin remembered about the rain was the sound. The marvelous sound. Though half-unconscious at the time, she remembered the pinging of it on the roof and the popping sound of water against glass windows. She would often times try to recreate the sound, by pouring water out of the watering can, or splashing the walls with water from the well, but it never was quite right. Never did it fill her with excitement like the memory did.

         The closest thing to rain Aerin could imagine was taking a cold shower, which she had done many times from the well. That wasn't good enough, she knew. Her parents and siblings often spoke of the rain, and they always described it as pure ecstasy. Ever since she missed the rain seven years ago, Aerin barely smiled. She could only imagine what it would be like to feel happiness again, let alone ecstasy.

         Aerin watched the great clouds approach. She felt a slight tickle in her stomach as she took a shaky breath and turned her face to the sky. It would be soon. A loud rumble caught Aerin off guard and she yelped in surprise. The clouds were dark gray, some of them almost black. They looked menacing and although she knew they were harmless, they frightened her. The clouds flew overhead now, turbulently swirling about each other, growling and barking fiercely at her.

         Suddenly, a cool, crisp breeze slammed into her with force, and her breath caught in her
throat. It was suddenly cold and she shuddered.
Aerin slowly turned her head toward the sky. The clouds loomed above her. A shadow fell upon her as the clouds swallowed up the sun, blotting it out completely. The wind picked up, blowing her hat off, and sending hair into her face. Aerin, bewildered, looked around for the hat, even though it hung from her neck by a cord.

         Aerin jumped as something ice-cold hit her cheek. Then her arm. Another hit her sharply on her nose. Aerin looked up and saw the water falling. Drop after drop coming down on her. The ones that missed her hit the sand with barely audible "plunks" and made little dimples in it. One drop landed on her lip, and she licked it off, savoring the sweetness of it. Plunk, plunk, plunk, plunk, plunk. The interval between the sounds decreased.

         The rain came down in blankets, smothering Aerin completely. She closed her eyes, relishing the sensation of the cool liquid beating down on her. Her hair was drenched, her shirt was soaking and the sand around her was satiny and smooth. She smiled and closed her eyes pointing her face at the clouds and letting the rain fall on her cheeks, forehead, nose, mouth, and eyelids. The drops rolled down her neck chillingly, especially when one touched upon a part of her skin that was previously dry.

         She stretched out on her back, exposing her whole body to the downpour. Almost in a trance, she listened. The pinging on the roof forced tears to her eyes, and the popping on the glass made the tears fall as sudden warmth to her cold cheeks. Aerin climbed to her feet.

         Very slowly opening her eyes, she gasped. Everything was gray and blue. It was like she'd gone to sleep and woken up in a new world. But it was also strangely familiar, as though it had been raining forever. As though she had never seen a moment of sunshine in her life.

         She spun around and grinned, arms outstretched to embrace the rain. Dancing to music that only she could hear, and imagining it was embedded in every drop that hit her, she laughed. For once she did not feel the sticky warmth. It was cool and wet. For once she did not long for the pinging on the roof-- it was there.

         Aerin once again fell down, but she lauged and rolled onto her back. The wind whipped her face and the thundering roar drowned out everything else. Flashes in the sky illuminated the dark clouds. Aerin stayed like that for an hour. Smiling and welcoming the rain. The drops began to slow down in their frequency and the clouds overhead weren't as black as before. The cloud mass was moving further east, and the end of it was almost over her. Aerin watched the sheets of water turn into individual drops, and the drops become more and more sparse. As suddenly as it had begun, the wind stopped. Aerin saw bits of sunlight slicing through the clouds and then watched as one final drop landed in her hand. The very last one.

         As the clouds moved east the sun came out in its entirety, illuminating everything. Slowly, the rain began to rise up as vapor as Aerin stood still and, sopping wet, looked at the drop on her palm. Mist and fog lightly blanketed the sand. Wringing her shirt out, Aerin's eyes followed the clouds east and saw the silvery gray glints where the rain was still falling. She watched the clouds until they were on the horizon, all the while smelling the sweet smell of clean freshness.

         Aerin turned west, toward the water well and clumsily made her way to the scrubby plant where she had left her bucket. Stooping down to retrieve it, she looked at the plant carefully. Like her, it would have to pray for the cool clean water to come again. Like her, it would have to wait 7 more years for it. She pulled her hat onto her head and squinted in the sunset glow. Smiling, Aerin pulled her hat down far over her eyes.